cktc
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 19, 2013 22:15:31 GMT -5
Posts: 3,202
|
Post by cktc on Aug 5, 2017 12:08:07 GMT -5
I was in 8th grade math class (homeroom, Chanel 1 News) when I learned about Princess Diana and Mother Teresa passing.
Columbine was 9th grade. I don't really remember when I heard about it, but it was a big topic of discussion for the remainder of high school. A kid in the grade above me got into legal trouble a couple years later for making a "hit list". He was a class clown, Mariah Carey and several other celebrities and friends were on the list. It was a joke. He was an idiot.
9/11 was senior year. I was watching the news before school and didn't really process it until I got to school and news of the death toll kept rising. We had a history exam that day and were given the option to take it or postpone and watch the news. I opted to take it because i needed the information .
|
|
bean29
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 22:26:57 GMT -5
Posts: 9,886
|
Post by bean29 on Aug 5, 2017 12:36:15 GMT -5
Startled me for just a second there as the question asked by the OP was "what big event happened while you were in high school"! Just shows how good my reading comprehension skills are (usually reading is pretty high, listening pretty bad, but I am getting old, so everything is going)
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Mar 28, 2024 6:03:02 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2017 12:37:52 GMT -5
Baby Jessica in the well!
|
|
billisonboard
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 22:45:44 GMT -5
Posts: 37,385
|
Post by billisonboard on Aug 5, 2017 12:39:29 GMT -5
9/11 my wife informed me when I got out of bed a plane had hit the WTC. I jumped directly in the shower telling her it would be a bit before details were known. She came in and told me with a shaking voice of the second plane.
I took a class on terrorism in college. The professor had us reading essays by 19th century Russian anarchists discussing the philosophy of terrorism. After that, I viewed acts the media declared "terrorism" differently and frequently dismissively. I remember horrified admiration that on that day they got it perfectly right.
I was teaching at a junior/senior high school at the time. I learned later my colleagues were keeping an eye on me because I was obviously badly dazed by the event.
|
|
souldoubt
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 11:57:14 GMT -5
Posts: 2,745
|
Post by souldoubt on Aug 5, 2017 12:48:37 GMT -5
Colmbine shooting junior year. I was at a my friend's house with him and another buddy after school as we had block schedule and didn't have an afternoon class so our day ended a bit after noon. I remember watching the news as they were evacuating classes, pulling the kid out of the window and so on. As it all unfolded over the next so many days it made me think about the kids in school who I watched get bullied and harassed for no reason other than the fact that they were quiet kids who weren't athletes, ASB or popular.
Edit - as far as 9/11 goes I had a TV that had a timer on it that I set to turn on when my alarm went off. I live on the west coast and was getting up to go to class and by then the first plane had hit a little over an hour before. I remember waking up thinking it was some movie because they were showing one of the planes hitting. I thought it was weird because I always left my TV on ABC and expected to see the news and it took me a bit to realize it was the news.
|
|
GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
Senior Associate
"How you win matters." Ender, Ender's Game
Joined: Jan 2, 2011 13:33:09 GMT -5
Posts: 11,291
|
Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Aug 5, 2017 13:31:30 GMT -5
Startled me for just a second there as the question asked by the OP was "what big event happened while you were in high school"! Just shows how good my reading comprehension skills are (usually reading is pretty high, listening pretty bad, but I am getting old, so everything is going) Ditto. Completely overlooked the "in high school" part. I was a junior for the Bicentennial.
|
|
dannylion
Junior Associate
Gravity is a harsh mistress
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 12:17:52 GMT -5
Posts: 5,194
Location: Miles over the madness horizon and accelerating
|
Post by dannylion on Aug 5, 2017 13:59:50 GMT -5
When President Kennedy was assassinated, I was in 10th grade in geometry class. The teacher told us the president had been shot, but it wasn't until we got out of class and saw some ROTC students lowering the flag to half-staff that we realized he had died.
I was TDY overseas when Reagan was shot. I was traveling at the time in an area with restricted news access, so it was several hours before I learned what had happened.
When the Challenger tragedy occurred, my team was returning to our office from a meeting at Secret Service HQ (I remember where we had been because it was my first visit there). When we got off the Metro at the Pentagon and entered the underground concourse, we noticed that that there were clumps of people gathered around the TVs that were always tuned to 24-hour news channels, so we stopped to see what was going on and learned that the shuttle had exploded.
I was at work on 9/11. We were evacuated.
ETA: Well, you can count me among the reading-comprehension-challenged participants. I assimilated the "big event" but missed the "when you were in high school" part. I'm old, though, so I have an excuse.
|
|
|
Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Aug 5, 2017 14:01:25 GMT -5
I was taking a class in Bioterrorism when all of the anthrax was found in the mail. It made for some really interesting class discussions. SARS was at its peak when I took advanced epidemiology. Again, some pretty interesting discussions using real life situations.
|
|
justme
Senior Associate
Joined: Feb 10, 2012 13:12:47 GMT -5
Posts: 14,618
|
Post by justme on Aug 5, 2017 14:04:34 GMT -5
I was a freshman when 9/11 happened. Someone from tv class came into drama class and told us to torn on the tv. So I was watching it live as the second plane hit and the collapse.
