For History lovers.

[d-ray657]

A joke in another thread reminded me of the movie Flipper. What does that have to do with history? I distinctly remember Dad picking us up at school on the day JFK was shot, and taking us to see Flipper. In retrospect, I think he might have needed a little escape at that time too.

The shooting of JFK is one of those historical events where most people can remember exactly what they were doing on that day. Does anyone else have memories of the day that JFK was shot? If you're too young for that, what were you doing on 9/11? Does anyone else remember a significant historical moment where it is so burned into your memory that you remember otherwise trivial details?

Regards,

D-Ray

[Sandy G]

I was in 1st grade. We'd been out on the playground, it was one of those cool, crisp "Chrome-blue" days it only gets in the fall. We'd gone to the cafeteria for Milk, they were playing the radio over the PA speakers, & it said that the President had been shot in Dallas. I'll NEVER forget the look that came over Lois Armstrong, my normally unflappable 1st grade teacher's face. We went back up to the room & prayed for him-You could still do that in 1963 & not have a Federal case made out of it-& seems like they let us go home early. The adults were BIG-TIME scared, I remember the kids were quiet in the hall, too. 9/11, I was at work, my G/F at the time called & said there had been a plane hit the WTC-But it may have been an accident. I bolted upstairs & a lot of people were watching CNN on the TV we had in the customer's lounge-& about that time-KAPOW ! The 2nd plane hit. I went out at lunch & filled up the Valdez, not knowing if that would be the last gas I'd get to buy for a long time. They'd got the Pentagon by that time, too, & we were wondering, "What next ?!?" Strangely enuff, it was a GORGEOUS fall day, too, like 22 Nov 63 was, in juxtaposition of the awful events that happened on both days.

[Charles]

For JFK, in school...teacher came out in the hall and gave us the word.

9-11, was pulling into a gas station, listening to the radio. My first thought was that Gary Conduit was giving thanks for finally being knocked off of the front page.

Chas

[finnbow]

When JFK was shot, I was a 9 year old living in Germany when my father was stationed there. I didn't get the news until I came down to breakfast the following morning and my mom told me. She was a JFK admirer and life-long southern Democrat (her uncle was Alabama Congressman Frank Boykin).

As for 9-11, I remember exactly where I was on the road to work when the first reports came through on NPR. I think I could pinpoint the exact spot on the road to this day.

I also vividly remember the days that RFK and MLK were shot. As for the Reagan attempt, I was again in Germany and didn't hear of it until the next day.

[Grumpy]

Was not born yet for JFK. 9/11 was at work. I opened up shop early was all by lonesome. I ran to the lunch room and stood there in horror like so many did. I still feel like someone guy punched me, thinking back to that dreadful day..

[Boreas]

For JFK, I was a senior in prep school. We were in study hall when one of the masters (teachers), one all of us detested, came into the hall and said, "Gentlemen, the President is dead."

I'm sure he was in as much emotional turmoil as any of us but his seemingly callous attitude and gruff delivery of such earth-shaking news made me angry at him. I actually thought about attacking him physically. Fortunately, I didn't.

John

[noonereal]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

I was in 1st grade. We'd been out on the playground, it was one of those cool, crisp "Chrome-blue" days it only gets in the fall. We'd gone to the cafeteria for Milk, they were playing the radio over the PA speakers, & it said that the President had been shot in Dallas. I'll NEVER forget the look that came over Lois Armstrong, my normally unflappable 1st grade teacher's face. We went back up to the room & prayed for him-You could still do that in 1963 & not have a Federal case made out of it-& seems like they let us go home early. The adults were BIG-TIME scared, I remember the kids were quiet in the hall, too. 9/11, I was at work, my G/F at the time called & said there had been a plane hit the WTC-But it may have been an accident. I bolted upstairs & a lot of people were watching CNN on the TV we had in the customer's lounge-& about that time-KAPOW ! The 2nd plane hit. I went out at lunch & filled up the Valdez, not knowing if that would be the last gas I'd get to buy for a long time. They'd got the Pentagon by that time, too, & we were wondering, "What next ?!?" Strangely enuff, it was a GORGEOUS fall day, too, like 22 Nov 63 was, in juxtaposition of the awful events that happened on both days.

JFK, I was in the 5th grade. An announcement was made that he was hot and we prayed. Another announcement came that said he was dead. They let us out of school. As I was walking home my dad had come home from work and picked me up.

On 911 when the news went to showing the smoke from the first plane I walked up to the roof of the building I was living in to see for myself. When the second tower was hit I ran down the stairs and over to the school where my daughter was. I had her out of that school before any other parent even got to the school. No one at the school had any idea a second plane was hit, I was on the road out of town before everything was shut down. I did not know what may have been in the smoke or what might happen next. I remember my daughter (1st grade at the time) looking out the back window looking at the fires as I drove out of town. I never even stopped to pay the toll, just drove right through.

I remember that afternoon seeing the replay on TV of GW being told we were at war and him just sitting there. I was incredibly angry that he did not even know enough to get up and take charge.

[BlueStreak]

I was a fetus, second trimester, when JFK was shot. So I don't remember much, other than darkness and a bunch of gurgling sounds when my mother digested her food.

9/11/2001? I had woken up at about 8 a.m., hopped on the bicycle and put in my quick 20 miles. (Back then, about 50-55 minutes.). Got home, showered up, poured a cup of coffee, let the dogs in and turned on the telly. The first thing I saw was video of the second plane, (I think), hitting the tower. I thought, "Damn, that looked real. What movie is this?" Then the CNN logo popped up. "Holy s**t, it's real! WTF?"
Tried calling my sister, no answer. Called my Dad, but he was so damn deaf he just yelled into the phone, "I can't hear you. Call back later and talk to my wife." Then hung up. Finally got ahold of my brother John. "John, have you seen this? What the hell is going on?" "Terrorists, Dave. Those loony religious fanatic Muslims finally got in a wicked punch. Looks like we're going to war now."

The rest of the morning was spent staring at the telly. When I got to work, everyone was pissed. Including me. It was hard to stay focused on the job, that's for sure.

Dave

[JJIII]

JFK: I was going from shop class to science class at Matthews Jr. High School just outside Charlotte, N.C. Spent the rest of the day watching TV at school.
9/11/01 I was at work. No TV but I was listening to the radio. Like Dave said, it was kind of hard to stay focused on work.

[merrylander]

I was at work when JFK was shot, also at work for 9/11 heard about the first plane and saw the second plane go in on the restroom TV.