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Where were you when...
1. When John F. Kennedy was shot (11/22/1963)
My parents were not yet married. I was negative four years old.
2. When Mt. St. Helens blew (5/18/1980)
I don't remember. Guessing from the date, I was in junior high school, in Massachusetts. I don't remember how I heard about this.
3. When the space shuttle Challenger exploded (1/28/1986)
I was a freshman at college. This one, at least, I know I heard about in a timely fashion, although my memory of actually being told is gone. I remember being surprised that folks were so much more gaga over McAuliffe than the rest of the dead, almost as if she alone hadn't been a grown-up, as if only she among them had been somehow unable to comprehend any risks. I think even at this stage of my life, I still didn't realize that a civilian woman who worked with children would be perceived exactly that way by quite a few people.
4. When the 7.1 earthquake hit San Francisco (10/7/1989)
Asleep, in my apartment in Paris, where I lived at the time. I heard about it from my coworkers when I got in to work in the morning.
6. When the Gulf War began (1/16/1991)
Officer Basic School, Fort Gordon, Georgia. Of course, it really started a lot earlier than that. I was in Denmark then. I picked up a paper and had zero trouble deciphering the bold headline in Danish. I thought of my Army commission and figured I had better get home.
7. When OJ Simpson was chased in his White Bronco (6/17/1994)
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I ignored this as much as possible, which meant I got a blow by blow every day from the people around me.
8. When the building in Oklahoma City was bombed (4/19/1995)
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I don't remember how I heard.
9. When Princess Di was killed (8/31/1997)
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I don't remember how I heard.
10. When Bush was first announced President (11/7/2000)
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I don't remember how I heard. Boy did my coworkers boil over with discussion, though.
11. When the 6.8 earthquake hit Nisqually, WA (2/28/2001)
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I don't remember how I heard.
12. When terrorists knocked over the World Trade Center (9/11/2001)
On Vancouver Island, British Columbia. I saw a news program in a diner where I was about to get breakfast. My first thought, before I realized it was the news, was "what a stupid movie".
How about when the Berlin Wall fell? I'm surprised that's not included. I was in the south of France, and happened to hear about it on the radio. I did a double-take, not sure I had translated correctly. I had.
1. When John F. Kennedy was shot (11/22/1963)
My parents were not yet married. I was negative four years old.
2. When Mt. St. Helens blew (5/18/1980)
I don't remember. Guessing from the date, I was in junior high school, in Massachusetts. I don't remember how I heard about this.
3. When the space shuttle Challenger exploded (1/28/1986)
I was a freshman at college. This one, at least, I know I heard about in a timely fashion, although my memory of actually being told is gone. I remember being surprised that folks were so much more gaga over McAuliffe than the rest of the dead, almost as if she alone hadn't been a grown-up, as if only she among them had been somehow unable to comprehend any risks. I think even at this stage of my life, I still didn't realize that a civilian woman who worked with children would be perceived exactly that way by quite a few people.
4. When the 7.1 earthquake hit San Francisco (10/7/1989)
Asleep, in my apartment in Paris, where I lived at the time. I heard about it from my coworkers when I got in to work in the morning.
6. When the Gulf War began (1/16/1991)
Officer Basic School, Fort Gordon, Georgia. Of course, it really started a lot earlier than that. I was in Denmark then. I picked up a paper and had zero trouble deciphering the bold headline in Danish. I thought of my Army commission and figured I had better get home.
7. When OJ Simpson was chased in his White Bronco (6/17/1994)
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I ignored this as much as possible, which meant I got a blow by blow every day from the people around me.
8. When the building in Oklahoma City was bombed (4/19/1995)
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I don't remember how I heard.
9. When Princess Di was killed (8/31/1997)
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I don't remember how I heard.
10. When Bush was first announced President (11/7/2000)
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I don't remember how I heard. Boy did my coworkers boil over with discussion, though.
11. When the 6.8 earthquake hit Nisqually, WA (2/28/2001)
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I don't remember how I heard.
12. When terrorists knocked over the World Trade Center (9/11/2001)
On Vancouver Island, British Columbia. I saw a news program in a diner where I was about to get breakfast. My first thought, before I realized it was the news, was "what a stupid movie".
How about when the Berlin Wall fell? I'm surprised that's not included. I was in the south of France, and happened to hear about it on the radio. I did a double-take, not sure I had translated correctly. I had.
