General @ Friday January 06, 2006 02:56 pm by WunderKraut
UPDATE: Great turnout guys! It seems that almost EVERY single one of you could care less about the Clinton impeachment. I followed the thing closely for some morbid reason. But the main reason I put it on the list is because it was such a distinct memory for me. I remember it was snowing in Toledo, OH and our flight home was delayed and my co-worker and I spent a good chunk of the day in the airport. I was doing a crossword puzzle while the airport terminal TV’s were tuned to CNN. As time went on it became apparent that they were going to deliver their verdict. A rather large crowd of people stopped what they were doing and gathered under the TV near me. They read the verdict and there some that clapped while others just shrugged their shoulders. It was just a surreal moment that sticks out in my head. Snowy Toledo. Crowded airport. Live news report.
But, I understand why most of you feel they way you do.
Again, thanks for participating. Especially you first time commenters. See, it didn’t hurt that bad, did it?
Original Post Begins Here:
Ok my loyal readers….all 6 of you….
Rob at File It Under does not feel like blogging about news, so he has a Ten Questions Post. It is a good post. Go over and leave your answers.
His last question got me thinking and this post is a result of all that thinking.
Where Were You, What Were You Doing And How Did You Feel When…:
- You found out about 9/11
- The start of the FIRST Gulf War – When we began combat operations.
- The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded
- The Space Shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry
- Reagan was shot
- John Lennon was shot
- The Pope was shot
- Berlin Wall came down
- President Clinton was acquitted of impeachment
- Election night 2000
- When Kennedy was shot (for my more mature readers)
Leave your answers in the comments. I know I have more than 6 readers, but most of you do not take the time to comment. Let today be the first day you leave a comment. It is easy and I promise it won’t bite.
My answers are below the fold:
- 9/11: I was at work at Stevenson & Palmer Engineering when my wife called. She said a plane just hit one of the towers. I assured her that sort of thing can happen and it must be a foggy day. She said no, it was bright and sunny…then she said…”Oh my God! Another plane just hit the other one!” I told her I would call her back. We had a TV in the break room and I got there just as they were showing the replay of the 2nd plane hitting. A pit formed in my stomach. I felt nauseous. Then we sat there glued to the TV until after they both fell. I remember just feeling numb all over. It is one of those memories I will never forget.
- First Gulf War: January 17, 1991 – I was in the 11th grade and I had a History final the next day. I started watching CNN and watched it all night long. I remember first hand the John Holliman, Peter Arnett and Bernard Shaw show from the Al-Rashid Hotel during the bombing. I was spell bound. I was watching history. I finally went to bed around 3 or 4 in the morning. I remember falling asleep during the middle of the exam and my teacher had to nudge me awake. It seems like yesterday.
- Challenger explosion: I was home sick that day from school and mom took me to the grocery store. It was a Kroger store and they had a very small electronics section with TV’s. I saw it explode and told my mom. She almost spanked me because she thought I was telling a cruel joke.
- Columbia breaking up on re-entry: I was working the drive thru window of a Chick-fil-a. One of the guys coming through the line told me. I did not believe him. Then when another person told me, I was terribly saddened. I had watched all the news about the flight because of the Israeli astronaut. I wondered if it was due to terrorists, but that was quickly disproved. As for why I was working at a Chick-fil-a drive thru….that is a story best told over a beer. Come on down to South Georgia.
- Reagan being shot: We were living in Southern California in Mission Viejo (grey roof house in dead center of display) at the time. I was playing between my room door and the hallway. I think I was playing with Lincoln Logs. I remember even at that age watching the replays over and over again.
- John Lennon: I know it was the same year as Reagan, but I do not remember when he was killed. I had not even heard of the Beatles at that time. My parents were not big fans.
- Pope getting shot: I do not remember when the Pope was shot. I know it was at the same time, but maybe because we are not Catholic, it did not leave much of an impression on me.
- Berlin Wall: I remember it coming down. I was in our den watching CNN. I remember the sledge hammers and the long lines of cars. Of course who could forget the Scorpions and their hit The Winds Of Change? I really remember when the Soviet Union fell soon after. I remember the tanks firing on the government building and Boris Yeltsin. It was amazing.
