topic Re: Significant History You Have Lived in Community Chat

Significant History You Have Lived

Marp — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 19:34:08 GMT

Has anyone else given thought to how much history the posters on these boards have lived regardless of age?

The first significant event I remember is Sputnik. I was young and don't really remember if I was impressed by Sputnik or my parent's, along with other adult family members reaction to it.

I do remember feeling bad for Able and Miss Baker but that was a couple of years later and I was more in tune with what was going on in the world.

So many significant events--some good, some not at all good--all life changing in some way.

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

deepwaterdotter — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 19:49:32 GMT

I believe that I will witness some of the most significant history in my life during the years to come.

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

lgfan — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 19:39:43 GMT

I was five years old when the first man on the moon mission was televised in 1969. I also remember the AIDS pandemic of the early 1980's. At first people didn't know what was causing it so people were really paranoid about public contact.

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

On It — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:16:36 GMT

I remember the first telephone being installed in our house. My grandparents, aunts and uncles got theirs about the same time. It meant not having to drive to their homes to communicate.

Edited to add: First historical event was the Korean War. My cousin returned from serving there. We had a huge family welcome back party.

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

SilleeMee — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 19:48:32 GMT

When the VN War was over in 1975, my Army dad came home...alive.

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

TexasMom1 — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 19:50:49 GMT

Cuba Missle Crisis October 16-29 1962
November 22, 1963

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

sugar plum — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 19:58:39 GMT

I distinctly remember The Challenger explosion in 1986. I was at my first job out of college when the news broke. We all ran to the one TV located in a conference room to watch the news.

I was stunned and couldn't speak. It was a tragic and horrific event. I'll never forget it. Many of us cried, including myself. Many others had tears in their eyes, even the men.

All 7 crew members perished, including Christa McAuliff, the first teacher in the space shuttle program.

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

Carmie — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 19:58:20 GMT

I have witnessed a lot of history...some good and some bad.

I feel that the time period as of right now is history in the making. Our society is troubling. I wonder what history will make of it. It won't be good.

COVID19 was definitely history making. I hope we as humans, learned from it and all of our mistakes.

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

LindaSal — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:00:38 GMT

I was 3 years old when JFK was assasinated. I was 9 when the first man walked on the moon. I remember my dad making us all sit in front of the black and white TV making sure we paid attention so we would remember the event. When our kids were in elementary school we took them to see one of the space shuttles take off in Florida.

There are so many experiences I have been blessed with or saddened by as many of you. It would be impossible to list them all but I appreciate your thoughtful question .

@Marp

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

ajsidney12 — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:11:07 GMT

9/11 ...I was only in my very early 20s, moved to one of the big cities where the planes left from. And was just trying to read the news online (which was hardly sophisticated as now) and the information was trickling in...Once it was confirmed a terrorist attack I became a child again. I was alone away from my family hundreds of miles away, no one could call anyone on cell phones because lines were jammed, every tv channel was overloaded with crazy theories and actual info, streets were closed in the City or turned one way, and the silence of living on a flight path for those long weeks following was deafening. That was the most tragic piece of history I lived through, and it is haunting to this day. To all those that were lost that day, or from illnesses (invisible, mental, or otherwise) I pray you rest easy always.

To the person who mentioned The Challenger, I watched that tragedy live on TV like hundreds of school children. I remember the explosion and our fourth grade teacher flipping off the TV so quickly. I don't think any kid in that room understood what happened because our brain could not understand it immediately, I am sure adults could not either, but thinking back it was incredibly horrifying we witnessed those poor souls perishing.

Also the Boston Marathon bombing. I worked in that City, but that day is typically a holiday for Boston. We lived just outside in an immediate suburb next to where they were caught. Being in a "recommended lockdown" situation, until they could catch the bombers was unimaginable. They asked us to stay home while police patrolled our neighborhoods, just unfathomable . I will never forget Boston Strong.

