s/o 9/11--what other days are seared in your memory?

maize · September 11, 2016

The "where were you" thread really brings home the power of emotion to create lasting memories. I'm wondering--what other events have created significant memories for you? Public events (Challenger explosion is one I remember) or private--things like my children's births, or the first day I arrived in a new country.

After all, most of us don't remember the details of every day of our lives. What things do we remember most?

OhanaBee · September 11, 2016

The day Reagan was shot. I remember coming out of the library and meeting my former 3rd grade teaching walking down the steps. She looked as if she were really upset and when I asked if she was ok she responded, "No. The president's been shot." Then, realizing she had just told an 11yo the news, said, "It's going to be ok. But please don't say anything until Dr Principal makes the announcement." I had to go back to class and pretend as if I could concentrate on math for the next hour until Dr. Principal made the announcement and told us the President was fine. Years later I found out how serious it actually was, but, if I recall correctly, NO ONE outside of the inner circle, knew how close he came to death.

Challenger I also remember clearly. My boyfriend told me the shuttle had blown up and I thought he was just making a horrible joke [as he had been known to do many times]. It was finals week at my school so only two 2-hour classes that day. When I got to class for my English final my teacher affirmed that the shuttle had blown up, everyone was presumed dead, and we WERE going to be taking the final and NO ONE was going to talk. When I got home that afternoon I just sat in front of the tv watching the shuttle blow up over and over and over again. I won't watch a launch to this day.

Then, when the Columbia blew up, I was in the car getting ready to take my kids to synagogue. I had turned on the radio and thought they were doing a tribute to the Challenger [since it was the 17th anniversary] and slowly realized that it was *another* shuttle about which they were talking. Since there was an Israeli astronaut aboard, it was an especially hard morning at synagogue as the reports trickled in.

Dmmetler · September 11, 2016

January 1, 2002. The day my son was born, and died. Which is why I don't handle the Christmas season well, because I initially got sick on Christmas Day.

SKL · September 11, 2016

The Challenger disaster, and the Sandy Hook school shooting. Those would be the biggies.

There are many many others, but where to draw the line ....

SemiSweet · September 11, 2016

The Columbine school shooting was the first major event that impacted me, I think I was about 19 or 20 and had come home on my lunch break to watch TV and eat. It was all over the news.

Sandy Hook, I was staying with my parents en route to our move to Hawaii. My dad is a news junkie and could not turn it off. I had to take my kids and leave, it was too much to watch over and over and over.

J-rap · September 11, 2016

I remember when the Vietnam war ended! I was in school, and the principal interrupted our class with an announcement through the classroom intercom. We were all so excited, we climbed up on our desktops and cheered!

HomeAgain · September 11, 2016

The Challenger. We had met the astronauts at school and were watching it on the tv. I think I was..6 at the time.

The day the OJ Simpson trial ended. I was in high school, and our classes were interrupted by a note down from the administration building.

mommytobees · September 11, 2016

a-day 2012: the day I realized I couldn't stay married anymore

11 Mar 2011: Tohoku earthquake (We lived south of Tokyo.)

7 Jul 2005: 7/7 bombings

26 Dec 2004: tsunami in south Pacific (We lived in HI.)

11 Sept 2001: all of it

3 May 2001: child born

12 Oct 2000: USS Cole

23 Apr 1998: child born

August 1997: Princess Di dies

17 Jan 1994: Northridge quake

June 1993: Lorena Bobbit (Sorry! I know I shouldn't....but I remember it.)

17 Oct 1989: San Fran earthquake

1 Aug 1981: MTV started (My next door neighbors were teens who babysat me. I remember it very well; school started the next week.)

brehon · September 11, 2016

I have vague memories of the Vietnam War ending. I mainly remember my dad -- Vietnam War vet -- saying, "Thank God!" and meaning every word of that short phrase.

The day the Challenger exploded.

And, of course, 9/11.

There are others; however, those are the big three.

Heatherwith4 · September 11, 2016

9/11

The April 27th tornado outbreak

Another tornado (11-15-89)

The day princess Diana was killed.

When Osama bin Laden was killed.

