Big moments you remember where you were

[lawrocket 3]

People talk about remembering where they were when Kenndy was shot. Given the events in Fresno yesterday, I think back to events where I remember where I was and what I was doing:

1) 9/11 - my mother woke me up and said, "We're under attack. The U.S. is being attacked."

2) CHallenger explosion - second period, junior high school, band practice. Mr. Shelton walked out with a radio, put it on a seat, turned it up, and we sat and listened.

3) Reagan shot - I walked home from school, the television was on, and I just watched in awe of it. It was a misty day in SoCal.

4) Columbine - in my car back from law school class at an Arco. I'd finished putting in gasoline, and turned on the car, took out the CD and got the news.

5) Columbia disaster - Up early to go skydive, turn on television, and there it was. I left an hour late. Got a call from a friend asking about weather in Elsinore and told her I was late because I was watching televisions. She laughed and say, "Watching tv? Why?" I told her, "The space shuttle disintegrated." Still jumped that day.

6) Last night on the way home from work, turned on KFI and caught 7:20 news. "Mass murder up north. 7 dead in Fresno." WOW!

Any memories from the rest of you?

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[MyOwnWay 0]

9/11 - i was getting ready to leave for class (as a senior in high school). i was eating breakfast on the couch when i flipped through every tv station and nothing but the news was on, so i started wondering what the f*ck was going on. then i saw the footage. i woke my dad up and told him the twin towers were under attack and that two air planes crashed into them. he sprang from his bed saying "WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!" That entire day at school, we sat in the library and watched the news. . . it was depressing seeing so many ppl crying and hugging.. . .

_________________________________________
all good things are wild and free - Henry David Thoreau

[nael 0]

9/11 - I was about to go to bed (I live in australia and it was about 11pm here) and a news flash came on saying that a plane had hit one of the towers. I thought it was an accident, but my mum spends a bit of time in america and NYC so I went to wake her up, straight away she thought it was a terrorist attack. By the time I got back to the tv the second plane had just hit. We stayed up til 4am watching it, the next day at work we had the tv on all day watching it. Sorry to anyone who lost someone special.

On a side note - I havent heard about what happened in fresno. I have a friend that lives there. What happened exactly??
Edit - Just looked it up. Sad stuff.

www.TerminalSports.com.auAustralia's largest skydive gear store

[Muenkel 0]

1) 9/11 - I was pulling out of my driveway to go to work. My dad came out and told me a plane hit the WTC. I just thought it was some small plane that made a mistake. When I arrived at work, I noticed everyone huddled around the TV in the bar. As I walked in a co-worker told me that a 2nd plane hit the other tower. It still didn't sink in. Then I saw the footage and the reality was hitting me. Then I remembered that 2 of my relatives worked in the top floors of the North Tower.

2. Reagan shot. I was sitting in my car at school listening to the radio. I was completely stunned.

3. Pope shot. Was in class. Didn't find out until class was over. Everyone was talking about it and was stunned since it was just weeks after Reagan was shot. I thought of 1968, even though I was too young to know what was going on in 1968.

4. Challenger explosion. Was about to leave for school and the TV was on. I decided I wanted to watch the launch. When the explosion happened, It just didn't seem real.

5. Columbine. Was home from work sick and watching TV. The reality of this horror took a long time to sink in.

6. Princess Diana's accident. It was late at night and CNN was on the TV, but I had it mute at the time. I noticed the wreck on the screen and knew it was someone famous. Turned on the volume to learn she was in grave condition. About 15 minutes later, they announced her death.

7. Columbia disaster. Was sound asleep. Received a phone call from my mom that it blew up. Immediately, I thought to myself....not again.

Chris

_________________________________________
Chris

[lawrocket 3]

Fresno yesterday. A 57 year old man killed 9 of his children, aged infant to 18. 7 of them were 8 or younger.

Besides thinking, "Dang - nine people" I also think, "nine kids?" I saw a couple pictures of the guy and I swear, it almost seems like a cult thing.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Michele 1]

9/11: Woke up from a call from a "high placed friend". Told to stay home until he called me again. Sat and watched on the tv, went to work, watched the tower fall, came home, and cried, tried to find my Mom who was supposed to be having breakfast in the City that morning.

Challenger: at school.

Reagan shot: home from school, alone, sick. Saw it on the newsbreak, and went to my neighbor's home. I didn't know what was going on, and then Al Haig told us he was in charge. My neighbor looked at me, and she said: "find your mom, we're going to nuclear war." Scared me to death...

John Lennon: at home, tv newsflash. Called my buddy Kim who had a massive crush on him, and told her. She cried.

Columbine: At work. We all went into the conference room, and watched the live newsfeed.

Princess Diana: Um...."necking" with my ex. He got mad when I stopped him and told him hey, Princess Diana has been killed...

Columbia: Online, here, and watched it on tv...

