"Where where you when..." quiz
Jan. 12th, 2003 11:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yesthattomWhere were you when:
1. When John F. Kennedy was shot (11/22/1963)
Not born yet.
2. When Mt. St. Helens blew (5/18/1980)
Too young to understand the ramifications, and too far (east coast) to have the new coverage it deserved. I do remember it was Freshman or Sophomore year of HS. My entire family went to the secret place that my brother would go to watch the sunset. It was an amazing set of colors because of the ash in the air towards the west. Later that spot became my private place to watch the sunset.
3. When the space shuttle Challenger exploded (1/28/1986)
In highschool, walking down the hall on the way to algebra class. Bob (this nerdy kid in my class) came up to me and say, "Tom! Did you hear? The shuttle blew up!" I gave him a serious look and say, "That's a terrible thing to joke about! You shouldn't joke like that!" and kept walking. 2 minutes later I was in Mrs. Murphy's math class and everyone was talking about it. It was true. I still, to this day, couldn't believe it.
This was the first shuttle launch that happened when I was in school. All the other launches I had faked being sick (or was actually sick) so that I could sit at home and watch it on TV. For some time I worried that by going to school that day, I had caused the explosion. I don't recall if I've ever told anyone this.
4. When the 7.1 earthquake hit San Francisco (10/7/1989)
In college in New Jersey. Didn't think much of it. Wasn't aware of much outside of my little world at that point.
5. When the Berlin Wall fell (11/7/1989)
In college. We were really happy. I watched it from the Woman's Studies House TV room. Oddly enough, it was the event that made me realize that I had always purposely kept myself ignorant of everything European/Russian/NATO because I had been turned off by events that happened in 5th grade. Though, for the little that I knew about the cold war, I think it's amazing that now we realize that we (the citizens) weren't allowed to know nearly anything compared to what we thought we know, or what we were told we knew.
6. When the Gulf War began (1/16/1991)
On college campus during winter break. I was trying to gather people to go to an anti-war protest in Morristown, NJ but nobody wanted to go. I was shocked to realize that "that group of friends" weren't as political as the other group of friends that I hung out with, who all happened to be home for break. Oddly enough, I never made it to the protest. I remember my friends say, "We don't want to go to the protest, we want to watch TV and see what happens." That statement is turned out to be true for the entire country, and is mostly why the government was able to hoodwink the people into thinking it was a good thing to be killing people.
7. When OJ Simpson was chased in his White Bronco (6/17/1994)
I didn't hear about it until a couple days later. I was purposefully avoiding anything that mentioned O.J., turning off the radio or TV, no longer reading the newspaper. Days after it had happened I realized what a watershed event I had missed. I have no regrets missing it.
8. When the building in Oklahoma City was bombed (4/19/1995)
Most likely at work.
9. When Princess Di was killed (8/31/1997)
Sitting in front of my computer. My first thought was, "Oh shit! Shaun (a co-worker) is going to be really depressed when he finds out."
10. When Bush was first announced President (11/7/2000)
At work. Watching the proceedings in the TV area.
11. When the 6.8 earthquake hit Nisqually, WA (2/28/2001)
No recollection.
12. When terrorists knocked over the World Trade Center (9/11/2001)
From a speech I wrote:
1. When John F. Kennedy was shot (11/22/1963)
Not born yet.
2. When Mt. St. Helens blew (5/18/1980)
Too young to understand the ramifications, and too far (east coast) to have the new coverage it deserved. I do remember it was Freshman or Sophomore year of HS. My entire family went to the secret place that my brother would go to watch the sunset. It was an amazing set of colors because of the ash in the air towards the west. Later that spot became my private place to watch the sunset.
3. When the space shuttle Challenger exploded (1/28/1986)
In highschool, walking down the hall on the way to algebra class. Bob (this nerdy kid in my class) came up to me and say, "Tom! Did you hear? The shuttle blew up!" I gave him a serious look and say, "That's a terrible thing to joke about! You shouldn't joke like that!" and kept walking. 2 minutes later I was in Mrs. Murphy's math class and everyone was talking about it. It was true. I still, to this day, couldn't believe it.