- Clinton impeachment: I was sitting in the Toledo, OH airport waiting to catch a plane home from a business trip when the news came on the TV. I remember just shaking my head. He got out of another one.
- 2000 Election: I was in Buffalo, NY working for the railroad. I stayed up all night. My stomach was in knots then and for the next few weeks. There was something really disconcerting about not know who our next leader would be. A week or so into the ordeal, I just wanted someone to be President. It was just an oppressive worry feeling.
- Kennedy Assassination: I was not born yet. Sorry old-timers.
Well, that was fun. Now it is your turn.
30 Responses to “Getting To Know My Readers”
1: Here at work. I was watching when the second plane hit. I was ready to re-enlist and probably would have if I didn’t have a wife. I remember when they hit the Pentagon I was cursing out loud I was so mad. I started to cry when the towers fell and had to leave the break room.
2: I was coming back to the base in Norfolk after being out late with some buddies. Security had been tightened and when we passed through they told us we had just bombed Bhagdad.
3: I was at School. I remember they brought a television into the room and we started watching the news report. This was when they still weren’t saying for sure what had happened. There was just that weird stream of smoke that seemed to branch off in two directions.
4: Again I was here at work. I was doing some overtime and heard it on the radio. A few of us went down to the break room and turned on the TV. I remember there was such a big deal about this being Israel’s first astronaut into space. Since I’m big into the space program this really saddened me.
5: Strangely I don’t remember where I was. I want to say school, but I don’t know. I do remember his daughter being on television saying “That is not going to happen with this President” refering to the supposed ‘Tecumseh’ curse which is said to have started with William Henry Harrison.
6: Don’t remember. At all.
7: Again, Don’t remember.
8: I’m on a roll. I don’t remember where I was. But I do remember them knocking it down and people handing flowers to the soldiers that were supposed to guard the border.
9: I knew he was gonna wriggle out of it, so I quit watching. I can’t say where I was, only that I felt validation for my cynicism.
10: I was at home here in Albany. I stayed up till about 1 a.m. Then I said, “oh I’ll find out in the morning”. Boy was I ever wrong about that!
11: Before my conception.
Where was I…
1. 9/11 – Heard it on the way to work, on the radio. Got there and was quickly cured of the thought that it was a crazy, tragic fluke.
2. The FIRST Gulf War – Home watching the news. Not for nothing, but it was the worst idea in the world to broadcast and report that thing in video-game terms, with all the “cool night-vision” and stuff. Gave us the wrong impression. Ironically, the media have done much better with the imbed idea, and it’s a damning mark against them to have taken that and still produced the “slouching toward Vietnam” theme in defiance of great swaths of facts.
3. The Challenger exploded – at school. Oddly, I can’t remember if we watched live. It was my brother’s fourth birthday.
4. The Columbia broke up during re-entry – no recollection.
5. Reagan shot – For some reason, I seem to recall this live, but I can’t say where or why.
6. Lennon killed – I was home, in my bedroom. Heard it over the radio as my father listened while working in the next room. (I wasn’t watching Cosell on MNF.) Very strong memories of my parents’ shock.
7. The Pope shot – nothing here either.
8. Berlin Wall came down – at home, watching with Dad. It wasn’t until later, when I saw the statue of Saddam Hussein at the center of a hail of shoes and debris, that I understood what he felt that day.
9. President Clinton was acquitted – not sure, but I’m positive I yawned loudly when it happened. The Dems had a point in saying there was other important business to be conducted, even if they never had any intention of doing more than talking about it.
10. Election night 2000 – it was after a roller hockey game. Some of my teammates and I commandeered the snack bar after closing and watched the whole thing, cracking jokes about Russert’s dry-erase electoral map and rooting for W. We won (twice).
Of course, eleven was before my arrival, but I like the mention. It put the phrase “where were you when” on the map.
9/11 – I was sleeping. The Random Sibling woke me by telephone and I watched those towers come down on television. Feelings? Some fear, more sorrow and a whole lotta “the USA needs to go kick someone’s ***.”
The start of the FIRST Gulf War – working. Again, notified by telephone. Watched it on TV. I remember thinking the reporters on the ground were some brave guys, filming from the hotel rooms while rockets exploded nearby.