Murders in Fresno: Last night, home, late news. Sad. I sit and wonder what has happened to people that this is a viable option...

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[Beerlight 0]

1) 9/11 - I was training student pilots on parachute landing procedures and swinging them off our tower performing PLF's. I notice my Colonel is running towards us from out building (i remember saying, that's weird), and he tells us a plane just crashed into the towers, and bring to students indoors asap. We went to ThreatCon Delta shortly thereafter, and our base shutdown.

2) Challenger -- I'm conducting a research altitude chamber experiment in San Antonio. Of all things are experiment was funded by NASA and FOR the shuttle program.

3) Columbia -- I woke up early to watch the landing. I'm drinking coffee, and notice that it's overdue for landing. I know that isn't good....

[Aviatrr 0]

9/11 - I was in the air when the announcement came over the radio from the center controller..."All US airspace is being shut down. Decide where you want to go, within one hour flight time, now. I'll get back to each aircraft individually. Maintain radio silence unless I call you first."

Challenger explosion - Math class. We were watching it live on TV as it happened.

Columbia - woke up after a late night, turned on the TV, there was the news.

Columbine - I don't recall what city I was in, but I was sitting at the airport in an FBO when it came on CNN.

Mike

[akarunway 1]

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE. The first lunar landing Damn I'm old

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[mailin 0]

9/11 - 8 am, in boss' office. I was being laid off.
9:15, packing up my desk when someone down the hall shouted to turn on the tv.

Went home and turned on the TV and just sat and watched all day...

Jennifer

Arianna Frances

[Kennedy 0]

Quote

On a side note - I haven't heard about what happened in fresno. I have a friend that lives there. What happened exactly??
Edit - Just looked it up. Sad stuff.

For anyone who hasn't seen it.
FRESNO, California (CNN) -- Police found a pile of nine bodies -- seven of them children -- in the Fresno, California, home of a man police believe is the father of the victims.

---
9/11 I was sleeping in before a late class. My mobile wouldn't stop ringing, so eventually I answer it. I thought it was a sick joke, until I find all my housemates downstairs staring at the TV. I got there just in time to see the second plane go in.

Challenger - was I born then?

Reagan - I was too young.

Columbine - I first heard about it and didn't think much of it. I didn't get the real details until much later.

Columbia - heard about it later on, didn't shock me right away.

I remember I was in school when I heard Mother Theresa was gone.

Do you think all the forest creatures remember where they were when they heard bambi's mother had been shot?

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[Lolie 0]

Princess Di's death: Was backpacking with my family over Labor Day weekend, and happened to run into Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders, who told us. (We hadn't seen anyone, or heard any radio, etc. for a few days.)

Columbine: Sophomore in HS; a friend who had just moved from Colorado was upset, and told me what she had heard.

9/11: Senior in HS; was getting ready for school in the morning, and my mom knocked on my bedroom door and said, "Come out here. There's bad news... big, bad, news..."

-Miranda
you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear
it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

[skybytch 273]

1) 9/11 - Woke up to the same talk radio show I listened to every morning, just about the time the first plane hit. Woke my kid up and told him to turn on his radio. We didn't have TV so I turned the 'puter on and came here. Listened to the radio and read the thread in Talkback until it was time to go to work. Was blown away by the blank faces I saw in every car on the road with me.

Sat at work for a few hours, checking here and on news websites for updates. For the first time ever, not one customer called that morning. Kate finally sent us home. It was a few days later when I finally saw the news footage. I was very glad I didn't have TV... hearing it described over the radio and seeing still pics online weren't nearly as bad as watching that footage was.

2) San Francisco earthquake - Was sitting on the couch with my ex. The couch sat right in front of a large plate glass window. Felt it shaking and looked at my ex's knee to see if it was him making it shake. It wasn't. We both looked at the light fixture hanging from the ceiling above the kitchen table; it was swaying. Then the window started rattling. It went on for what seemed like 10 minutes. Biggest shaker I'd ever felt. Once it stopped we looked at each other and said "Wonder where it hit? Bet it was a big one."

Turned the TV on and called my parents. Realized how stupid we'd been to stay on the couch while the shaking was going on. Spent the rest of the day and evening watching the news coverage.

3) The day Al died - Al was the DZO where I learned to skydive. I'd just moved to the same town the dz was in. Even though he and I had "issues," I didn't have gear and I had no money I went to the dz anyway. Some friends loaned me a rig and bought me a jump. Later in the afternoon I got a wierd feeling. Something was telling me to grab my kid and go home. So I did.

A few hours later a friend called and told me Al didn't make it back. I was confused - why would she call to tell me he landed out? But that wasn't what she meant... he'd gone in with a tandem.

I didn't believe it until I heard it on the news later that evening.

[jb092 0]

Lets see............

9/11 I was at my old computer job, and hating it. I saw the second plane hit the tower and knew I was reenlisting, I told my boss "We just went to war......nice knowing ya!"

