Patrick Gavin, editor, FishbowlDC:

I was teaching 7th grade history in Princeton, NJ. At the end of the period, when class let out, we heard in the hallway that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. The reaction among many — looking back — was almost embarassingly blasé, save for those who had parents working in and around that area. Indeed, I don't think it was until after the buildings collapse that the severity of it all really hit home.