The Space Shuttle Challenger – Watched from a school classroom. A former alum of my school was on board. What started off a triumph for the institution became a tragedy.
The Space Shuttle Columbia broke up: Actually watched this one live. Upset Yak the Younger something fierce – as it was the first shuttle landing he’d ever seen.
Reagan was shot – heard on the news. Angry and dismayed, and pleased that the attack had not fully succeeded.
John Lennon was shot – I wasn’t a Beatles fan, so this one actually just sort of confused me in a “was he really important enough to deserve being shot” sort of way.
The Pope was shot – read it in the newspaper.
Berlin Wall came down – watched this one live on TV, fascinated. I was in Massachusetts, and I almost failed a test the following morning because I was watching television. Fortunately, the prof was also watching, and the test was cancelled.
President Clinton was acquitted of impeachment – Let’s not go there.
Election night 2000. I was teaching, and missed most of this one. Glad it didn’t turn out to be another “Dewey Wins”
Jeez, man. You only have three readers?
Oops. I mean four.
No comment, gonna think about it and reference it separately.
Stolen from Wunderkraut
Interesting set of questions stolen from Wunderkraut. Where Were You, What Were You Doing And How Did You Feel WhenÂ…: You found out about 9/11 The start of the FIRST Gulf War – When we began combat operations. The Space…
1. You found out about 9/11 – I was in lower Manhattan, about 5 blocks away. Saw it all. Wish I hadn’t.
2. The start of the FIRST Gulf War – When we began combat operations. The aerial bombardment phase I was on a NJ Transit train when the conductor came on the PA and announced that the bombng had begun, and he asked for prayers for our troops. Poor guy would get fired now for doing that. When the ground war started I was having dinner at a restaurant in Brooklyn and the bartender told us. Haven’t been to Brooklyn since.
3. The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded – I was driving a bus in Charlottesville, Va. It was a beautiful morning. Funny how the shittiest things happen on the prettiest days.
4. The Space Shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry – Lazing about in my family room, early on that morning.
5. Reagan was shot – I was in school; don’t remember much else about that day.
6. John Lennon was shot – I was in school as well. Random, I was a big Beatles fan at the time, and I still don’t get the religious fervor about the surly bastard, either.
7. The Pope was shot – Again, in school. But I do remember thinking “The commies are gonna pay for this…”
8. Berlin Wall came down – I was newly married. We were in our first apartment. We all thought the reunification would be a cakewalk, because the East Germans were the hard-working commies…weren’t they?
9. President Clinton was acquitted of impeachment – I was home with my wife, I would imagine.
10. Election night 2000 – Home, sitting up watching all the stupidity unfold.
11. When Kennedy was shot (for my more mature readers) – 7 1/2 months along in the womb…
Your trackback, sir:
Ten Questions (and a bonus)
Ken stole it from WunderKraut, and I’ve taken it from Ken.
Where Were You, What Were You Doing And How Did You Feel When…:
1. I was preparing for a sermon. I was in the middle of preaching a revival that week, and was trying to decide where God was leading me. My wife called and told me that some plane had hit the trade center. When I saw what was happening, the sermon pretty much wrote itself.
2. Was in a seminar in college on learning styles. The announcement came in, and it wrapped up pretty quickly. This was a military campus, and we had a number of students in the Reserves/National Guard that were over there.
3. Riding down the road listening to the radio. Everything ground to a halt that day too.
4. don’t remember.
5. I was in the fifth grade, I think I was in Math when someone came around telling what had happened.
6-7. Don’t remember.
8-10. Watching the news. 8 was on CNN, 9 &10 on Fox News.
11. Wasn’t born yet, heck, my parents didn’t even know each other yet.
Holy shit. Of all the people who have responded here or at ICIP, Bingley’s the only one who was even conceived yet when JFK was assassinated.