When Saddam Huissen was executed.

Of course my wedding day and when all 3 kids were born. When relatives have passed away.

I also remember the day a classmate was killed in a car accident.

I remember days of spiritual milestones: me being baptized, my sons being baptized.

mamiof5 · September 11, 2016

January 1, 2002. The day my son was born, and died. Which is why I don't handle the Christmas season well, because I initially got sick on Christmas Day.

So sorry :(

Laurie4b · September 11, 2016

January 1, 2002. The day my son was born, and died. Which is why I don't handle the Christmas season well, because I initially got sick on Christmas Day.

:grouphug: I am so sorry.

mamiof5 · September 11, 2016

Of course many personal events, kids' births, our wedding etc.

Public? I have never been a news junkie, so, very often I don't find out til later about big events. There are certain events. I remember the day Luis Carlos Galan (an important Colombian politician) was killed, also Pablo Escobar (drug dealer). In the US? Sandy Hook. The shooting at a movie theater. I'm sure I remember more, but those come to mind.

I don't have the greatest memory, lots of events I remember some details, but not necessarily dates, year etc. 9/11/01 made an impact on my mind as not many events have so far.

sassenach · September 11, 2016

Public-

Princess Di

Challenger and Columbia

Many SoCal earthquakes, but especially Northridge and Whittier Narrows

Columbine

OJ's verdict

Kurt Cobain's death

baby Jessica

Atlanta bombings

The evenings of the 2000 and 2008 elections

Personal-

All my babies' births

my wedding

the day my grandmother died

the day my husband was injured

the phone call that delivered my son's diagnosis

the day/moment I met my husband

the day we were on vacation and I came out of the store to find my whole family wildly singing along to the radio, so I dropped the groceries and we all sang and danced in the parking lot

Disneyland- my family on the train, screaming "SANTA!!" as we passed the parade

freesia · September 11, 2016

Nixon resigning-I was 5 and the parents were so serious

End of the Vietnam war--my parents met in Vietnam

Reagan's shooting--I was in physical therapy and it played endlessly

The Challenger explosion

Columbine

maize · September 11, 2016

January 1, 2002. The day my son was born, and died. Which is why I don't handle the Christmas season well, because I initially got sick on Christmas Day.

I am so sorry :(

Edited September 11, 2016 by maize

maize · September 11, 2016

Dp

Edited September 11, 2016 by maize

nrg · September 11, 2016

My existential angst dates way back. I have living memories of the riots in Watts, President Kennedy's assassination, Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, Robert Kennedy's assassination, and more. Although my parents tried to shield us children from these by turning off the radio and television, I was a very early reader and got the news from the newspaper. I could read, but I could not really comprehend and I was afraid to walk to the grocery store or ride in our neighbor's convertible for awhile until my mom figured out what was going on in my head. I learned to listen and explain and discuss with my own children as big, remote events have occurred.

3 ladybugs · September 11, 2016

May 18, 1980 - Mt St Helens erupting I was 3 at the time but I spent half my life find out where I was. My parents kept giving me conflicting information.

Challenger I remember, OJ verdict I remember, Red Sox winning World Series in 2004, black out of 2003, I voted in the 2000 Florida election, 1989 San Francico earthquake (I was in Washington state but I fell down the steps right before news broke of the earthquake.

To the pp. I lost my daughter on January 5, 2007. So I know what you mean about the holidays.

MercyA · September 11, 2016

John Lennon's death, b/c my mum opened my blinds and woke me up super early to tell me.

Attempt on John Paul's life, b/c my mum opened my blinds and woke me to tell me.

For me, it was Kurt Cobain's death, because my boyfriend (now husband) woke me up from a nap to tell me.

I was grumpy and groggy and said something to my husband's roommate's girlfriend (now wife) that I regret to this day. I hope she doesn't remember it as well as I do. :(

LucyStoner · September 11, 2016

I was watching the Challenger launch in my classroom in kindergarten. When it exploded our teachers had no idea how to explain it to 5 year olds.

I remember most federal election nights during my lifetime in detail.

September 11, 2016

Always things that are unpredicted and full of emotions.

