On 9/11 I was in my office prepping to go to a ground breaking ceremony for a large project I was working on. I was on the phone with a client when she said, "Oh my god, a plane just flew into the world trade center." I clearly remember thinking that it had to be something like when that little plane crashed into the white house. Our office internet was horrible but I logged on and was viewing live news coverage when the second plane hit. The rest of the day is pretty blurry, it was a very quiet office, despite no one having any direct connection to people working in NY.
What I remember even more vividly is a trip that I took just a little over a month later. At the time my brother and I had a tradition started of taking a yearly motorcycle trip together to a race within a few days ride. That year we swung through NYC to visit his roommate from Cornell, Brian. We met up with Brian and it wasn't till about mid-way through dinner that he just blurted out that he worked in the WTC, in one of the smaller towers. He proceeded to relay one of the most horrific stories I've heard. More than anything I remember him talking about how he just started walking, trying to find a way home, and how it took him something like 8 or 10 hours to figure it out. I later learned that the wife of a guy that I used to ride with a lot was supposed to be in NYC that day, for the opening of a new branch of the company that she worked for. Due to reasons I can't remember anymore she hadn't made it down that day. The branch of her company was in the upper half of one of the towers. The last thing that sticks out about my 9/11 experience is that I went fishing with my boss the Saturday after the tragedy, while all air traffic was basically still grounded. The sky was strikingly blue, in a way I don't think I've seen since, without a wisp of a cloud or contrail to be found. We both just stared at it for a while in horrible awe.
As for Bin Laden and how this played out, I don't have much to say. I'm hopeful it'll mean less bloodshed.