The 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 is right around the corner. Everyone has commemorations planned.

TV stations and radio stations all have special shows planned. The Journal-World and LJWorld.com have a host of Sept. 11-related stories planned for Sunday — and we hope you’ve already seen Chad Lawhorn’s piece on the memorial in Anthony, Kan.

So, now we turn to all of you. We want to know where you were when you first found out about the attacks on the World Trade Center. Who broke the news to you? What do you remember about that day?

I’ll start with my story.

I was still in high school in the Parkway School District in suburban St. Louis. I had just finished a test in an English class (the test was over the Scarlet Letter) and I asked to use the restroom. This was about 8:30 a.m., Central Time. I walked through one of our commons areas and saw a group of teachers and students gathered around a TV. I walked over and watched the towers burning on CNN.

I returned to my class and broke the news to my classmates, but I really didn’t know the significance at that time. Most of the rest of my classes that day consisted of watching the live coverage, first as the Pentagon was hit, then as Fight 93 crashed in rural Pennsylvania. I’ll never forget being in my French class and seeing the face of my teacher. He was an older teacher — he retired that year — and was emotionally drained by what had happened. It left an impression on me.

As the day ended and I drove home, something else struck me. At that time, St. Louis was still a major hub for Trans World Airlines, and the landing pattern for Lambert International Airport went right near our high school. Except, on that day, there were no jets in the sky. No contrails. It was the first unplanned suspension of commercial flight activity in the country’s history.

When I got home, and finally was able to control a remote, I checked all the channels. I was stunned and amazed to see that not only were the broadcast networks and cable news channels all airing live coverage of the day’s events, but all of the entertainment channels were as well. I distinctly remember marveling at the fact that both MTV and BET had interrupted their regular programming and replaced it with a simulcast of news.

That’s my story. What’s yours? What do you remember from that day that we’ll never forget? Share your story in the comments, below.