Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Crash of flight 191 at OHare. I was working downtown and you could see the smoke. I lived within five miles of the crash site. Roads closed, nonstop media coverage. In fact a friend of mine lived a few hundred feet away. I think he couldn't get home for a day.
The hallmark "Where were you when Kennedy died" question that I suppose defines the Boomer generation has given way to the "Where were you and what were you doing when 9/11 happened". I'm not aware of any others.
Well, this boomer is old enough to remember where I was and what I was doing when Kennedy was killed- a junior in high school, in Spanish class when our principal came into the classroom and announced that Kennedy had been shot.
Another event I will always remember is where I was and what I was doing when the space shuttle Challenger exploded, and of course when the events of 911 occured.
Michael Jackson meant nothing to me, other than knowing he was a popular performer. I remember that his death was announced, but I don't remember what I was doing, and I'd have to look up the date of his death to remember when it was.
I am from NY and was visited a friend in California when John Lennon was shot. I made some stupid insensitive joke about NYC being dangerous when I heard about it on the radio not realizing at the time it was a fatal wound. I had never been a big Lennon fan but it bothers me that I made such a stupid comment.
A few that I can think of offhand, not sure if they count as "good", but it's what I remember....
- Challenger explosion: I was in second grade, our teacher had just taken us to use the bathrooms after recess, and as everyone was lining up, one of our custodians walked up and asked the teacher if she'd heard about the Challenger.
- O.J. Simpson trial: I was a senior in high school, was in second-hour study hall, and remember watching it on the TV.
I was headed for the airport to catch a plane to New Orleans on the morning of 9/11. I still have the hard copy of the airline ticket with that date on it. Needless to say, I didn't catch that plane.
My mom and dad landed in London the day that Princess Diana died. They were met at the gate by some sort of official person who made the announcement.
I was home sick with the flu when the space shuttle exploded over northeast Texas. The "boom" woke me up. Debris rained down all over this area. A piece of debris went through my shed roof. The bodies of the astronauts were found just a few miles down the road from where I live.
I was folding clothes in the middle of my living room floor when the Challenger exploded - I remember watching the surreal television images and thinking, "I know I didn't just see that, did I?"
When the Berlin Wall went down in Germany, we hadn't moved to Germany yet but we already had orders to move there in January, so I remember watching the celebrations on TV in October or November and thinking, "Wow, we'll just be able to drive into and around Berlin with no issues at all." Which was true. It was exciting~!
I was a teenager when Elvis died. It was in the summer and we were having some sort of family reunion in Baton Rouge, LA. My cousins and I were out driving around doing things like buying cigarettes and feeling wicked, and when we came back to the house we were all laughing and cutting up and we walked into a house that was dark and still. For some reason, the adults had drawn the window shades and everyone was sitting quietly in the dark. We were all surprised and said, "Hey, what's going on here?" and my aunt said very solemnly "Elvis Presley just died." I have to admit that all us teenagers were completely mystified by their reaction. We walked out and I remember us standing around in the driveway saying, "So what? Does this mean no one is going to cook dinner?"
Last edited by KathrynAragon; 03-09-2016 at 08:46 AM..
I was headed for the airport to catch a plane to New Orleans on the morning of 9/11. I still have the hard copy of the airline ticket with that date on it. Needless to say, I didn't catch that plane.
My mom and dad landed in London the day that Princess Diana died. They were met at the gate by some sort of official person who made the announcement.
I was home sick with the flu when the space shuttle exploded over northeast Texas. The "boom" woke me up. Debris rained down all over this area. A piece of debris went through my shed roof. The bodies of the astronauts were found just a few miles down the road from where I live.
I was folding clothes in the middle of my living room floor when the Challenger exploded - I remember watching the surreal television images and thinking, "I know I didn't just see that, did I?"
When the Berlin Wall went down in Germany, we hadn't moved to Germany yet but we already had orders to move there in January, so I remember watching the celebrations on TV in October or November and thinking, "Wow, we'll just be able to drive into and around Berlin with no issues at all." Which was true. It was exciting~!
I was a teenager when Elvis died. It was in the summer and we were having some sort of family reunion in Baton Rouge, LA. My cousins and I were out driving around doing things like buying cigarettes and feeling wicked, and when we came back to the house we were all laughing and cutting up and we walked into a house that was dark and still. For some reason, the adults had drawn the window shades and everyone was sitting quietly in the dark. We were all surprised and said, "Hey, what's going on here?" and my aunt said very solemnly "Elvis Presley just died." I have to admit that all us teenagers were completely mystified by their reaction. We walked out and I remember us standing around in the driveway saying, "So what? Does this mean no one is going to cook dinner?"
LOL. I must say, that's the typical teenage response. LOL
I imagine teens today would think that way about Michael Jackson's passing. His passing didn't bother me that much. Whitney Houston's death devastated me.
I grew up listening to her music - it was the soundtrack to my life.
"Greatest Love of All' was my kindergarten graduation song.
We were about 16-17 and my brother and I and some friends drove down to DC for a "anti-war" demonstration (vietnam)....we probably did so for the music and something to do more than knowing our politics.
So, we arrived late at night and found a parking space in the circle near the Lincoln Monument. We walked up the monument that night and then back to the car to sleep a few hours.
Later - when seeing "Nixon" and reading history I figured that was probably the night where Nixon couldn't sleep and looked out at the gathering crowds and asked himself what he was doing wrong. He then visited the monument in the middle of the night and talked to some of the "hippies" present. There are now even pictures of the meeting. It was largely unheard about until the movie and recent deeper history. Richard Nixon met in secret with Vietnam War protesters, feared for his life | HULIQ
The day that Japan bombed pearl harbor, I was at a friends house for breakfast. His extended family owned a big greenhouse operation, and they all worked in it. They were all making a good income. There were over 20 people including children there for their weekly Sunday morning breakfast. When it came on the radio, everyone sat there shocked. I was just 9 years old and will never forget it.
You never saw such angry people, at those damn Japs as they called them. Five single young men, made a pact to go down and enlist the next morning to get into army to fight those damn Japs (as they called them). They did, and not one of them were allowed to enlist. Some of the most loyal Americans I have ever known, and their families had been in the U.S. longer than a big share of the people in that area of the country Oakland California.
Not long after that, they came with a bus and loaded all t hose families into it and took them to concentration camps. I never saw any of them again. Yes, they were Japanese Americans. Not allowing them to enlist to fight the enemy, and taking these loyal Americans and holding them in concentration camps is one of the biggest injustices I have ever witnessed.
My big question I have always wondered about, was if they locked up all those Japanese/Americans, why not also round up and hold in concentration camps Italian/Americans and German/Americans also.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
