Historical moments you've lived, the ones you really remember about

[miss soul fire]

I remember back in 84 when I was about 5 or 6 the protests against indirect elections, “DIRECT ELECTIONS NOW!” Right before the President called Sarney, which later (about 3 years ago) used to send a lot of documents for us to translate at the Translation department where I used to be an intern.

In 1992, at 14, I went to the streets along with other zillion young students to put the current president (Fernando Collor, the youngest and not so ugly looking one) for “heavy” corruption, of course (no details, long story). And then the “impeachment” happened, not because of our silly painted faces though. Hihihi.

In 1993, there was a referendum to choose between the type and form of government, Republic x Monarchy and Presidentialism x Parlamentarism. I remember we used to have lots of discussions about it at the scout group I was in. Not that I really knew what the hell I was talking about!

Same year, a terrible thing happened, series of murders called “Candelária’s Massacre” when military and civil policemen (who ere part of a extermination groups) shot about 70 homeless kids (8 died) who used to sleep at this famous/historical church here called Candelária. Murders like that still happen. I remember how much the press covered that tragedy.

The current government rulers. Man…no comments. Sad.

To name a few.

[enree erzweglle]

I remember walking in on my brother while the Three Mile Island coverage was airing. As soon as I walked into the room, I could tell that something bad was happening by his posture and the way he was looking at the TV. We watched the coverage together for a long time without talking.

[Nuzzolese]

I remember late at night when the news broadcasted Princess Diana's death. I suppose it's not that big a deal anymore, and it's not like I was there, I just watched it on TV, but it was so sad and horrifying when they explained about the speeding cars and the photographers. I felt the significance of it during the moment.

And then the twin towers being destroyed when the planes crashed into them in New York. I was in school and walking to my counselor's office, in a pretty good mood. When someone told me I didn't realize how bad it was, or what happened at all, until the news showed the crashes over and over and over and over again and everyone agreed it was like something out of a movie. I wasn't personally scared for anyone I knew, I just felt small and confused.

[Freebasser]

When the White House went up in a ball of flames on Independence Day.

:(

[abcdefz]

Twin Towers, yup.

I also remember distinctly when it was announced that John Lennon had been shot.

OJ Simpson verdict, and how quiet our multi-racial office floor got, and how clearly disspirited everyone became. I think that verdict did for our court system what Watergate did for our trust in the national offices.

The whole phenomenon after Star Wars opened. You folks who weren't there really can't imagine how huge it was.

...and the introduction of VCRs, microwaves, and the Internet to our lives. Yeah, it was more gradual, but those things have been huge.

I remember seeing my first compact discs in Chicago when I was in high school. I think there were five selections at Rose Records in Chicago -- Billy Joel's The Stranger, a copy of The Nutcracker on CBS, Michael Jackson's Off the Wall... a couple others. Might've been an Al Di Molia Cd or something. About $30 a pop, manufactured in Japan. Those things'll never catch on at that price, was what I thought.

[monkey]

my brother was really really scared of pinochet, and he'd cry everytime his face would come on tv. i remember thinking he was bad, but not why. then i clearly remember the plebiscite, and seeing "yes" and "no" graffiti. Mostly the big "NO"s all over the street. I knew it had something to do with pinochet, and i would ask random people yes or no, just to be nosy, and since i was little, people would laugh at me and say "who you vote for is a very private thing, honey"
i honestly think a lot of the people who voted no might have thought they would be persecuted, that's why secrecy was taken so importantly. Same when the vote for president happened.

then.. umm... i was in toronto when the blue jays won the world series. :p

and i was downtown on 9/11 :(

[beastieangel01]

I remember the 1992 riots in LA.

the OJ Simpson verdict.

9/11.

[ms.peachy]

Quite a few, when I stop and think about it. Some more directly than others for sure, but all of them must have given me some kind of pause for me to remember them in the circumstances of the time so clearly. In no particular order:

death of Elvis
death of John Lennon
July 4 1976 (bicentennial celebrations)
Challenger disaster (and the more recent Dicovery)
fall of the Berlin Wall
Start of the first Gulf War
9/11, 7/7
Reagan assassination attempt
Hijacking of the Achille Lauro & death of Leon Klinghoffer
hostages taken/released in Iran
US hockey team victory over USSR in 1980 winter olympics
Mt. St. Helens eruption
Hurricane Andrew
Columbine shootings
the man facing the tank in Tiananmen Square

the more I think on it, the more I think of....

[Freebasser]

I saw some Eastern European president or chancellor or something get assassinated live on TV when I was about 14 or so.

I can't for the life of me remember who it was.

[TurdBerglar]

i remember walking through one of the lobbies at school and seing a plane smashing into a building. i was all like COOOOOOOOOL at first :(

[enree erzweglle]

John Lennon, yeah. I was walking through a museum when people walking by told me. That was a wrapped-in-gauze feeling.

I heard the WTC news via a local radio broadcaster who said that a small commuter plane hit one of the towers. When I got back to my place and saw that my sister and dad had called a dozen or so times, I knew that something bad had happened. I turned on the TV and by then, it was obvious that it wasn't a commuter plane. When I heard about the plane flying over Pennsylvania that they couldn't locate, I dropped what I had in hand and ran to get my kid.

