Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 5, 2017 0:35:49 GMT -5
What "big event" happened while you were in high school (especially if you were at school when it happened/you got the announcement)?
Years ago I went with my mom to her high school reunion. Her elementary school had been condemned, but they were able to visit the high school. When she walked into one of the rooms, she remembered where she was sitting when they heard the news that Kennedy had been shot.
For me... I had missed a test or something in one of my classes, so I was in the resource room when the verdict of the OJ Simpson trial was on the tv. I was the first in the school to find out. It was a pretty big topic in our genetics class because DNA was this "new thing" that we knew all about, but of which the general public (or at least the jury) had no clue/understanding. How times change!
There were other events I remember, but that one stands out because of being at school when we heard the news.
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Post by empress of self-improvement on Aug 5, 2017 1:46:19 GMT -5
I graduated in 91. I have no idea. I was a self-absorbed twit.
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on Aug 5, 2017 2:21:52 GMT -5
Kennedy then an earthquake on my birthday first major earthquake I remember.
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msventoux
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Post by msventoux on Aug 5, 2017 4:08:05 GMT -5
No idea. Homeschooled, no TV/telephone, and my head was always buried in a book. Only a nuclear bomb or something catastrophic would have gotten my attention. Though come to think of it there was a volcanic eruption that dumped a bit of ash at our house.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Aug 5, 2017 4:40:05 GMT -5
I graduated in 91. I have no idea. I was a self-absorbed twit. I do have the excuse of being six but my memory of the Kennedy assassination was voicing to my Mother that I was very annoyed that the funeral preempted the showing of anything else on all three channels available at the time.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2017 5:19:44 GMT -5
I remember the day of the Challenger explosion. Our high school,started in 7 th though, or I wouldn't have been at the high school yet.
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plugginaway22
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Post by plugginaway22 on Aug 5, 2017 5:52:37 GMT -5
I was 16 and working in a small town diner when one of the regular customers was sitting in a booth, crying. She was devastated because Elvis had just died.
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Regis
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Post by Regis on Aug 5, 2017 6:39:17 GMT -5
We all found out who shot J.R.
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steph08
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Post by steph08 on Aug 5, 2017 6:55:57 GMT -5
OJ verdict - they WHEELED a tv into the lunchroom at elementary school and showed the verdict. Not really appropriate for K-6 graders. Haha!
9/11 - I was in Spanish class and our teacher showed us on msn.com that planes had flown into the world trade center and Pentagon. The tvs were on in every room. We still had to run a mile on the track at gym and we were worried because we only live about 45 miles from shanksville. My dad was at work less than 10 miles from where Flight 93 crashed.
Columbia explosion - It was a Saturday and I went up to say bye to my dad before going to musical practice, and he showed me the news on tv.
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milee
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Post by milee on Aug 5, 2017 7:06:25 GMT -5
Not exactly a single event, but I was in high school when the Vietnam Memorial was built in DC and saw it that year. I remember they had a contest to design it and how angry people were that the winner of the contest was "not American" (that's how I described their words to my son, I was too embarrassed to say the racist words that people used.) Even the national nightly news went on and on about whether it was proper for an Asian woman to be the designer... even though she was American - born and raised here. Anyway, those first few years in the '80s when it was open it was very common to see people making charcoal rubbings of their dead loved one's name, there were piles of flowers, letters and other offerings and there were always men who appeared to be vets looking at or resting near the wall. It was very moving and felt very real and personal; the grief was fresh and tangible.
This latest visit was different. The monument itself is still incredibly powerful and moving, but I didn't see people making rubbings of names; there were only a few dignified flags left at the base, no letters of grief or flowers. And no men who appeared to be vets. Time is moving on. I just hope we don't forget the lessons of that "military engagement" (not even an official war, not unlike our current involvement in the Middle East).
D.C. also makes me remember how as a high school student I was so naive. It didn't seem worth the effort to go into politics since it seemed so obvious to me that by then so many of the issues would be addressed and I wouldn't even have the opportunity to be the first female president since of course that would have happened years before I was ready. Now I'm starting to suspect I will not see a woman elected before I die.
