Where were you on Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001?

That probably was a common question, the first few years after the terror attacks of 9/11 that led to four hijacked planes crashed, the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York’s World Trade Center and nearly 2,700 dead.

Most Americans over the age of 30 probably have some memory of that day, 15 years ago today. Just as our parents and grandparents probably remembered where they were when they heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.

Most Americans were far away from the 9/11 crash sites and did not know those whose lives ended that day. But the way most of us learned about the collapse of the Twin Towers — by watching on live TV — lent an immediacy and shock factor that stamped itself onto our brains.

It was 8:46 a.m. in New York — 5:46 a.m. at my home in California — when American Airlines Flight 111 crashed into the North Tower. I did not see that live — did any of us? — but the event soon got the attention of news sources. A plane flying into one of the world’s tallest buildings quickly dominated the agendas of news outlets.

My wife was an early riser, to get to school, and she had heard reports on the radio of a plane crash at the North Tower. She came downstairs and turned on the television; I believe I had fallen asleep on the couch after working late at the newspaper the previous night, and I woke to the sight of smoke billowing from the North Tower.

The confusion in the 17 minutes after the first crash went from “awful accident?” to “some sort of coordinated attack” when United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower at 9:03 a.m., New York time.

By then I was wide awake, and I would be watching TV for most of that awful day.

Two memories that remain fresh, one visual and one emotional.

–The crash of United 175 into the South Tower at 9:03 a.m., which was televised as it happened, as I recall. In my mind’s eye I see the plane, coming from the left of the TV picture, as it hit the building, into which it seemed to just … disappear — despite the enormous energy involved in that crash.

–The collapse of the South Tower, 56 minutes later, at 6:59 California time, struck me on an emotional level. I do not recall speculation that “the towers could come down”, which may explain why my subconscious acted with shock as my eyes watched the tower crumple. I felt a surprise surge of adrenaline as part of the primitive human “fight or flight” response kicked in. For a minute or two, my heart was racing. I also remember a suddenly knotted stomach. I was almost physically sickened by what I saw, which surprised me at the time because as a journalist we like to think we can keep emotions under control — especially while watching an event thousands of miles away.

Not this time.

That day and those that followed were a hectic period for journalists, even sports journalists. Games postponed, new security measures instituted at stadiums.

But the two memories, above, are what my brain dredges up first.

If you are old enough, you probably have your own memories, which may be far more intimate and meaningful.

Where were you on the morning of September 11, 2001?

I was staring at the TV in my home, at what we soon came to describe as the biggest news event of our lifetimes.