Telling someone in the snack bar near the base flight line that my daddy was coming home today. He must have been hours overdue, because we spent a long afternoon waiting, including milkshakes. Vietnam is a long way away. I was in 2nd grade.

Edited September 11, 2016 by Heigh Ho

Lady Marmalade · September 11, 2016

Both the Challenger and Columbia explosions are seared into my memory.

I clearly recall the Oklahoma City bombing also. I was home sick from school that day and watching All My Children with my mom. The bombing interrupted the episode and we never got back to it. That was my senior year in high school and it colored the way I looked at the world around me for a while.

For a happier memory, the GB Packers winning Super Bowl 31, and going with my friends to celebrate in the parking lot of Lambeau that night was a moment I'll never forget. And I don't even like football much!

happypamama · September 11, 2016

Saying goodbye to my date at my freshman Homecoming dance and hoping he'd ask me out again sometime. ;). (That was twenty-five years ago, and I'm sure it was just yesterday.)

Of course the births of my children.

The day I found out I was pregnant with DD. Okay, all six of those days, but she was the first.

Many days in one tremendous year: the day DH proposed, the day he got his acceptance letter to post-BA work, , our wedding day, and the day I called the nice couple with the adorable toddlers and told them I was accepting their nanny job offer while DH went to school.

The day we looked at this house for the first time. We looked at about fifteen other houses, and I knew the second I saw this listing that it was The One in a way I hadn't with our first two houses.

The day my mother called me in tears to say that my SIL had lost her baby at 36 weeks. I don't think I will ever forget that.

On a less private scale, I remember the Challenger explosion, and then watching and cheering for Discovery as it cleared the tower. I showed my children a clip of that on YouTube, and it was exactly as I remember it, down to the announcer's voice.

I remember where I was when they announced the Berlin Wall coming down and hearing about Columbine. Some things leave indelible marks on your soul.

Barb_ · September 12, 2016

I can immediately recall where I was during a lot of these events. So many memories I haven't thought of in years. On a personal note, I was downtown at a DaVinci exhibit with the kids last month when I got the phone call that our street was full of emergency vehicles and our house was on fire. It's like a video clip I can play in my brain at will.

On a happier note, I remember clearly the day I pulled my oldest out of first grade to homeschool her. I was young enough and naive enough to feel no anxiety at all, just excitement and relief.

maize · September 12, 2016

Oh, one that makes me cry: my dad calling from halfway around the world to say he had had a heart attack.

He called himself so I knew the immediate crisis was past and he was OK, but I was so far away and we had come so close to losing him.

Wabi Sabi · September 12, 2016

The Challenger- I was in school watching the launch.

Columbine- I was in my high school speech class and the teacher brought in a TV.

OJ Simpson car chase- Sitting on the floor next to my mom's bed and watching it on the little TV she kept on a wicker stand against the wall

OJ Verdict- in the high school cafeteria eating lunch

Kurt Cobain's death- in the backseat of the social studies teacher's beat up old blue Suburban, sitting next to his daughter, had just exited onto the road that our school was on (I lived quite a distance from my high school and the social studies teacher, who lived on my side of town, used to drive me to school.)

Princess Diana's death- I was with friends and we were walking down 17th street in on my way to one of my first college parties.

9/11- Getting dressed for the day, getting ready to go to my job as a nanny, and I called the dentist to cancel an appointment for the next day and the receptionist told me to turn on the news.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Wabi Sabi

OneStepAtATime · September 12, 2016

In no particular order...

Public:

Challenger/Columbia
9/11
Berlin Wall coming down
Bloody Sunday and Bloody Friday - Ireland 1972 (I was very young but I still recall my parents' horror at both incidents - we have relatives in Ireland - it took years for me to understand the reasons but I definitely remember their reactions)
Reagan getting shot
OJ Simpson slowmo chase down the highway
Kurt Cobain's death (primarily because a male coworker was incredibly distraught and I was one of the few young people around - no one else even knew who he was talking about so I sat with him a lot of the day)
1982 Failed coup in Kenya (Dad had friends in the Kenyan government and we didn't know if they or their families were alive or dead for a very long time)
1999 Racak Massacre (I didn't really understand what was happening but I remember Dad really upset and angry and wondering how long the killings would be allowed to continue)
JFK Jr. Plane crash 1999
Selena's death and the standoff with her killer (worked in news and had met her)
Tiananmen Square 1989
Oklahoma City bombings
Sandyhook
Columbine
Rescue of Jessica McClure at 18 mos. from a well in 1987 (relatives lived in her town)
Jim Jones mass suicides 1978
2003 World Series
Branch Davidian Waco Siege 1993
Luby's massacre 1991

There's more but the list is getting a bit long...