I’m surrounded by children…
The Tim Blair Quote Fest
If you haven’t been to Tim Blair’s to see his annual quote fest, go there NOW. Really, get out of here. And don’t come back until you’ve gone and answered the Wunderkraut’s “Where Were You?” survey. If you do, please…
I posted these at our place already, but here goes:
9/11 – I was in my car headed to work and the news was just breaking. Nobody knew if it was an accident or what not yet. God, that day was awful. My sister’s boyfriend at the time worked on Wall Street – he, like Bingley, saw the whole thing happen in person – and my family here spent most of the day in panic. I haven’t heard a busy signal on a phone since and not had an irritated, desperate feeling.
First Gulf War – I was in my first year of college. I watched President Bush the Elder’s speech in the TV loung of my dormitory and cried. It was the first time I’d seen real war that I could understand.
Challenger – I don’t remember. I was in seventh grade and know I was moved enough to do a project report on it where I included bad copies of newspaper photographs of all the astronauts.
Columbia – Again, I don’t remember, but that it was on a weekend and I turned on the TV, heard the news, jumped in my car and flew to my parents’ house. My dad almost became an astronaut for NASA – the only reason he didn’t make the cut was because of a *cough* bad liver – and I can distinctly recall the look that my step-mom and I gave each other that day. The “I’m so glad he didn’t make it” look. It crushed him. It was his life-long dream. He grew up during the space race and used to build rockets in his backyard as a kid, imagining going to space when he grew up. I’m sorry for him that that never came to be, but I’m definitely not sorry I never had to watch him get burned to death over and over and over again on the nightly news. God, how I feel for the people that lost loved ones in those disasters. My parents’ neighbor in Colorado is one of the widows of a Challenger astronaut.
Reagan getting shot – Don’t remember at all, just that my step-sister was the first one to tell me. I think I was too young to react appropriately.
John Lennon – That happened on my 8th birthday, so I should remember more, but I don’t. Honestly, the only memory I have is that radio stations kept playing “Just Like Starting Over” way too much.
The Pope – no memory whatsoever.
The Berlin Wall – HUGE day for me. My step-mom and her family are from Berlin. I’ve lived there and I cannot describe to you how much I hated that fucking wall. We came home to find my Oma (step-mom’s mom) in absolute tears. She just kept saying “die mauer, die mauer” over and over. The three of us stood in front of the television watching people pouring into the West, everyone celebrating their asses off, and just crying. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.
Clinton – I never had any unreasonable hatred of Clinton – the same thing you see with lefties when it comes to Bush – but I honestly have to say that I don’t care, I don’t want to even try and recall, and that I don’t ever want to talk about that man again as long as I live.
Election night 2000 – by the time election night comes, I’m always too exhausted by the politics season to see the returns through. I just remember going to bed and being relieved that I could pick up the paper in the morning to find out who won and be glad that the whole thing was over. Boy, was I ever in for a let-down.
Kennedy – I was only a gleam in the apple of my father’s eye, but he tells me the gleam didn’t take it very well. Apparently, we were Democrats at the time, so it was especially hard.
I’m surrounded by children…
Some of whom you could have…
Where was my thing
Ken, “borrowing from Wunderkraut, wants to know Where Were You, What Were You Doing And How Did You Feel When…: You found out about 9/11: Driving to work in Chicago. They broke in to the regular 8:00 WLS newscast to talk about a plane having hit the…
When Kennedy was shot I was newly wed and preparing for my first tour in Vietnam.
For all the rest – well, I was a little older.
Finally! someone older than I am!
And Bingley: “Some of whom you could have…”
Well, yeah…
Stolen from Ken
This is an interesting little Meme, especially as folks of different ages have different memories of the same events…. Stolen from Ken, who in turn took it from Wunderkraut Where Were You, What Were You Doing And How Did You…
1. You found out about 9/11. Well, this is kind of interesting. At the time I had a bus ride in from a satellite town, and it was kind of long. So for the first part I was just reading a magazine. Then somebody got on who had turned on the news for about a minute or so and who told us that the Pentagon was burning. The discussion turned quickly to potential problems with “chemical weapons in the basement”, not in a particularly deranged way but a genuinely ignorant manner, so I was quick to point out that the Pentagon is a planning department and that you simply DON’T make your center of operations that tempting to attack.
The bus driver was paying too much attention to us and missed his turn, so I got to experience a three-point turn in a forty foot bus across four lanes of traffic.