Challenger.....I was home...suspended from school because I was one of those asshole kids.

Columbia....I was overseas at the time and was just not happy.

What could possibly go wrong?

[Brian425 0]

9/11 I was at work at 75 Wall Street. Heard a load roar and a bang/crash. We went to the window and could see smoke from the Trade Center. I took the elevator up to a higher floor to get a better view. During this time the second plane hit. Basically watched until about 1:00PM. Walked all the way to Brooklyn.

Regan, I came home from school to watch TV. It was the only thing on TV. It was the first time I watch or was even more than a little curious about any news event on TV.

The only time you should look down on someone is when you are offering them your hand.

[skydiverbc 0]

9/11- i was at work stocking some things. the janitor came by and said" terrorist just kamakazied a plane into the world trade center!" my reaction? "bulls***!"
Went into the break room and there were the clips on the news.....

challenger- was in 1st grade watching the lift off on TV and they sent us all home that day

oklahoma city bombing- i believe i was in government class when this happened.

[Garycal 0]

That guy is one of the scaryest peeps i have seen in a long time.We have been following that thing since yesterday

[kallend 2,106]

King George VI died - in school (1st grade), teacher gave us the news.

Kennedy assassinated - watching "That Was The Week That Was" with my folks.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[sneaky 0]

i was in Patch Barracks US Army base in Stuttgart Germany when the Twins were attacked and my ex wife phone me .... I froze...

[Unstable 9]

It's really neat to talk to the older generations and they can tell you EXACTLY what they were doing during the Kennedy Assasination..

=========Shaun ==========

[Faber 0]

the dats were my kids were born,nothing beautiful about the blod and stuff but the feeling of seeing my kids first time ever THAT were great.

And nothing can beat that,period.

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[Sheenster303 0]

This is what I was doing...

9/11: I was a senior in high school and I was walking from my first period class to my second period class when I saw my drama teacher running down the hallway screaming that "The towers have been hit! The towers have been hit!" Everybody in the hallway was just laughing at her cuz no one knew what in the world she was talking about. Then I made it to my Anatomy class and walked in and saw half my class sitting there not talking and had their eyes glued on the television set. Then i found out what happened and sat down really slow at my desk in disbelief.

Columbine: I was a freshman in high school and I was riding the bus home and the guy who was sitting in the seat behind me was listening to the radio on his headphones and he heard the news of it and told me what happened. I went home that day and watched the footage of it all night until I went to sleep.

Columbia: I was at work and a customer came through my line and told me what happened. I proceeded to then tell everybody at work, but I didn't see anything about it on TV until 8 hours later.

It's amazing how I can remember exactly what I was doing when these things happened, but I can't remember what I ate for dinner last night. I guess these type of things affect us more profoundly than we thought.

I'm so funny I crack my head open!

P.M.S. #102

[wildWilly 0]

That's an interesting post.
1) 9/11 - In Halifax airport going to NFLD for work. Got 2 days on the
company in Halifax.
2) Apollo 11 Moon landing. At the cottage as a kid watching an old B&W
TV
3) John Lennon shot. This is kind of ironic. I was listening to the radio in
the basement loading shotgun shells.

growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.

[tbrown 26]

JFK assasination: Sitting in my 3rd grade classroom, we were cleaning our desks out at the end of the week when the reports started coming over the school PA. Adults started crying (really freaked me out). We said a prayer for Kennedy's soul - this was Catholic school - and were sent home early. My mom was napping, she was pregnant with my little sister. She thought we were making it up and got mad at my brother & me, then turned on the radio and found out it was true.

US Out of Vietnam - was playing chess with a friend when the radio cut in for Dickie Nixon's anouncement. When he was done, the station played Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus".

John Lennon's death - I was driving home from a Monday night class.

Reagan and the Pope shootings, both '81, at work both times, heard about them on radios people were listening to.

Challenger explosion, had just arrived at work, people at the front desk were just plugging in a radio and turning it on, there was a whole bunch of people standing around waiting to hear.

9/11 - Very painful, I was working at Boeing's Everett plant, where the widebodies (747/767/777) are built. I was upstairs overlooking the 777 line and could see the 767 line a couple hundred yards over. We wondered briefly if we might also be a target. A lot of people couldn't go on working, they just locked up their tools and went home. I looked at the planes and asked myself how people could possibly want to fly one of them, full of people, into buildings full of people. Saw a lot of big tough guys cry.

Columbia disaster - was lying in bed, sleeping in on a Saturday morning. The radio clicked on at 7am and Scott Simon on NPR was saying that there had been no contact with Columbia for half an hour and reports were coming in from all over Texas of debris falling like rain.

Kerry beats Bush - took the rest of the week off, went skydiving.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[Kennedy 0]

Quote

Kerry beats Bush - took the rest of the week off, went skydiving.

smartass.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*