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I saw this in several people's journals and decided, rather belatedly, to go for it. I'm very surprised, however, at one date (possibly the most significant date in human history, IMO) which isn't on it: July 20, 1969. Just for the record, I was glued to my TV that night too. (And shame on you if you don't know what event I'm referring to.)
1. When John F. Kennedy was shot (11/22/1963)
Fourth grade. My teacher was also the principal, so she took the call from some parent and when she came back into our classroom, she was crying (which impressed the hell out of me - who knew a nun could cry?). We got out at our usual time (2:30 ET), and the minute I walked outside I knew it was very bad; not only was my mother there to pick me up, my father was there also. Two days later, my cousins and I sat in their living room and watched as Jack Ruby killed Oswald on live TV.
2. When Mt. St. Helens blew (5/18/1980)
In grad school getting a Ph.D. in Geochemistry and Mineralogy, so it was a pretty big deal for us. It had been building for a long time, and we had a betting pool on when it would finally go. No one won, and we ended up using the pretty big pot for a mid-summer party. It remains one of the best-documented eruptions in history, and looking at that series of photos can still make me tingle.
3. When the Challenger exploded (January 28, 1986)
Working for NJDEP. Kathy, Karl, and I had gone out to lunch at the Mill Hill Tavern and a couple of minutes after we came in, the bartender climbed up and changed the TV from ESPN to CBS. I looked up, saw Dan Rather's face, and immediately knew something was very wrong. About a minute later they ran the tape. You could have heard a pin drop in that place. For months after, people kept telling me how glad they were that my eyesight is so bad.
4. When the 7.1 earthquake hit San Francisco (10/7/1989)
Watching TV. I didn't have the game on because, well, the Yankees weren't in it. I don't remember what I was watching, but the network broke in with the news. I switched to CNN and spent the rest of the evening watching their coverage. "Live from San Francisco, it's an earthquake!" Only in America.
5. When the Berlin Wall fell (11/7/1989)
Watching it on TV (are you getting the pattern here?). Since I'm old enough to remember when it went up (and was constructed of sand bags and barbed wire), I was totally astounded when it came down. I never thought I'd live to see that.
6. When the Gulf War began (1/16/1991)
In an electronics store in Paramus Park Mall with Jenny Bryson. We were shopping for a new TV for her husband's birthday, when Tom Brokaw broke in with the news. I remember getting an awful, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Kind of like the one I have all the time these days.
7. When OJ Simpson was chased in his White Bronco (6/17/1994)
Doing something else, can't remember what. Really, who cared whether or not a washed-up ex-football playing murderer tied up the freeways? What do you expect from Californians?
8. When the building in Oklahoma City was bombed (4/19/1995)
Working as an environmental consultant. Our group secretary, who used to listen to the radio as she worked, heard it and came around telling the engineers. We all went in to the conference room and (surprise!) turned on the TV. I didn't get much work done that day, but I made up for it. I picked the sleaziest and most environmentally-irresponsible of my clients and billed them for almost my whole day. And at my billing rate, that was a pretty sizable chunk of change. :)
9. When Princess Di was killed (8/31/1997)
Trying to watch SNL, but mostly snoozing on the couch. I woke up at one point and saw Tom Brokaw looking rather shell-shocked. I'll admit I was too. I mean, I thought she was a ditz, but I never expected her to die violently. Or before me.
10. When Bush was first announced President (11/7/2000)
At work here at the university. The reactions provided an interesting dichotomy; the faculty were pretty uniformly horrified, and the secretaries were all delighted. I'd rather not think too hard about that.
11. When the 6.8 earthquake hit Nisqually, WA (2/28/2001)
Teaching. I didn't hear about it until I saw the news that evening, when I immediately logged on to the USGS web site to get all the info. Why yes, I am a science nerd, thankyouverymuch.
12. September 11, 2001
Again at work. I was in my office with a half dozen of my seniors discussing their thesis projects. One of the Biology professors stuck her head in and said "Look out your window." I did, and saw the smoke coming from the North Tower. We all had the same first reaction: what a terrible accident. I even asked her if it was one of the small planes that fly out of Teterboro. She said no one knew anything much yet and left. My students and I went back to our discussion. Five minutes or so later she came back in and said that a second plane had hit the South Tower and we all looked at each other. After a long moment, one of the guys articulated the one thought we all had - this was no accident. The rest of the day was ... never mind. I was lucky, only two people I knew personally died (a married couple in my apartment building who both worked for Cantor Fitzgerald and left behind two little girls), but the friends and relatives of friends and students really added up. Black was the big color in NJ that fall. And every once in a while I'm still surprised when I look out my office window and see that they aren't there.