Well, unless Oprah decides to run. She's pretty electable. Other than her...
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Aug 5, 2017 7:11:03 GMT -5
WOW I'll have to think really hard since I graduated High School before most posters on this board were born May also have to google to make sure I was still in high school when events happened!! Memory fades with time!! High School was 10 - 12 and I graduated in 1961
I remember Gary Powers. I remember Castro taking over Cuba. I remember the day Buddy Holly and others died. I remember John Kennedy being nominated for Presidency - big to do since he was Catholic. I remember reading To Kill A Mockingbird. I remember the Bay of Pigs.
But I also remember getting a call from friend "have you heard the news? No, what's going on? Old man Douglas has been arrested? What? He was arrested for receiving pictures of young boys thru the mail!
My high school principal was arrested for receiving porn thru the mail.
On that note I'll stop - I could go on forever since I was so into politics and current events while in HS. Boy, has that changed in my old age!!!
ETA: I was in Junior High when "Rock and Roll" hit
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mroped
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Post by mroped on Aug 5, 2017 7:19:02 GMT -5
Senior year when Chernobyl happened.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Aug 5, 2017 7:24:12 GMT -5
I wanted to go see the Berlin wall come down, but I was still in HS, and it was on another continent.
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milee
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Post by milee on Aug 5, 2017 7:25:33 GMT -5
In Florida, the Challenger launch was a huge deal because one of the astronauts - Christa McAuliffe - was a Florida teacher. So to celebrate one of our own teachers being sent into space, most of the schools had the students watching the launch both outside and on TV. Ooops. I remember I was in biology class. The launch happened, then the explosion happened then for several minutes the only noise was the gurgling of the aquariums while we all held our breath...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2017 7:36:30 GMT -5
I was in elementary school when Kennedy was shot. It was a Catholic school, and we were sent home to pray.
I was in high school when Woodstock happened, but I was only 16 so I wasn't even old enough to see the movie.
Draft exemptions were ended my senior year of high school (or maybe the year before). That was a "big event" if you were an eighteen-year-old boy, believe me. A lot of my male classmates went to Viet Nam.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Aug 5, 2017 7:44:19 GMT -5
I was in 7th grade class when it was announced Kennedy had been shot and announced later he had died.
While I remember that well, what I remember even better is my family and I watching tv and Oswald was being led out of a building by police and suddenly our home doorbell rang. I was told to check and see who was at the door (older brother's friend). By the time I got back to the den to watch tv, Oswald had been shot by Ruby on live tv.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Aug 5, 2017 7:50:13 GMT -5
In Florida, the Challenger launch was a huge deal because one of the astronauts - Christa McAuliffe - was a Florida teacher. So to celebrate one of our own teachers being sent into space, most of the schools had the students watching the launch both outside and on TV. Ooops. I remember I was in biology class. The launch happened, then the explosion happened then for several minutes the only noise was the gurgling of the aquariums while we all held our breath... Wasn't Christa McAuliffe a teacher from New Hampshire?
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busymom
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Post by busymom on Aug 5, 2017 7:51:54 GMT -5
I had just come home from tennis team practice to find out Elvis had died.
College holds a bigger memory: that's when Reagan was shot.
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Anne_in_VA
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Post by Anne_in_VA on Aug 5, 2017 7:54:42 GMT -5
I was in Civics class when Kennedy was assasonated. The principal announced it over the intercome and a lot of students started crying.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Aug 5, 2017 7:56:09 GMT -5
I don't remember exactly when the OJ verdict happened, but I do remember being completely sick of all the media coverage over it. We were bombarded with it for what seemed like a couple years. I went on a college study abroad trip at the height of my distaste for it. It was a glorious escape!
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Aug 5, 2017 7:59:52 GMT -5
Babies, babies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I love it.