[abcdefz]

I remember when the Beastie Board was sort of black and stuff and then it went away for a while and then it came back and it was like a powder blue butterfly emerging from Chrysalis Records all historical and stuff, yeah.

[abcdefz]

...I heard about the WTC on an Aint It Cool talkback. I was reading along and somebody said that a plane had flown into the tower and I thought, "That's a pretty sick joke," and then other people started chiming in and then posts started saying a second plane had hit and at that point I think was when I jumped over to CNN.com and saw it was the real thing. They had video up that I kept replaying.

Then I ran across the street and downstairs to tell the preschool teachers what was happening, and they had a TV set turned on facing one of the walls so the kids couldn't see, but a couple of children did come over and started asking questions and we stood there trying to explain that people did bad things, and this was very bad...

[kll]

9/11/01 - my wedding anniversary and i was in austria in a ski shop when i first heard anything of it...



jfk jr.'s plane missing - i remember standing in the living room of my truckee, ca house and watching the updates



princess di's death - sitting in my studio apartment in alpine meadows, ca and catching the breaking news on tv



1989 S.F. Earthquake - sitting in my family room in palos verdes, ca - waiting for the world series to start and hearing the news, then glued to the tv for the footage

[kll]

John Lennon, yeah. I was walking through a museum when people walking by told me. That was a wrapped-in-gauze feeling.

I heard the WTC news via a local radio broadcaster who said that a small commuter plane hit one of the towers. When I got back to my place and saw that my sister and dad had called a dozen or so times, I knew that something bad had happened. I turned on the TV and by then, it was obvious that it wasn't a commuter plane. When I heard about the plane flying over Pennsylvania that they couldn't locate, I dropped what I had in hand and ran to get my kid.

John Lennon's death is the first article I ever recall reading in the L.A. Times... sitting at the kitchen table in the morning, feeling very grown up for reading the newspaper...

[mickill]

I woke up on the morning of 9/11 and turned on the news. They were showing the first tower; the fire didn't look that incredibly out of control at that point. And they weren't sure what kind of plane had hit it at the time. The newscasters thought that a relatively small plane had probably lost control and somehow hit the tower. As they were talking, the second plane flew into the frame and I distinctly remember the reporters sort of screaming. And I also remember thinking nothing more than, what are the chances of THAT happening? After about a minute, they started talking about the possibility of "foul play".

I stayed home from work that day. When they switched over to the Pentagon coverage, I recall thinking how crazy it was that the US was seriously under attack. I was shocked. I didn't eat a thing for half the day. At one point, I was trying to convince my wife (girlfriend at the time) that there was no way that the towers would collapse. 5 minutes later, the first tower fell. It was surreal.

[ScarySquirrel]

This thread is going to turn into a lot of people just talking about the WTC. Yeah, if I took the time to type it all out mine wouldn't really be all that different.

[JBernas]

Challenger disaster I was home sick from school that day
fall of the Berlin WallIn high school German class, no less
Start of the first Gulf War
9/11, 7/7
Reagan assassination attempt
hostages taken/released in IranIn 1st Grade-we wrote letters
Mt. St. Helens eruption
Hurricane AndrewHad friends in Miami at the time
Columbine shootingsDriving home from my job in child protective services


I saw Haley's comet out my grandmother's window when I was 12

[mickill]

I remember all the ash from Mt. St. Helens. We lived about 2 hours away, but you could kinda see it, and feel it when it finally did erupt.

I was 3 when Elvis died. I don't think anyone told me. I recall being upset by that news when I was 4.

[marsdaddy]

My earliest "historical moment" memory is of Nixon resigning. My mom and her friends had a party and watched it on TV together.

I actually have a hazy memory of the moonwalk, but I was barely 18 months, so I wonder if that's "enhanced" by later memories.

With John Lennon, I was watching Monday Night Football, and Howard Cosell blurted it out, as it was crossing the AP wire. I ran in and told my mom and she freaked out.

The '89 quake, I was AT the world series game.

[JBernas]

I actually have a hazy memory of the moonwalk, but I was barely 18 months, so I wonder if that's "enhanced" by later memories.



I always wonder this too.....I have memories of going to Disney World when I was about the same age, but I wonder if my mind created them from the stories I have heard from my parents and brother?

[wavin_goodbye]

hmmm


95 Quebec referendum (i was 8 and a federalist.. how things change :p )
97 princess di
98 ice storm
2001 9/11

[adam_f]

Hangin' With Mr. Cooper getting interrupted for the news of Princess Diana's death.

3rd period history when we were told about the twin towers.

The episode of Fresh Prince where Will gets shot.

O.J. being let off the hook.

96 Olympic bombings

[miss soul fire]

thanks MSF for making the happiest thread ever :mad:
So, are we supposed to talk only about amazing things?

Plus, I didn't ask for tragedy although it's what we remember the most.

Also, WTC was a tragedy, but don't forget about poverty (as people who die from starvation) that is quite usual in many countries and we refuse to report that as much as all the other tragical moments. C'mon.