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

Mombo1 — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:02:10 GMT

@On It wrote:
I remember the first telephone being installed in our house. My grandparents, aunts and uncles got theirs about the same time. It meant not having to drive to their homes to communicate.

@On It I remember our first telephone as well. We had. "party line"...

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

Foxxee — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:03:47 GMT

November 9, 1989: The Berlin Wall—that separated communist East Berlin from democratic West Berlin for nearly 30 years—falls. The years 1989-90 see the collapse of communist regimes in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Benin, Mozambique, Nicaragua and Yemen.

• December 25, 1991: With the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union is dissolved. New Russian President Boris Yeltsin bans the Communist Party.

Communism soon ends in Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Congo, Yugoslavia and other nations. China, Cuba, Laos and Vietnam remain under Communist rule. North Korea remains Communist, although the North Korean government doesn't call itself Communist.

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

bmorechick — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:08:32 GMT

First one I remember was the Kennedy assignation. I was 7 years old and sent home from school. My mom and her sister were in our den around the tv crying...I couldn't figure out why.

Moon landing

Advent of the push button phone, fm radio, betamax

vietnam - I was in grade school in the 60s and we were so worried our dad would be called up, even though he had been discharged from Navy in 1954

And sadly 9/11

Too many things to remember

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

We rescue cats — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:09:33 GMT

Probably the first historical thing I remember was the death of JFK. But I also remember the death of his brother Robert and of Martin Luther King.... I was the Chairman of the Keystone Chapter of the American Red Cross during 9/11, our air disaster team was first on scene. We set up a field office to assist the workers in Shanksville, PA and set the stage for the care and feeding of all the workers, including the FBI, arranged and coordinated the transportation for the families and for Mrs. Bush to come in for the services.

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

Trailrun23 — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 22:37:35 GMT

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

Group 5 minus 1 — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:22:55 GMT

I remember sitting in the kitchen having supper w/Mom. Dad was a fireman and was working the night shift. The radio was on (KDKA) and it was announced that a vaccine for polio had been found.

On another note when the moonwalk was about to begin I had my son (just under 2 years) watch it. He says he thinks he remembers it.

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

haddon9 — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:24:33 GMT

I was in the fourth grade walking home from school when Kennedy was shot. I didn't believe it since it wasn't mentioned in school and some kids knew and were telling us about it. I thought they were making it up.

I remember the Beatles invasion and watching them on Ed Sullivan several months later! I was in love with them from the beginning!!

A few years later I remember MLK & then RFK both getting shot within a few months of each other. The moon landing was another historic event never to be forgotten.

I remember Nixon resigning and finally then the end of the VN war....it seemed like it would never end!

I remember Y2K and how we were all worried about computers having problems with the change of date which never happened.

Then of course 9/11. My kids were in high school & Jr High at the time. DH worked in central NJ and I just couldn't get though to him. Several people from my town and the one next to me passed that day.

Of course Covid was a major life changing event for the world and things will never quite be the same. Who knows what the future holds? I fear for our younger generation and the effects of looming AI

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

Marp — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:26:55 GMT

@SilleeMee wrote:
When the VN War was over in 1975, my Army dad came home...alive.

@SilleeMee, I sincerely home he is also unscathed. I'm confident you know what I mean by that.

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

qualitygal — Sun, 11 Jun 2023 19:50:20 GMT

When JFK was shot. Later MLK and Robert Kennedy too.

My husband was in Nam when the space walk took place.

Remember Son of Sam, and Sharon Tate and LaBianka (sp) murders.

Remember Karen Carpenter passing.

Space shots too. Krushchev and the Russian cosmonauts.

6/11/23 Did anyone mention Elvis passing?

Re: Significant History You Have Lived

Sooner — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:29:31 GMT

I worked near the Oklahoma City Bombing. If you ever want to know about it, get a copy (out of print long ago but still can find them) of "In their name."

If you can look at the memorial and photos from that day without emotion, I don't know what to say.