This was the first shuttle launch that happened when I was in school. All the other launches I had faked being sick (or was actually sick) so that I could sit at home and watch it on TV. For some time I worried that by going to school that day, I had caused the explosion. I don't recall if I've ever told anyone this.
4. When the 7.1 earthquake hit San Francisco (10/7/1989)
In college in New Jersey. Didn't think much of it. Wasn't aware of much outside of my little world at that point.
5. When the Berlin Wall fell (11/7/1989)
In college. We were really happy. I watched it from the Woman's Studies House TV room. Oddly enough, it was the event that made me realize that I had always purposely kept myself ignorant of everything European/Russian/NATO because I had been turned off by events that happened in 5th grade. Though, for the little that I knew about the cold war, I think it's amazing that now we realize that we (the citizens) weren't allowed to know nearly anything compared to what we thought we know, or what we were told we knew.
6. When the Gulf War began (1/16/1991)
On college campus during winter break. I was trying to gather people to go to an anti-war protest in Morristown, NJ but nobody wanted to go. I was shocked to realize that "that group of friends" weren't as political as the other group of friends that I hung out with, who all happened to be home for break. Oddly enough, I never made it to the protest. I remember my friends say, "We don't want to go to the protest, we want to watch TV and see what happens." That statement is turned out to be true for the entire country, and is mostly why the government was able to hoodwink the people into thinking it was a good thing to be killing people.
7. When OJ Simpson was chased in his White Bronco (6/17/1994)
I didn't hear about it until a couple days later. I was purposefully avoiding anything that mentioned O.J., turning off the radio or TV, no longer reading the newspaper. Days after it had happened I realized what a watershed event I had missed. I have no regrets missing it.
8. When the building in Oklahoma City was bombed (4/19/1995)
Most likely at work.
9. When Princess Di was killed (8/31/1997)
Sitting in front of my computer. My first thought was, "Oh shit! Shaun (a co-worker) is going to be really depressed when he finds out."
10. When Bush was first announced President (11/7/2000)
At work. Watching the proceedings in the TV area.
11. When the 6.8 earthquake hit Nisqually, WA (2/28/2001)
No recollection.
12. When terrorists knocked over the World Trade Center (9/11/2001)
From a speech I wrote:
History is marked with events significant enough to ask, "Do you remember where were you when...?" My parents remember where they were when JFK and later when Martin Luther King Jr were shot and killed. I remember where when I learned that Reagan had been shot, and when the space shuttle Challenger exploded.
And now history has a new question: Do you remember where you were when terrorists attacked NY and Washington?
And now history has a new answer! For the first time the answer to such a question is the same for millions of people. The answer, of course, is that they were sitting at their web browser clicking RELOAD again and again.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Two things
Date: 2003-01-13 09:05 pm (UTC)2) I think the Berlin Wall fell November 9th, 1989. I remember because I was at a Jethro Tull concert at the Meadowlands, and Ian Anderson said to everyone, "Hey, the Berlin Wall just came down." It was surreal.
Funny thing, all these natural disasters...
Date: 2003-01-14 09:05 pm (UTC)I also remember vividly the Challenger accident, and feeling bitter toward NASA, but I was 20 at the time, and went through some big changes after that.
I was in Santa Cruz when the Loma Prieta earthquake happened. A friend died and we had a rough time dealing with recovering her body, and the media, and even George Bush senior.
The weird thing is I have also experienced large fires & floods, a tornado, and if you count friends dying of AIDS, then plague as well. I'm not sure I really want to experience any of the others, but it does sit there in the back of my mind.
Most of the others have just kinda paled in comparison. I remember watching a lot of CNN at work while the Gulf War was going on, it was kinda mesmerising. And I was awakened by Dawn's sister to to go watch the second collision on the WTC. But the others have left little real impact on me. It may also be due to sleep apnea problems I was dealing with at the time.