DawnM · September 12, 2016

I remember lots of these, although I can't necessarily tell you where I was for all of them.

OJ Simpson verdict- I had it on in my classroom. I had the radio on, all the TVs were taken by other teachers.

I was in Kenya for both coups. I was at boarding school and we were not allowed to leave the campus for any reason.

I was in Liberia for their coup. We lived near the capital of Monrovia then. It was a scary time.

Challenger- I was a freshman in college. I found out about it in the student lounge and several of us were standing around watching for a long time.

Lady Di's death. I was pregnant with baby #1 and up in NorCal visiting my aunt.

Carrie12345 · September 12, 2016

Columbine is a big one for me. Probably b/c I was holding my first baby at the time, and told him he would be homeschooled.

Now, I don't homeschool because of Columbine (he did go to ps most years), but I think the coincidence keeps it planted in my brain.

Pawz4me · September 12, 2016

I've probably forgotten about a lot of things that I actually remember. But off the top of my head, the things I remember where I was/what I was doing as the news broke (in addition to 9/11, and in no particular order) --

The first moon landing

Nixon's resignation

Elvis' death

Reagan's attempted assassination

Oklahoma City federal building bombing

Challenger and Columbia

John Lennon's assassination

Watcing Secretariat win all three Triple Crown races

The "slow speed chase" of OJ Simpson

The wedding of Charles and Diana and then her death

And of course most of the more recent events like Sandy Hook, etc.

Mama Geek · September 12, 2016

I remember a lot of the ones already mentioned but wanted to add the fire stack collapsing at Texas A&M. I had taken a couple of classes there the year before and we lived in TX at the time and had many friends who were Aggies. They played it nonstop on TV for well more than a week.

After my wedding day and dd's birth etc. I also remember getting to see the Grand Canyon for the first time, it was a lifelong dream and it so lived up to it. It was one of the things that even though it was so built up in my mind it didn't disappoint.

Amira · September 12, 2016

A lot of what has been mentioned above, but also the tsunami in 2004 and hurricane Katrina. And Rabin's assassination.

regentrude · September 12, 2016

The day the Berlin Wall fell.

poppy · September 12, 2016

The day the cops who beat up Rodney King got acquitted. I was stunned. Big mental shift for me.

Kurt Cobain's death only because some girl in my school shaved her head in reaction. I don't actually feel it's a game changer for me, just another tragedy of addiction.

Sandy Hook killings.

QueenCat · September 12, 2016

I remember many of the things others have mentioned but it was more of a hearing it on the news afterwards kind of thing than actually watching it as it happened. With Challenger, I was watching it live on tv in the snack bar at my college. You could have heard a pin drop with the shocked silence as we all watched it explode in front of our eyes. 9/11 would be the second one (not second in importance, but in chronological order). Watching the second plane hit gave me heart palpitations.

September 12, 2016

Public events:

Hurrican Katrina, because my friend lived there.

The Columbine shooting, because this was the day when I decided I was definitely homeschooling.

The D.C. Sniper incident.

The O.J. Simpson police chase.

Princess Diana's death.

Personal events:

The day my grandfather died, because it was my first crucial loss. I was 11.

When my FIL died; it was Christmas Day, 1998.

When my sister died, 2008.

When my baby girl died at birth, May 6, 2003.

The births of my living children, but especially, my youngest, after having lost Lydia.

JustEm · September 12, 2016

Personal ones: I've got tons.

Public events: aside from 9/11, I can't think of any.