It wasn’t until I transferred that I heard more of the story, and I distinctly remember wanting to slap the woman who was talking about it in a tone of voice like they deserved it. Such impulses did not keep me from thinking of several black humor punchlines, all of which were immediately banished from ever passing my lips.
2. The start of the FIRST Gulf War – When we began combat operations. You know, I actually don’t remember this bit, except I know I saved the paper with the forty-point WAR headline.
I do remember when I was told that we might be going to war. That was the previous summer, and my mom had picked me up from summer camp. She said that war was possible in the near future because some country I hadn’t really heard of had invaded another country I hadn’t really heard of, and by the way, gas prices were going to go up too. Wise woman, my mom.
3. The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. In class, in third grade. You knew they picked the start time so that schoolchildren around the nation could watch live, right?
At the time, I was a little baffled because I was so used to delayed video for newscasts and such that I didn’t understand why we hadn’t been told something went wrong before they showed it to us. (I didn’t quite get the concept of live video.)
4. The Space Shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry. In bed. My husband called into the bedroom to say that the shuttle had exploded, and since it was so close to the Challenger anniversary, I had to ask for clarification.
I was not actually devastated, because it didn’t seem like a particular shock. After the Challenger, I got the feeling that it was only a matter of time before something else went wrong.
And yes, I am still in favor of live space exploration. There is no reward without some risk.
5. Reagan was shot. Too young to care.
6. John Lennon was shot. Too young to care.
7. The Pope was shot. Too young to care.
8. Berlin Wall came down. In a motel room somewhere in Wyoming or Utah. My mom was glued to the TV, which made for some concern on my part as she was the only driver and I wanted her to be awake. We did, in fact, have to make an unscheduled stop at a neat restored fort so that she could keep from Driving While Asleep.
9. President Clinton was acquitted of impeachment. Meh. Didn’t much care at that point. I figured we’d either end up with President Clinton or President Gore, and neither was a cause for any more concern than we’d previously had about them.
10. Election night 2000. Oregon. Not precisely glued to the television either; due to the citified coastal regions it was pretty much a contest in the state between Gore and Nader. I was absenteeing for California, and I voted for a minor-party candidate since I knew that Gore was going to win California.
I voted very seriously in 2004.
11. When Kennedy was shot (for my more mature readers) Hmm. Counting back, my mother had just stopped being a minor.
Pundit Roundtable
Hi there, welcome back to PUNDIT ROUNDTABLE, our weekly gathering of pontificating pundits here at WILLisms.com. I am your host, Ken McCracken. Our topics this week are both very serious: Topic 1: The New York Times has been blowing…
1. 9/11: I was at work, going through graduate student files to determine their eligibility to graduate, when the admissions coordinator said a small plane had hit one of the WT Towers. She monitored the news on her radio, relaying the horrifying news to us all morning until we went down to a student lounge and watched it on television. Then the university announced it was closing and sent us all home, where I sat in front of the TV until midnight, trying to believe what I was seeing.
2. First Gulf War: Sitting on my computer, I think, chatting with friends, when I checked a news site and saw those weird green-lit pictures of tracer bullets over Baghdad. I’m not sure about my memories, but I do remember being disappointed and outraged when they called it off without finishing it. operations.
3. Challenger: At work in the purchasing department of a major glassware manufacturer. My first reaction was, regrettably, “with that school teacher on board?”
4. Columbia: Wherever I was (probably at work) my reaction was: “Not again.” Aren’t these particular two questions backwards?
5. Reagan: Can’t remember. Ironic, no?
6. Lennon: Don’t know, don’t really care.
7. The Pope: Just back from three years overseas. At first they said Bulgarians did it, and I thought: Bulgarians? Then we found out it was a delusional Turk.
8. Berlin Wall: Sitting at home, completely taken by surprise, and, well, sort of gleeful. I remember thinking how wonderful if only my parents (dyed-in-the-wool Communist-haters) were alive to see it.
9. President Clinton: Working at the university again, thinking: “Thank God that’s over. Maybe we’ll get some real news from the Talking Heads now.”
10. Election night 2000: At home, disappointed because I’d voted for the other guy — silly me. Glad, for once, to be on the losing side.
