Where were you when?

It's always an interesting conversation to talk to people and reflect back events with the question of "Where were you when..."

My earliest memory of where was I when...was when Natalie Wood drowned. I didn't really know who she was, but I knew she was famous. I remember my mom being upset.

The next one was when John Lennon was shot. My mom and I were running errands. It was raining. We were in her big brown, two door Oldsmobile, and it came on the radio. It was 1980. I was 7.

The next big one for me was the Space Shuttle Challenger incident in 1986. I was in Junior High school. Health class. And, it came over the loud speaker. I remember when on this one really clearly.

There was the big earthquake of Northridge, CA in 1994. I remember when I happened to be home from college on Christmas break in Sherman Oaks, CA (where I grew up) and at 4am (or so) my parents came rushing in to grab me from my bed from stuff falling everywhere. I was 20.

I remember when OJ Simpson won his trial. I worked for TMP Worldwide and I stood in a conference room where I was shocked at how divided our work community was. 

I remember when JF Kennedy Jr's little plane went down in 1999. He was so handsome and young and fun. Such a shame. I remember thinking.

And, the next remember when was on September 11th. I don't need a year for this one. Nobody does. I remember when it happened I was in a sales meeting for the Chicago Tribune (across the street from the Chicago Tribune) where I was working as an Account Executive. I don't think that there are many people who don't "remember when" about where they were on September 11th. I couldn't believe, just like everyone else, that something like this really, truly happened. It was horrifying. Scary. And, it was such a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky. I remember that there were no planes flying that day either after it happened. I remember the next day driving to Orland Park to visit my best friend who had a 3 week old. I needed to hold onto something good. I needed to believe that everything wasn't bad. And, have hope that there was a future. My friend's "baby" is now 10 years and 3 weeks old.

The thing that saddens me the most is that unfortunately there are future remember whens that will happen. There's really no way to prevent them. Natural disasters will happen. People will die. But, I pray and hope that there will be nothing like a September 11th again. I don't want my kids to have to remember anything like a September 11th in their lives.



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