It's not JUST about WTC, but since most people from the board are Americans they have seen that from close, so you can't avoid to post that, obviously. I know it.

Blighty, where are youuuuu? :mad: :p

[Documad]

I remember lots of big sports events -- probably because of my dad and brothers. I remember the Ali v. Foreman fight; Olga Corbet and her pony tails; Nadia and her 10s. And lots of Vikings games.

My most vivid early memory is of the terrorists who took the Israeli athletes hostage at the 1972 Munich Olympics. I was glued to the TV and for some reason my parents didn't stop me. Also the US finally pulling out of Vietnam and all the people on TV asking families to take a Vietnamese child (I couldn't understand why my Asian friends' families didn't want one).


When it comes to news events, I remember the funny aftermath (especially if inappropriate) more than the event.

Bicentennial: I remember the little stories on TV but I have a VIVID memory of my grade school class singing Philadelphia Freedom by Elton John. Also, I remember that many disaster movies had a Bicentennial theme around that time.

Three Mile Island: The priceless SNL sketch and my dad laughing harder than he had ever laughed.

Lennon's murder: Elton John made the worst music video ever in salute.

Reagan assassination: SNL did the flawless Buckwheat parody.

Challenger: I remember there were lots of jokes at college and my uptight friend kept telling them.

[zippo]

awesome thread robi (y), actually, if there was more cultural diversity in this board it would have been just a bit better, but its good enough

anyways, ive always complained and put down having to have been a diplomat to my parents since i could speak, cuz of the whole starting over repeatedly deal cuz of the moving, and just feeling generally different for many different reasons. and the subject in this thread is one of the things that makes me slightly not resent all those past years of starting over again, meaning i guess b/w me and my family,weve got alot of stories to tell, and i shuoldnt take that for granted, otherwise, fuck diplomacy.

anyways, the two biggest ones for me i believe would be living in argentina during the month thousands of people marched through buenos aires to throw out president De La Rua and did so due to his bad economic decisions. very hectic.
second one would be the terrorist attack/hostage situation by mrta to the japanese embassy; dad almost one of the hostages, friends dads involved, couple of blocks from my house, etc etc etc. nothing compares to that id say. seeing the president hang from the bus that was driving across the city cheering with everyone in the streets cuz his soldiers had just managed to kill all the terrorists and save the hostages, never get that out of my head.

etc.

[Tzar]

9/11.
the whole invasion of iraq.
hussain getting found.
ummm yeah, i was too young to think otherwise.

[icy manipulator]

Quite a few, when I stop and think about it. Some more directly than others for sure, but all of them must have given me some kind of pause for me to remember them in the circumstances of the time so clearly. In no particular order:

death of Elvis
death of John Lennon
July 4 1976 (bicentennial celebrations)
Challenger disaster (and the more recent Dicovery)
fall of the Berlin Wall
Start of the first Gulf War
9/11, 7/7
Reagan assassination attempt
Hijacking of the Achille Lauro & death of Leon Klinghoffer
hostages taken/released in Iran
US hockey team victory over USSR in 1980 winter olympics
Mt. St. Helens eruption
Hurricane Andrew
Columbine shootings
the man facing the tank in Tiananmen Square

the more I think on it, the more I think of....

you're old :p :p

[jabumbo]

i just remember on 9/11, i was sitting in english class watching the news, and the principal came on the intercom and told everyone to get back to doing your classwork. and it was like, i know your trying to keep this place straight, but its not gonna happen today

[icy manipulator]

ayrton senna's death

[Djave_mc87]

I remember since i used to live in Island, in keflavik when Ronald Reagan camed to pay a visit that was really cool i even have a news paper talking about it...

[DroppinScience]

I'll spare you the 9/11 talk (yes, we were all shocked. Yes, we were all horrified... nothing more can be said).

But when I was around 9 and 10, BIG big memories (at least within sports history) were when the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992. Same with the Chicago Bulls winning the NBA Championships. They were my favorite hockey and basketball teams, respectively, and I was a HUGE fan of Mario Lemieux and Michael Jordan. So I felt on top of the world when they kicked ass at the playoffs! :)

But man, was I ever saddened when Michael Jordan announced his retirement after his father's murder. :(

And then when Mario Lemieux announced he had Hodgkin's Disease. :(

[enree erzweglle]

But when I was around 9 and 10, BIG big memories (at least within sports history) were when the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992.

Oh but that was good. I went to the airport to bring them home. Got stuck in huge traffic and wound up parking right in the middle of the 376 and then walking the rest of the way there. The first time NHL hockey was ever played in Pittsburgh in June.

[enree erzweglle]

when Mister Rogers died :(

His studio was right next to my son's high school. You could see him going in/out of the parking lot often. He drove an everyday old Toyota.

My kid said that whenever boys from the high school saw him, they waved--big crowds of burly teenaged kids would be all like HEY MISTER ROGERS and he always smiled and waved back. They didn't mean it in a nasty way.

I asked my kid if it embarrassed him to call out to Mister Rogers in front of his friends and he said no and he looked at me with a "why would it?" look on his face. I hope I never forget that.