11. Kennedy: In my high school English class. We shuffled off to the gym for the announcement, and then we were sent home. I lived 90 miles from the place where he got shot.
1. You found out about 9/11. — I was working as a consultant on the 16th floor of the Southtrust Bank Bldg on North Ave in Atlanta for a subsidiary of the railroad. One of my railroad buddies called me on the phone and had told me about each tower being hit by a plane… I then told others in the office and we watched the news coverage for a few hours… I watched both towers fall..I remember reports of other airlines being hi-jacked, and since I was next door to the tallest bldg in Atlanta I kept looking out the window for low flying jets. I knew I’d be no good for the rest of the day so I left and went to my girlfriend’s (now my wife)house and watched the news the rest of the day.
2. The start of the FIRST Gulf War – When we began combat operations. — I was at Southern Tech at the time (in my last year… we didn’t have cable so I don’t think I saw as much of the bombing campaign as some, but I do remember some of the General’s press conferences (such as showing the bridge exploding right after the Iraqi auto crossed it…. and it was noted that this is probably the luckiest motorist in Iraq. I also remember reading everything related to the air and ground campaign in the newspaper.
3. The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded — I was working for a construction company in Athens… I was a 19 year old draftsman (really a gofer mostly, but draftsman sounds better).. anyway I remember my boss’s daughter was at home sick that day and she called the office right after it happened and the boss’s wife told everyone… it was a sickening feeling to say the least.
4. The Space Shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry — It was a Saturday and I’d just moved to the south side of Atlanta (again) and 2 of my brothers came over that day and when they got there they told us the Columbia had broken up upon re-entry.. I had a similar sick feeling as I had with the Challenger, but probably not as strong..
5. Reagan was shot — I was in middle school and it was after 3pm, so I was waiting outside under the covered walkway for my daddy to come pick me up & one of the other kids’ parents got there first and relayed the info to me.
6. John Lennon was shot — I think I heard about it the next morning on the radio going to school. I was dejected. I liked the Beatles and obviously there would not be a reunion.
7. The Pope was shot — I don’t recall much about it… probably saw it on the evening news… I do remember they did some serious work on the pope-mobile subsequent to that event.
8. Berlin Wall came down — I was at Gaineville College at the time. I mainly just remember my History Professor, I can’t quite remember her name, talking w/the class about it.
9. President Clinton was acquitted of impeachment — I felt from the beginning that this was not going to end well for the Republicans… I just knew he was going to be free and clear w/the help of his spinmeisters and the MSM. So I did not invest much time in it. I remember Neal Boortz broadcasting from DC w/the saying that he’s not leaving until the U-Haul trucks load up and leave the Whitehouse..
10. Election night 2000 — well, I had taken a voluntary severance from the railroad recently and was in between jobs, so I didn’t have to worry about going to work the next day, anyway,… I’m in my southside of Atlanta apartment and I watched that thing all night… I remember the Gore was on the verge of conceding, but held off while waiting for more info out of Florida.. come daylight I think I gave up watching and went to bed.
11. When Kennedy was shot (for my more mature readers) — happened a little over 3 years before I was born.
1. Just got home from work (night shift), turned on the news after the first tower had already been hit. Caught a bit of 700 Club, annoyed that Pat Robertson was stating as fact (before the evidence came in) that it was Islamic terrorism.
2. Heard on radio. Relieved that we were finally gonna take care of things. Dismayed in later weeks when GHWB left Saddam in power.
3. Came home from work for lunch, turned on TV some time after the explosion, first thing I saw was footage of the Y-shaped cloud. Took a few moments to realize what was going on.
4. Went to bed after work, turned on radio, caught live broadcast of the disaster.
5. Saw on TV. Not terribly worried; RR seemed to be relatively okay by press sccounts.
6. Another celebrity death.
7. Thought it weird that someone would shoot the Pope.
8. No memory. The press slowly caught on to the story of Communism collapsing in Eastern Europe in 1979, so it wasn’t as big a story as it should have been.
