World History -- Personal Quiz
The game: Where were you and what were you doing when the following events occurred? I may have some interesting answers.
1. When John F. Kennedy was shot (11/22/1963). My parents met in Drumright, Oklahoma, sometime shortly before or after this but didn't begin dating for another 2 years or so.
2. When Mt. St. Helens blew (5/18/1980). I was in Norman, Oklahoma, in Middle School; I vaguely remember some discussion about in Earth Science class and seeing it on the TV news.
3. When the space shuttle Challenger exploded (1/28/1986). I was in a freshman dormitory, just returning from a class at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. I believe we watched it on TV for hours and then commemorated with traditional college-style Coors Light.
4. When the 7.1 earthquake hit San Francisco (10/7/1989). Getting ready to watch the World Series game from my parents' house in Norman, Oklahoma.
5. When the Berlin Wall fell (11/7/1989). Also watching from various houses in Norman, Oklahoma, with an international relations / political science background, looking to see if my friend George was visible dancing on the rubble. He was a student at the University of Berlin at the moment and actually brought back some pieces of it. He lives in Prague now.
6. When the Gulf War began (1/16/1991). In my first year of Law School at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. Three of my classmates were reservists who were called up and sent overseas in the days just after that. We gathered at various friends' places to watch Wolf Blitzer on CNN and we blew off our reading assignments for 2 week, commemorating with the traditional college-style Coors Light. I left a party with Ronnie Sanchez to buy more beer the night before he shipped out to the Middle East. They all came back.
7. When OJ Simpson was chased in his White Bronco (6/17/1994). Sitting in an Irish hamburger dive pub in the Cherry Creek area of Denver, Colorado, watching in surreal disbelief. I think we had gathered to watch a hockey playoff game, with Scott & Kimberly and others. I was thinking that Richard Nixon had just died, and now OJ would soon die -- an interesting coincidence only in that they were the first two public figures in my memory as a child -- one as the President and one as the greatest football hero.
8. When the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed (4/19/1995). At my first attorney job in a law office in the Cherry Creek area of Denver, Colorado. Several office mates called it to my attentiona dn my friend and colleague Tom Hemry's attention, as we were both from the OKC area. I called my dad and spoke to him for 15 minutes before the phone lines shut down. Tom wasn't able to reach his dad -- it later turned out that his law office had been destroyed in the blast -- he was directly across the street facing the building, and was saved by being at a meeting across town. I later learned of having friends in the tunnels underneath the building during the blast and in the immedate rescue offorts. One of my closest friends worked for a local TV news station in the sales department, and she used her handheld Sony to record a lot of the immediate aftermath, she was driving nearby when it happened. Many local and national stations used some of her footage.
9. When Princess Di was killed (8/31/1997). In Denver, Colorado. I don't remember this as a significant historical event, but some of my friends cared about it more.
10. When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold opened fire on their classmates at Columbine High School (4/20/1999). In Denver, Colorado, on a first date with a very nice engineer. We had ice cream and went to see "the Matrix," (our previously-agreed plan) and tried to avoid talking about the thing on the news. This was difficult because of the constant news discussion of the "Trench Coat" group related to the Matrix-influenced costumes the two shooters wore. We never went out again. Two of my closest friends lived within a couple of blocks of the High School and had some difficulty getting home from their law offices. An unspeakable tragedy for the community.
11. When Bush was first announced President (11/7/2000). I was in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and beginning a trek around Western and Central Europe. This date is misleading, because the legal challenge dragged on for another 2 months or so, in which time I visited about a dozen countries, occasionally checking internet cafes in Morocco, Luxembourg, or Malaysia, for example.
12. When the 6.8 earthquake hit Nisqually, WA (2/28/2001). I was in Malaysia, and have no knowledge that this event ever occurred.
13. When terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center (9/11/2001). I was visiting a friend in Austin, Texas, and sleeping late. After waking, I jumped in my car to hit the 7-11 for some Diet Coke and rush to Dallas for my flight to Europe the next morning. Obviously, noone flew out of the United States the next morning or for several mornings after. I stayed an extra night in Austin, then returned to Dallas for the day-by-day vigil of calling the airlines and airports every morning to see if my non-refundable ticket was for a flight leaving that day.
