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jlh1. When John F. Kennedy was shot (22/11/1963)
I wasn't. I'm wondering if there are any people on my flist who were of an age to actually remember this? The number of people who I think were even alive at the time I can count on one hand.
2. When Mt. St. Helens blew (18/5/1980)
I remember it happening in a general way, but I was 10 so I don't remember it as a one-day thing.
So instead, I'll tell you where I was when President Reagan was shot (30/3/1981) as I remember that. I was in 6th grade, still taking the bus to school, and school got out around 2:30. I got home, and my mother was watching it on television. It was the first thing I remember where they showed the footage on the news over and over and over.
3. When the space shuttle Challenger exploded (28/1/1986)
I was in Chemistry lab, in high school. The lab was a two-period class, and that class I remember we had put something into the crucible and had to wait for it to do something, so at the class break many of us went out into the hallway to take a break. The Chem Lab was directly above the Library. In an odd quirk of our school, quiet study hall was in the cafeteria, but if you wanted to talk quietly or watch an event on television you had to go to the library, so there were a bunch of students in the library watching the shuttle launch, as it was the teacher and all, and one of the teachers at our school had been a semi-finalist to go. So they come upstairs and say, the shuttle exploded! But they were just the kind of kids who would say that even if it wasn't true just to get people freaked out, so we didn't believe them until our teacher, Mr. Trotsky, went to the physics teacher and found out for sure. Then, back in class, Trotsky showed us how hydrogen explodes and in doing so set off a spark that set all the papers on top of his desk on fire.
This was fairly typical for chem class.
4. When the 7.1 earthquake hit San Francisco (7/10/1989)
I was in college, sitting down to watch the series. Remember? It was an all SF baseball World Series, Giants vs. A's, and that night they were playing in Candlestick, when suddenly the transmission went all wonky and the sportscasters were like, holy shit! It's amazing, really, that such an old ballpark, which was fully loaded at the time, withstood such a strong quake.
5. When the Berlin Wall fell (7/11/1989)
Again, I was in college, but I don't remember doing much at the time except watching it on TV and having this amazing feeling of the world changing--not just then, but even when the boarders had opened before that, remember, and people were leaving Eastern Europe though Austria in like, droves.
6. When the Gulf War began (16/1/1991)
I was in my senior year of college, and at that time I had a job at the main undergraduate library, as a shift supervisor. At that time, though it isn't true now, the library hours not between 9-5 M-F were supervised by students, so as it was a Wednesday night, that's where I was. We set up a radio behind the circulation desk so students could hear the latest. There were a lot of students who had grandparents or other relatives in Israel, so they were worried about the bombing there. And I had a lot of high school friends who were in the Army and Navy and already over there, so I was a bit freaked out as well. My best friend from high school's then-fiancee was over there, and I went up to see her over our February break to see how she was doing. God, the Gulf War. Ugh.
7. When OJ Simpson was chased in his White Bronco (17/6/1994)
I was on my first date with my soon-to-be then-boyfriend David, and we were eating dinner after having seen a movie--ironically, Speed. When we looked up at the tv in the bar, we thought at first we were watching a promo for the movie.
8. When the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed (19/4/1995)
I was at work, here in New York, and I remember just being really confused about the whole thing. Just, like, what?
9. When Princess Di was killed (31/8/1997)
It was Labor Day weekend and I had been at my parents house for a week. Usually when I'm travelling I can't sleep, so I was up late packing. My parents have a satellite dish and Dad happened to be watching the BBC, so unlike other Americans we found out about it that night, when it happened. I was packing and again, I just couldn't believe it. I remember being really surprised at the way everyone reacted, not only the Royal Family's non reaction but also how sensible Prince Charles was in going and picking up her body and making all the arrangements. That's class, right there.
10. When Bush was first announced President (7/11/2000)
So foretold. So lame. So packed the court. So annoyed.
11. When the 6.8 earthquake hit Nisqually, WA (28/2/2001)
?
12. When terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center (11/9/2001)
I live in New York.
13. When Columbia disintegrated during re-entry over Texas. (1/2/2003)
I had woken rather early for a Saturday and was laying around on my couch thinking about what to eat for breakfast when the news came on NPR. I immediately texted Nancy, since it was literally happening over her head, and asked her if the cats were freaked out or not. But she had slept through it and woke up to my text and was like, what? and called me and I was like, um, the space shuttle broke up in the sky over your town.
Okay, so where is:
--Nixon resigning.
--Clinton's election.
--The Rodney King verdict and the LA riots that followed.
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no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 12:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 12:53 pm (UTC)Clinton's election: I remember loads of jubilant people at choir rehearsal last night. The conductor, who understood the need for us to talk about Big Events, nevertheless reminded us that *some* people in the room might not have voted for the big guy, and thus to be considerate. (CA Liberal Arts school, yes, but we did have some Republicans.)
King riots: I recall sitting outside one of the academic buildings in college, studying, and wishing we could all just get along. Also, since we were only about an hour from LA, there was some minor concern that the riots could spread to us.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 08:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 01:44 pm (UTC)--Nixon resigning.
--Clinton's election.
--The Rodney King verdict and the LA riots that followed.
Dude, just add them in.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 02:06 pm (UTC)I'm wondering if there are any people on my flist who were of an age to actually remember this?
Yup, that would be me. I was 4.
When terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center (11/9/2001)
Ironically, I was in the Madrid train station that was just hit.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 03:26 pm (UTC)Yes.
Mysteriously, I remember it quite well but have no clear recollection of where I was when most of the other things happened--except #s 5, 10, and 12.
#5: Was living in Milan. Stayed up all night watching TV with friends and on phone to other friends in Berlin. We went next day to try to get a train north to join the party, but all were booked solid. Was thrilling. More shocking was watching the execution of Ceaucescu virtually live on TV the following month: that was like witnessing the French Revolution.
#10: Was in Slough of Despond; am still there.
#12: Looking out my office window at it.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 05:57 pm (UTC)A. Good. Evening.
And no matter how much I support keerry, I don't think I'll ever have that 21 year old's consuming crush again...