Friday, June 26, 2009

I Remember That I Was.....When I Heard The News That ......

Regarding Michael Jackson's sudden death on 06/25/2009... One of my daughter's friends posted on her blog yesterday that she wondered if after many years, she will remember what she was doing when she heard the news of Michael Jackson's death.

After living "several" years, witnessing/hearing many significant events; and going down Memory Lane, I was amazed at what I remembered. (Please forgive the previous run-on sentence.)

1. Adolph Eichmann was a Nazi who was responsible for the deaths of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. He was abducted in 1960 from Buenos Aires where he lived in isolation. He was taken to Israel where he was tried for 15 counts of war crimes in May, 1960. He was sentenced to death and was hanged in 1962. I remember this because the trial was televised. It was the first time I knew about bullet-proof glass. He sat in a glassed-in box during the entire trial.

2. John F. Kennedy recited the oath of office as President of the United States on January 20, 1961. Male dignitaries wore top hats and formal morning coats. The day was cold, clear and newly-fallen snow blanketed the ground. The inauguration was televised live; I was in the fourth grade. My teacher walked us to her house about 3 blocks away so that we could watch the inauguration. I'll never forget that day..."Let the word go forth...that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans."




3. I was in 7th grade gym class on Friday, November 22, 1963 when the announcement was made that President Kennedy had been shot. School let out after we learned that he had died.






4. I was watching live TV coverage of the Kennedy assassination on Sunday, November 24, 1963 with my parents (as most people did). We saw Jack Ruby walk up to Oswald as he was being escorted by Dallas PD and shoot him point-blank in the abdomen. There was utter chaos at that moment as deputies/guards wrestled Jack Ruby to the floor.
















5. On Sunday, 02/09/1964, I watched TV, eagerly awaiting the Fab Four as they walked onto the stage of the Ed Sullivan Show---again, live TV. Life in the US was never the same.

6. I was baby-sitting neighbor children on June 4, 1968. I had put them to bed and watched live coverage of the Democratic primary in Los Angeles. Bobby Kennedy was ahead in the votes. When I woke up the next morning, my mother told me that Bobby had been assassinated in the kitchen of the L. A. hotel immediately following his televised speech.

7. I watched live coverage of Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon on July 20, 1969. I don't think I realized the magnitude of this at the time.

8. The bells of peace rang in January, 1973 for the coming end of the Vietnam War. I was lying in my dorm room bed at Denton campus, TWU. My roommate and I cried as we heard the bells toll repeatedly over the radio at midnight.

9. I was in college in the Texas Medical Center, Houston during the Watergate "incident." I remember walking through the lobby of the dorm where people were watching Tricky Dick talk about the tapes, his advisors, etc. I saw/heard him say "I am not a crook!"

10. Ruth was 19 days old when she woke up around 6:00 AM on August 17, 1977. As I changed her diaper and prepared to feed her, the radio played Elvis songs and reported that he had died on August 16, 1977 at the age of 42.

11. Diana Spencer married Prince Charles on July 29, 1981. Even though it was the middle of the night here in Texas, I saw them marry live on TV. I was awake and sitting in the recliner with false labor. Zack was born 20 days later on August 18, 1981---two days before my 3oth birthday.

Other events that stand out: The day of the ATF siege on Mount Carmel in Waco---1993. Clu Flu came home from church where he learned of the ATF attack that day.

Oklahoma City bombing--April 19, 1995. I was a hospice nurse at the time...I had been to two funerals that morning and was speaking at a Minister's group over lunch. One of the ministers came in to the luncheon, reporting the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. It is one of the most horrendous crimes I have ever know.

O. J. Simpson verdict of "not guilty." Three of us went to a co-worker's home for lunch and to watch the expected verdict on TV. (October, 1995)




















Columbine, 1999: I was driving home from the law firm and heard the announcement on the radio. It was devastating. I had to pull over, gain my composure before continuing my way home. It is one of the most horrendous crimes I have ever known.

September 11, 2001.....Driving into work at the law firm that morning, hearing that a plane had "crashed into the side of one of the Towers", then continuing to hear about the other crashes. I was on a phone conference with a potential client, when he told me that he was worried about his wife who was a flight attendant. He didn't know where she was flying that day...she had been in the Northeast for two days. He was crying when his cell phone rang...It was his wife saying she was okay, the flight she was on was in Chicago and they were preparing to land. She resigned that day.

More significant events will come to pass. We will remember them and remark about them at different times. These events impact all our lives---that is why we remember them. Our history prepares our future.










Thursday, June 25, 2009

First Of All

Hello, Everyone---When I changed my e-mail address, something happened to "presently, said irene." I haven't had the chance to figure out what transpired, but I will. Maybe "Irene" is kaput.

But here is my fresh, new blog. Let me know what you think. Time spent formatting this blog used my available time for a post.

Stay loose,
D