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milee
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Post by milee on Aug 5, 2017 8:18:42 GMT -5
In Florida, the Challenger launch was a huge deal because one of the astronauts - Christa McAuliffe - was a Florida teacher. So to celebrate one of our own teachers being sent into space, most of the schools had the students watching the launch both outside and on TV. Ooops. I remember I was in biology class. The launch happened, then the explosion happened then for several minutes the only noise was the gurgling of the aquariums while we all held our breath... Wasn't Christa McAuliffe a teacher from New Hampshire? She may have been, but Florida claimed her? Florida's like that; we have our own rules. And - like the Pirate's Code - they're more like guidelines.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Aug 5, 2017 8:24:32 GMT -5
I believe I was in 8th grade for the OJ verdict? I remember talking about it as the verdict came during the banking/personal finance class I was in. We learned how to fill out checks! Haha.
I was a junior in high school when the Columbine school shooting happened. I remember all the discussions we had in classes after that, and I think that was the beginning of "Dr. Emory." If there was an unauthorized person situation at school, someone waa supposed to get on the loudspeaker and call Dr. Emory to the office or wherever.
I was a sophomore in college on September 11th. I had an 8 a.m. class until 10, immediately followed by a 10:10 class. I had no idea what was going on until the second class, and when someone told the class a tower collapsed I left out an incredulous laugh. More like a nervous laugh, not a haha laugh. I couldn't visualize a building collapsing to the ground. I was imagining it had tipped over and was leaning against another building. I don't know why. I just couldn't believe what was happening until class was over and I went back to my apartment. My roommates and I were just glued to the tv all day and did take a lunch break. I still remember how incredibly beautiful the weather was that day. Amazing blue sky.
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milee
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Post by milee on Aug 5, 2017 8:28:12 GMT -5
how incredibly beautiful the weather was that day. Amazing blue sky. All planes grounded = no contrails.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Aug 5, 2017 8:37:51 GMT -5
Morning of 9/11: having just showered and dressed for work, I walked into the den and tv was reporting some type of plane had crashed into one of the WTC towers. Ten minutes later (or so) I walked into the office and asked if anyone had heard about the plane hitting the WTC. A co-worker told me a second plane had hit the second tower.
So we all were watching the tv in the conference room when one of the managers came in and said we would still be having our weekly staff meeting in the conference room at 0900. She told us there was nothing we could do for the poor souls in NYC. Meeting was held with the tv off. Same old stuff we discussed evey week during the meeting.
Every once in a while, the manager's admin assist. would come into the room and whisper something in the manager's ear. At the end of the meeting, the manager told us a plane had crashed into the Pentagon, a plane had flown into the ground in Pa., and the two towers had crumbled to the ground.
We were then told we could go home. Stupid manager.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2017 8:41:02 GMT -5
I was on maternity leave but headed into school for meetings on 9/11.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Aug 5, 2017 8:45:37 GMT -5
how incredibly beautiful the weather was that day. Amazing blue sky. All planes grounded = no contrails chemtrails. Fixed. (Sorry-I could not help myself.) At the time of 9/11, Memphis (where I live) was a hub for Northwest Airline and home and main aircraft facility for FedEx. The day of and several days after 9/11, it was quiet as hell with no planes arriving or departing. Eerily quiet.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2017 8:47:14 GMT -5
The only major event I can tie to high school was the Challenger since it was during the school day. I was a sophomore or junior and in study hall when the Principal came over the intercom to announce that it had exploded.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2017 8:53:54 GMT -5
Tying 9/11 to sroo's post, in the past I watched the 9/11 movie with my kids, who have never traveled before it, and they were astounded at the lack of foresight that allowed people to just walk onto plains with weapons, and not contemplate the use of the plane itself as a weapon... 'common sense' is an interesting construct.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2017 8:57:07 GMT -5
Since we're talking about 911 (way post-graduation for me). That day I was at work...on a factory floor. NOT a good place to be when news like this breaks because we are kept totally cut off from the outside world. We weren't allowed internet access, no tvs, no smart phones back then, and outside calls had to go through the receptionist. All news we got was from engineers that would come out to the floor to fill us in on the latest. A bunch of people just took sick time and punched out for the day because it was so stressful not knowing what was going on. Just a trickle of secondhand information coming through. A tower was hit, another tower hit, the pentagon hit, a tower fell....it was just one unbelievable thing after another. It wasn't until I was able to leave that afternoon and glue myself to the tv that it really sunk in.
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