I watched them collapse; I used to live in an apartment building that had a great view of all of Manhattan, with The Financial District visible on the far left. Since I lived on the top floor, I had a pretty good view. I was in first grade; it was one of the first days of classes. I remember coming home and seeing my uncle and mother watching the news, which was tuned to FOX 5, with live coverage (now that I think about it, it might not have been live; either I got home around 2 and it was a repeat, or I got sent home early, which is pretty damn possible, considering all hell was breaking loose right over the river). I actually remember watching the building collapse in TV very vividly, and the intake of breath the news reporter made. I didn't understand the real impact of it, but the collapse made everyone around me very frightened, and that seeped in. My mom actually recorded the whole thing on VHS/VCS(?). I remember watching it a couple of years later and reminiscing the details. Needless to say, I looked out the window, and it seemed as if half of Manhattan was covered in smoke.