9. Probably heard on radio. Enraged that the Senate intentionally blocked the admission of actual evidence. Enraged that he wasn’t impeached for Kosovo (a NATO war against a nation that had not attacked a NATO member violates the NATO charter) or for the attack on a water tower during that war (no link – heard it on ABC Radio News, nobody seemed to think attacking the civilian water supply was scandalous). Worried sick about what future presidents would get away with because of this precedent.
10. Was at the GOP shindig in Dallas. Eventually went home, puzzled. In the following weeks I was scared that rioting would break out in several major cities, thinking back to the Los Angeles Riots. Relieved when it didn’t happen.
11. 3 years old, probably living in Metairie, LA at the time.
Apollo 11 (1969) – living in Gulf Breeze, FL. First continuing TV news coverage I can remember watching. Excited.
Nixon’s resignation (1974) – living in Corpus Christi, TX. Watched the live TV broadcast. Didn’t understand Watergate. Sad that a president would resign.
1. You found out about 9/11. I was at work at Fort Polk, LA. I was just coming in from smoking a cigarette when my NCOIC met me and told that someone just flew a plane into the World Trade Center. I rushed upstairs and watched the live broadcast with the rest of my soldiers. We saw the second plane crash. I called my wife and she was also watching. After they hit the Pentagon I remember saying, “Wow. We’re at war now.”
2. The start of the FIRST Gulf War. I was living in Mountain Home, Idaho. I remember the start of it, I’m sure I was watching the news or something, but I have no distinct memories of what I was doing.
3. The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. I was living in Colorado Springs. I must have been in school or something, but I don’t remember the actual event. I remember all the off-color jokes right afterwards though.
4. The Space Shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry. Not sure. Again, I remember the event, but I can’t recall where I was or what I was doing.
5. Reagan was shot. Living in Colorado Springs. I have no recollection of hearing about the event on the news. I do remember my parents talking about it.
6. John Lennon was shot. Didn’t care. My parents weren’t big fans and it wasn’t really discussed in my home.
7. The Pope was shot. I remember this in the way I remember Reagan’s shooting. There was conversation, but I don’t remember seeing it on the news.
8. Berlin Wall came down. I was living in Mountain Home. It was a great event. I remember watching it on the news. I remember all the Pink Floyd stuff that followed. In fact, I was given a piece of the wall as a present (remember they were selling pieces?) but I gave it away years ago (stupid! stupid!).
9. President Clinton was acquitted of impeachment. I was following this, but I can’t remember if I was in Fort Huachuca, AZ or was at Fort Polk. I think I was still in AZ. I wasn’t avidly paying attention, but I didn’t, of course, want him to be acquitted. It was such a political circus at the time … I really wish we didn’t have to suffer that.
10. Election night 2000. I was at my brother’s house. The family and I stayed up and watched the pandemonium until about 1 a.m. or so.
11. When Kennedy was shot (for my more mature readers) Not yet a twinkle in my parents eye.
Oh, and BTW – the Miracle on Ice – seven years old, and I found out the next morning at school. Seemed like such a big deal that I instantly became a huge hockey fan, remaining so to this day.
1-At work, I heard that a plane had hit the Towers, and thought “Gee, that hasn’t happened since that B-25 hit the Empire State Building!”, then when the second hit as I was watching, I didn’t have Bingleys work number on me, so I emailed him to be sure he was OK.
2-Oddly, I don’t recall.
3-Sitting in class, watching it on TV. Pretty sad to watch.
4-Sitting in R&R Bar-b-que in Harrisburg, NC, eating a rare child-less lunch with the CAG.
5-Sitting in class again. Couldn’t believe it, and hoping they shot the scumbag who did it in tne knee caps.
6-In a car with Bingley and the parental untis, coming back from East Stroudsberg, PA, after a lunch of the bet fettucini alfredo that I have had, before or since.
7-Don’t recall.
8-Watching it on TV thinking “Ronnie showed ‘em this time!”
9-Eating pizza with a co-worker and thinking “He gonna get away with another…..”
10-Stayed up most of the night/morning watching it, but had the sinking feeling that it was not over when I did fall asleep.
11-Wasn’t even dreamed of yet….
Nightfly,
You poor misguided thing.
Hockey? Is that a sport?
