A Meme That Makes Me Feel Old

Where Were You When

1. Challenger Space Shuttle Exploded.
I was in between classes in Middle School. This really annoying girl was walking down the hallway telling everybody about it and laughing. At first nobody believed her.

2. Berlin Wall Falls Down
I was in high school. I think I was at a friend's house when it was on the news. I had a hard time believing that one too.

3. Oklahoma City Federal Building Bombing
I was interning in a U.S. Senator's office. We were all afraid that the capitol might be hit. The Republicans actually shut up about how much they hated government for like 3 minutes after we found out who did it.

4. OJ Verdict
I was living in D.C. and having lunch with a friend. When the announcement was made on TV, all the African-Americans in the restaurant cheered, and the white people were silent. It made me sad that the whole thing had become about race rather than justice. I spent weeks defending the verdict on the grounds that we weren't in the jury and really had no idea what the proper decision was.

5. Princess Diana dies.
Didn't know. Didn't care. Sorry.

6. Columbine Massacre.
All I remember is that they had to push back a Buffy episode because of it.

7. JFK Jr. Plane Crash
Again, I really don't remember this one.

8. Bush/Gore Election
I went to bed thinking Bush had won, and woke up with Brazen Hussy telling me what had happened. I do remember deciding not to watch all the nonsense of TV tracking every little twist and turn. And I remember giving people crap for paying more attention to what happened in Florida than the fact that Gore had won the national popular vote and wouldn't be president. Stupid electoral college.

9. September 11.
Brazen Hussy and I had spoken on the phone earlier that morning - hers had just been hooked up in her Queens apartment. She called me when I was walking to class to tell me she was okay. I was like "Uh, sure you're okay. Why wouldn't you be?" I went ahead and taught class that day. We had just talked about the "rally-around" effect a President gets in time of crisis, and I told them to just watch what happened - George Bush would be treated like the Messiah for at least a year. And he was. God help us.

10. Space Shuttle Columbia Disintegrates
I don't remember that one at all.

11. Hurricane Katrine Hits
My first thought was horror. My second was rage at how incompetent the rescue and recovery operation was. And, predictably, despite all the avowals, afterwards nothing changed.