1. When John F. Kennedy was shot (11/22/1963). My parents met in Drumright, Oklahoma, sometime shortly before or after this but didn't begin dating for another 2 years or so.
2. When Mt. St. Helens blew (5/18/1980). I was in Norman, Oklahoma, in Middle School; I vaguely remember some discussion about in Earth Science class and seeing it on the TV news.
3. When the space shuttle Challenger exploded (1/28/1986). I was in a freshman dormitory, just returning from a class at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. I believe we watched it on TV for hours and then commemorated with traditional college-style Coors Light.
4. When the 7.1 earthquake hit San Francisco (10/7/1989). Getting ready to watch the World Series game from my parents' house in Norman, Oklahoma.
5. When the Berlin Wall fell (11/7/1989). Also watching from various houses in Norman, Oklahoma, with an international relations / political science background, looking to see if my friend George was visible dancing on the rubble. He was a student at the University of Berlin at the moment and actually brought back some pieces of it. He lives in Prague now.
6. When the Gulf War began (1/16/1991). In my first year of Law School at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. Three of my classmates were reservists who were called up and sent overseas in the days just after that. We gathered at various friends' places to watch Wolf Blitzer on CNN and we blew off our reading assignments for 2 week, commemorating with the traditional college-style Coors Light. I left a party with Ronnie Sanchez to buy more beer the night before he shipped out to the Middle East. They all came back.
7. When OJ Simpson was chased in his White Bronco (6/17/1994). Sitting in an Irish hamburger dive pub in the Cherry Creek area of Denver, Colorado, watching in surreal disbelief. I think we had gathered to watch a hockey playoff game, with Scott & Kimberly and others. I was thinking that Richard Nixon had just died, and now OJ would soon die -- an interesting coincidence only in that they were the first two public figures in my memory as a child -- one as the President and one as the greatest football hero.
8. When the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed (4/19/1995). At my first attorney job in a law office in the Cherry Creek area of Denver, Colorado. Several office mates called it to my attentiona dn my friend and colleague Tom Hemry's attention, as we were both from the OKC area. I called my dad and spoke to him for 15 minutes before the phone lines shut down. Tom wasn't able to reach his dad -- it later turned out that his law office had been destroyed in the blast -- he was directly across the street facing the building, and was saved by being at a meeting across town. I later learned of having friends in the tunnels underneath the building during the blast and in the immedate rescue offorts. One of my closest friends worked for a local TV news station in the sales department, and she used her handheld Sony to record a lot of the immediate aftermath, she was driving nearby when it happened. Many local and national stations used some of her footage.
9. When Princess Di was killed (8/31/1997). In Denver, Colorado. I don't remember this as a significant historical event, but some of my friends cared about it more.
10. When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold opened fire on their classmates at Columbine High School (4/20/1999). In Denver, Colorado, on a first date with a very nice engineer. We had ice cream and went to see "the Matrix," (our previously-agreed plan) and tried to avoid talking about the thing on the news. This was difficult because of the constant news discussion of the "Trench Coat" group related to the Matrix-influenced costumes the two shooters wore. We never went out again. Two of my closest friends lived within a couple of blocks of the High School and had some difficulty getting home from their law offices. An unspeakable tragedy for the community.
11. When Bush was first announced President (11/7/2000). I was in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and beginning a trek around Western and Central Europe. This date is misleading, because the legal challenge dragged on for another 2 months or so, in which time I visited about a dozen countries, occasionally checking internet cafes in Morocco, Luxembourg, or Malaysia, for example.
12. When the 6.8 earthquake hit Nisqually, WA (2/28/2001). I was in Malaysia, and have no knowledge that this event ever occurred.
13. When terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center (9/11/2001). I was visiting a friend in Austin, Texas, and sleeping late. After waking, I jumped in my car to hit the 7-11 for some Diet Coke and rush to Dallas for my flight to Europe the next morning. Obviously, noone flew out of the United States the next morning or for several mornings after. I stayed an extra night in Austin, then returned to Dallas for the day-by-day vigil of calling the airlines and airports every morning to see if my non-refundable ticket was for a flight leaving that day.