To be strictly accurate it’s called “The Lord’s Own Hockey.” I don’t expect you to realize this, however, since you are stuck watching the Thrashers.
1. You found out about 9/11 – I was on the phone to Bingley. Ebola had turned the tube on, we’d seen the fire and I called to ask him “Jeez, what kind of moron runs into the Trade Center on a beautiful day?” “It’s like a ticket tape parade here” he said “Papers flying out the back side everywhere.” Ebola started screaming another plane had just hit the other tower while we were talking to the step-mother unit. Bullshit, I said. No way. Yeah way. Called Bingley and said “get the f*ck out.” “We’re leaving.” We were at the vet’s when the first tower came down and I STILL managed to get through to Bingster, but now they couldn’t leave, trapped by the debris cloud. I almost wrecked the car when the second one came down, but I STILL managed to get ahold of him. What a miracle. And then HE got ahold of me from the ferry, on his way home. Milagro grande.
2. The start of the FIRST Gulf War – sitting in the barracks at NS Norfolk, VA, watching the end of the ABCEvening News. They’d just about finished another wrap-up from Baghdad, when Peter Jennings said “Wait. Can we go back?” And the skies were alight with tracers and explosions. And major dad was somewhere out there in the Saudi Desert with his Super Stallions.
3. The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded – working mid-crew at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. I remembered “Oh, the space shuttle’s supposed to launch” and turned on the Maintenance Control radio, which was tuned to the Armed Forces Radio Network. There was a ton of chatter about Apollo 11, destruction and death and we all thought they were just emphasizing what a sh*tty, dangerous job it REALLY was. Then someone broke in “Repeating our top story” and we were stunned. Just stunned.
4. The Space Shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry – “Lazing about in my family room, early on that morning.” Ditto Bingster on this one.
5. Reagan was shot – sitting with major dad in my uncle’s house in Carlsbad, CA. We’d just come in from gadding about and turned on the telly to see Frank Reynolds instead of a sopa opera and thought “Uh oh…what’s up?”
6. John Lennon was shot – don’t remember WHERE, but do remember wondering why someone bothered.
7. The Pope was shot – nope. Don’t recollect.
8. Berlin Wall came down – escapes me.
9. President Clinton was acquitted of impeachment – snoring somewhere, I’m sure.
10. Election night 2000 – up until they’d declared it for W., about zero-dark-thirty Weds. morning.
11. When Kennedy was shot (for my more mature readers) – In first grade in the third floor attic classroom of my little elementary school, alone with my two other classmates. We heard one of the teachers shriek in the stairwell and then a torrent of sobs, whispers and furtive glances over the landing rails at us. We thought the owner’s daughter had died. Finally, one of the ladies came upstairs, sodden hanky at ready and told us what they had heard on the radio in the kitchen. And that we should all get our things, as they were sending us home.
Sure seems odd so many posters here are so anti-Beatle, they were, I believe this is still true, one third of the total sales of Columbia Reocrds. So SOMEBODY is buying a lot of media from their efforts still. Excuse the rant, I just get a little tired of folks who claim to NEVER have heard of the Beatles, NEVER watch TV, Never buy anything. Bullsh*t. Like ” Oh, I was walking across the library to fetch my copy of Proust in the orginal French to check on a quote for my thesis on the color of sunsets on an island of the coast of Sardinia and the meaning of it all in the context of world hunger, or some such crap, and I tripped over my collection of ancient tribal music sheet music landing on the ottoman and flipping the TV remote to “ON” and there was HEE HAW and I met Grandpa Jones and heard “Does the Spearmint lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight?” for the first time”, give me a break. Oh, and thatr crack – surly bastard? friend of John’s are we??
Wow, Adrian. What was THAT? How does not having your location at the moment of John Lennon’s death permanently etched in your grey matter ~ which pretty much seems an ongoing theme in the answers ~ constitute ‘anti-Beatle’? I can’t remember where I was when John Paul II was shot either, so am I anti-Catholic by extension? And are you equating individual Beatles to a person of such stature and importance in the world? Of course, John did once say they were bigger than Jesus Christ, which almost put paid to the Beatles just as they really got humming. (He always did have a big mouth.)