(no subject)

[jim_p]

where I was when...

May as well join in the fun...

1. When John F. Kennedy was shot (11/22/1963)

Being all of 19 months old at the time, I would have either been bouncing around my playpen or toddling about our recently-completed house. Since my family was constantly under stress at that point, the additional stress of the assassination would have had little impact on me...

2. When Mt. St. Helens blew (5/18/1980)

I would have been a senior in high school at the time, dealing with finals and whatnot. I had recently received my acceptance to MIT, and in fact 5/18 was the date by which I had to accept or decline. I did note the event, was fascinated by the geology, and was glad that relatively few people got hurt (the impact on civilization here was mostly ash, whereas when volcanoes go off in Hawai'i they can burn whole towns right off the map).

3. When the space shuttle Challenger exploded (1/28/1986)

I remember this one well. I was working at my very first job out of college (Sequoia Systems, Inc., a dot-bomb before the term was invented) when one of my cow-orkers did the Paul Revere up and down the halls telling everyone that the Shuttle blew up 73 seconds after takeoff. A bunch of us gathered around a small TV in one of the break rooms and watched the nonstop coverage for a while, speculating as to how it might've happened and anyone's chances of survival. Eventually we got back to work, checking in for updates every so often (this was before the WWW would've brought breaking CNN coverage to everyone's desktop... heck, we were still working with VT100 clones on serial lines at that point). Tam and I had concert tickets that night (Andre Bernard and the Philharmonia Hungarica). We hoped it would be a break from the onslaught of content-free updates and incessant hand-wringing... only to have announced before the concert that it would be dedicated to the Challenger 7.... argh!!! Tragedy is tragedy, but have some perspective people!

4. When the 7.1 earthquake hit San Francisco (10/7/1989)

I had been in San Francisco for a friend's wedding not long before, and remembered that it might be a great place to live if not for the cost of living and the earthquake threat. This only confirmed my suspicions. We had stayed with friends while we were there and were glad to find out they were okay.

5. When the Gulf War began (1/16/1991)

When the actual bombing started I was in a BJs Wholesale Club picking up a few items, and I noticed that all of the TVs were tuned to CNN and a lot of people were staring at them. I stared too, shuddered, and wondered how it would all play out.

6. When OJ Simpson was chased in his White Bronco (6/17/1994)

I'd been paying peripheral attention to this case off and on, and I didn't see anything special about the White Bronco Chase; to me the whole case was a three-ring circus from the start, and this was just another high-wire act. Bring on the trained poodles and dancing bears. I did earnestly hope that OJ would end up the human cannonball, but it didn't turn out that way.

7. When the building in Oklahoma City was bombed (4/19/1995)

I was driving to work and listening to the morning news on NPR when there was a report of the Federal building having been "levelled" by an explosion. Details were sketchy at that point. I withheld my judgment pending further information.

8. When Princess Di was killed (8/31/1997)

I was watching CNN when the report of the auto accident came across; at the time the deaths of the driver and her paramour were announced, and she was described as "gravely injured". I'm not a Di-worshipper; I see her as just another player on the world stage, not some goddess incarnate. My first thought was to feel bad for the folks who died or were hurt. My next thought was to realize that her death would remove a considerable source of awkwardness for the Queen and the Royal Family. No, I didn't necessarily suspect a conspiracy, but I did believe it was most convenient for Her Majesty...

9. When Bush was first announced President (11/7/2000)

I remembered hearing about Gore's concession while driving home from a late day at the office that day. I felt considerable disappointment, but I wasn't terribly surprised. Later on I became considerably annoyed at the whole Florida kerfuffle.

10. When the 6.8 earthquake hit Nisqually, WA (2/28/2001)

There was an earthquake? Actually, I think this one occurred during a string of quakes around the whole Ring of Fire (Japan, Alaska, Western US, New Zealand) and after hearing a few of these I said "Well, I guess the Pacific Plate is on the move again".

11. When terrorists knocked over the World Trade Center (9/11/2001)

I was sleeping in a bit after a long night, when Tam comes bursting in to try and wake me up, telling me that a plane had hit the WTC another hit the Pentagon, and there'd been a car bomb at the State Department. The latter turned out not to have taken place but was one of the many things reported on that confusing morning. She ran back to the TV and I nodded off again; she ran back a few minutes later more agitated: "Another plane hit the other tower, and one of them has already collapsed". That got my attention, and I joined her in the living room. We watched CNN for a while in a daze. I called the office and said I figured I'd best stay close to home that day, and my boss agreed. We both realized, without even telling each other, that an event like this could have major infrastructural implications (road closures, disruptions of businesses housed in or affected by WTC offices, the whole works). We therefore went out and did a very quiet round of "panic" shopping. Not a "French Toast" shopping (bread, eggs, milk) -- we knew the best things to stock up on would be non-perishables; powdered milk, canned goods, dried foods, cat food... we did stock up on toilet paper, though. I also went and hit up a place that had MREs and bought a few dozen. We also tanked up the vehicles and filled a few gas cans as well.

It was eerie; there wasn't outright panic in the streets. By and large people were calm, going about their business, not discussing The Event very much. However, radios wereon everwhere, and everyone was going about their day with one ear cocked in that direction. Still, overall, it eventually did sink in just what a Major Event this was.