1. When John F. Kennedy was shot (11/22/1963)
Fourth grade. My teacher was also the principal, so she took the call from some parent and when she came back into our classroom, she was crying (which impressed the hell out of me - who knew a nun could cry?). We got out at our usual time (2:30 ET), and the minute I walked outside I knew it was very bad; not only was my mother there to pick me up, my father was there also. Two days later, my cousins and I sat in their living room and watched as Jack Ruby killed Oswald on live TV.
2. When Mt. St. Helens blew (5/18/1980)
In grad school getting a Ph.D. in Geochemistry and Mineralogy, so it was a pretty big deal for us. It had been building for a long time, and we had a betting pool on when it would finally go. No one won, and we ended up using the pretty big pot for a mid-summer party. It remains one of the best-documented eruptions in history, and looking at that series of photos can still make me tingle.
3. When the Challenger exploded (January 28, 1986)
Working for NJDEP. Kathy, Karl, and I had gone out to lunch at the Mill Hill Tavern and a couple of minutes after we came in, the bartender climbed up and changed the TV from ESPN to CBS. I looked up, saw Dan Rather's face, and immediately knew something was very wrong. About a minute later they ran the tape. You could have heard a pin drop in that place. For months after, people kept telling me how glad they were that my eyesight is so bad.
4. When the 7.1 earthquake hit San Francisco (10/7/1989)
Watching TV. I didn't have the game on because, well, the Yankees weren't in it. I don't remember what I was watching, but the network broke in with the news. I switched to CNN and spent the rest of the evening watching their coverage. "Live from San Francisco, it's an earthquake!" Only in America.
5. When the Berlin Wall fell (11/7/1989)
Watching it on TV (are you getting the pattern here?). Since I'm old enough to remember when it went up (and was constructed of sand bags and barbed wire), I was totally astounded when it came down. I never thought I'd live to see that.
6. When the Gulf War began (1/16/1991)
In an electronics store in Paramus Park Mall with Jenny Bryson. We were shopping for a new TV for her husband's birthday, when Tom Brokaw broke in with the news. I remember getting an awful, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Kind of like the one I have all the time these days.
7. When OJ Simpson was chased in his White Bronco (6/17/1994)
Doing something else, can't remember what. Really, who cared whether or not a washed-up ex-football playing murderer tied up the freeways? What do you expect from Californians?
8. When the building in Oklahoma City was bombed (4/19/1995)
Working as an environmental consultant. Our group secretary, who used to listen to the radio as she worked, heard it and came around telling the engineers. We all went in to the conference room and (surprise!) turned on the TV. I didn't get much work done that day, but I made up for it. I picked the sleaziest and most environmentally-irresponsible of my clients and billed them for almost my whole day. And at my billing rate, that was a pretty sizable chunk of change. :)
9. When Princess Di was killed (8/31/1997)
Trying to watch SNL, but mostly snoozing on the couch. I woke up at one point and saw Tom Brokaw looking rather shell-shocked. I'll admit I was too. I mean, I thought she was a ditz, but I never expected her to die violently. Or before me.
10. When Bush was first announced President (11/7/2000)
At work here at the university. The reactions provided an interesting dichotomy; the faculty were pretty uniformly horrified, and the secretaries were all delighted. I'd rather not think too hard about that.
11. When the 6.8 earthquake hit Nisqually, WA (2/28/2001)
Teaching. I didn't hear about it until I saw the news that evening, when I immediately logged on to the USGS web site to get all the info. Why yes, I am a science nerd, thankyouverymuch.
12. September 11, 2001
Again at work. I was in my office with a half dozen of my seniors discussing their thesis projects. One of the Biology professors stuck her head in and said "Look out your window." I did, and saw the smoke coming from the North Tower. We all had the same first reaction: what a terrible accident. I even asked her if it was one of the small planes that fly out of Teterboro. She said no one knew anything much yet and left. My students and I went back to our discussion. Five minutes or so later she came back in and said that a second plane had hit the South Tower and we all looked at each other. After a long moment, one of the guys articulated the one thought we all had - this was no accident. The rest of the day was ... never mind. I was lucky, only two people I knew personally died (a married couple in my apartment building who both worked for Cantor Fitzgerald and left behind two little girls), but the friends and relatives of friends and students really added up. Black was the big color in NJ that fall. And every once in a while I'm still surprised when I look out my office window and see that they aren't there.
