Julie, did you sense a vibe prior to 911? What do you remember?
At that time I was still hanging on to many of the familiar plugs into the mainstream and otherwise preoccupied with moving out of one house and into another. The morning on day of, I had already run a few loads of stuff from old address to new and was among the many caught totally by surprise upon first hearing some news round 10 AM.
As far as vibes go, I cannot say I feel one this time around either even though I look for it in anticipation.
PS - in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time epic, there was a people/culture, the Aiel, who subscribed to the credo that living life was a dream from which you awakened at the time of death.