SporkUK · September 12, 2016

I think the Oklahoma City Bombing is the first public news event that I remember everyone talking about, but my parents were very much not news people -- it was the talk of the church though.

I remember the Columbine shooting though the week after it is more seared in my memory - I was in middle school and the high schools around us had hoax bombing and shooting threats (I think there was a significant national uptick in them afterwards due mostly to the irresposnibly media coverage). One had 3 that week and I kept hearing teachers say that X school has had to be evacuated again, Y school is having another bomb sweep, and so on. Multiple people were found to be involved in each threat and they were all expelled and banned from being at any school in the county until they were 18 or for X amount of years so it was a major talking locally point for some time.

When the Columbia shuttle blew up, I was at a large away wrestling meet. I remember people saying they could see bits burning up outside though I don't recall if that was true or not from southern Ohio and that some of the parents of other schools were annoyed at some students including me that we should be more solemn though there was no announcement - it was just people talking through the stands - and none of them seemed to be pushing for the meet to be canceled which sent a lot of mixed messages. I remembering feeling particularly targetted for that and got sarky with an unknown mother who seemed to think that, as a girl in an otherwise all boy team/district, I should have been better behaved or a better example -- she said I had "no excuse" to be acting the way all the other guys were acting which was standing in the stand so we could see our team mates and talking. I still have no idea how she was expecting me to act.

I think Brexit will one even though it's so recent. My partner who works night came in and told me the result while I was still in bed. I swore, we talked for ages, then I tried to explain it to the kids over breakfast. The news that day/week was just so full of hate and, as a mixed race immigrant, it felt really painful and heavy for me.

Mabelen · September 12, 2016

I have memories of many, but super clear like it was today, only a few:

The February 23rd 1981 coup d'etat attempt in Spain. All the adults were so tense. Concerns about a second civil war. My brother was doing his military service. I was in high school, had an exam the following day but stayed up until King Juan Carlos was televised live to condemn the attempt and to order, as head of the armed services, the troops and their commanders to follow the rule of law.

Lady Di's death. I was living in the U.K. It was so shocking, everybody was grieving.

The September 11 attacks. In the Washington D.C. area by then. My husband called from the office to ask what was happening. I turned the tv on and saw the second plane strike. The Pentagon gets hit. So surreal. Kids were released early from school.

The 2004 tsunami. We woke up to my father in law's cryptic phone message from Sri Lanka saying that they were all fine and not to worry about them. Immediately turned to tv and Internet to find out what was happening. Sheer devastation.

Lady Marmalade · September 12, 2016

Ooh, reading through these I thought of one more to add to my list. The day President Bush declared war in Iraq (August 2, 1990). It was a Wednesday night and we were at mid-week church when it happened. I was going into eighth grade that year and I remember being absolutely terrified. WAR was such a scary word to me at the time.

I remember that all the classes let out that night and it was eerily quiet in the church. We found all the adults gathered around the TV in the main hall watching the president speak. There were lots of tears that night.

Mabelen · September 12, 2016

I don't know how I could have forgotten Sandy Hook. I had just finished my work at school in my kindergarten classroom at 11.00 am and turned the radio on while driving to my daughter's elementary school to volunteer teach an art class. I cried non stop until I got there. It was so hard to regain composure before entering the building.

elegantlion · September 12, 2016

9/11 - we were living with my parents, ds turned 4 the next week. It was very comforting to be with family at that time.

Challenger explosion - worked at the airport and had to leave for work shortly after watching the footage

Launch of first space shuttle - remember watching it at school

Oklahoma City Bombing - was working at a regional insurance underwriting company, we dealt with Oklahoma agents. I remember when that team started getting calls

Beginning of First Gulf War - I was working at an animal hospital then with a vet who had flown jets in the military in in previous career. I remember going home and watching the footage, realizing we were at war and discussing it with the vet the next day

President Reagan getting shot - same day as my great grandmother's funeral. We were coming out of the funeral home when we got the news

John Lennon getting shot - my art teacher lost it that day. She could hardly stop crying during class.

Princess Diana - was the same day as my baby shower. We had it out of town and were staying with a relative, ended up spending the evening after the party watching the news

elegantlion · September 12, 2016