In Florida they usually televised all shuttle launches and returns. I was watching live when Columbia came back. I remember telling my mom that something was going wrong, one streak shouldn't have split into multiple and her saying I was wrong until the reporters started talking about something going wrong.
|
|
andi9899
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 6, 2011 10:22:29 GMT -5
Posts: 30,284
|
Post by andi9899 on Aug 5, 2017 15:47:33 GMT -5
Selena died (for those who know who she is) when I was in high school. Also, there was the O.J. chase. Does that make me old? I had several decades plus of work under my belt at that time (Selena and O.J.). So no. In my eyes, that makes you young. Princess Diana died when I was a senior in HS.
|
|
andi9899
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 6, 2011 10:22:29 GMT -5
Posts: 30,284
|
Post by andi9899 on Aug 5, 2017 15:51:07 GMT -5
I had lunch with my dad today. He asked me if I was going to settle down when I turn 40. I told him hell no! I'm going to go wild! The girls will both be grown and I'm going to turn all the way up!
|
|
Tennesseer
Member Emeritus
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 21:58:42 GMT -5
Posts: 63,120
|
Post by Tennesseer on Aug 5, 2017 16:52:12 GMT -5
Startled me for just a second there as the question asked by the OP was "what big event happened while you were in high school"! Oh - while in high school. There were several: Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated. 1968 Race riots around the country and notably the Watts (Los Angeles) riots. 1965 The northeast and two provinces in Canada black out. 1965 Col. Virgil I. Grissom, Col. Edward White II, and Lt. Cmdr. Roger B. Chaffee die in spacecraft fire. 1967 Six day war in the Middle East. 1967 Capture of the U.S. Navy ship Pueblo by North Korea. 1968 My friend and classmate Betty got pregnant. 1969
|
|
wvugurl26
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 15:25:30 GMT -5
Posts: 21,665
|
Post by wvugurl26 on Aug 5, 2017 17:19:05 GMT -5
9/11 I was in AP English my senior year. I suppose I was very naive still but I couldn't understand how someone could do that to us.
My parents went out that night and left us kids alone. I was doing homework and my brothers came in saying there were planes. I was like no way they are grounded. Turned out to be military planes flying cover for the multiple chemical plants on the river.
|
|
NoNamePerson
Distinguished Associate
Is There Anybody OUT There?
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 17:03:17 GMT -5
Posts: 25,591
Location: WITNESS PROTECTION
Member is Online
|
Post by NoNamePerson on Aug 5, 2017 17:19:42 GMT -5
I had lunch with my dad today. He asked me if I was going to settle down when I turn 40. I told him hell no! I'm going to go wild! The girls will both be grown and I'm going to turn all the way up! My son still ask me when I plan on growing. Ain't gonna happen.
|
|
Tennesseer
Member Emeritus
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 21:58:42 GMT -5
Posts: 63,120
|
Post by Tennesseer on Aug 5, 2017 17:39:11 GMT -5
9/11 I was in AP English my senior year. I suppose I was very naive still but I couldn't understand how someone could do that to us. My parents went out that night and left us kids alone. I was doing homework and my brothers came in saying there were planes. I was like no way they are grounded. Turned out to be military planes flying cover for the multiple chemical plants on the river. When I arrived at work and was told a second plane had hit the other tower, I was confused and mentioned how could air traffic control have screwed up so badly to send the planes into the towers. It never even dawned on me at the moment that people could do that to other people and I was fifty years old at the time..
|
|
andi9899
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 6, 2011 10:22:29 GMT -5
Posts: 30,284
|
Post by andi9899 on Aug 5, 2017 17:39:37 GMT -5
I had lunch with my dad today. He asked me if I was going to settle down when I turn 40. I told him hell no! I'm going to go wild! The girls will both be grown and I'm going to turn all the way up! My son still ask me when I plan on growing. Ain't gonna happen. I feel like it's better for the world that we don't live in the same city.
|
|
NoNamePerson
Distinguished Associate
Is There Anybody OUT There?
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 17:03:17 GMT -5
Posts: 25,591
Location: WITNESS PROTECTION
Member is Online
|
Post by NoNamePerson on Aug 5, 2017 17:42:39 GMT -5
My son still ask me when I plan on growing. Ain't gonna happen. I feel like it's better for the world that we don't live in the same city. You are probably correct in that!! I should add that I was just shy of 40 when I got divorced and it was katy bar the door - well not the bar doors but you get my drift!!
|
|
steph08
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 3, 2011 13:06:01 GMT -5
Posts: 5,444
|
Post by steph08 on Aug 5, 2017 19:38:31 GMT -5
The day of his resignation is vivid in my mind... I think I was a between 5th & 6th grade. Nixon announced it on Aug. 8 (my dad's 41st birthday) and was stacking straw bales in our barn (it was hot, air very still and the radio was playing) when the top of the hour news announced the resignation was official. Off topic, but our dads share birthdays! (my dad is a few years younger though) Another 8/8 birthday here!
|
|
cael
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 9:12:36 GMT -5
Posts: 5,745
|
Post by cael on Aug 5, 2017 19:50:07 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. Omg, Meg. That's my most vivid memory of that day too besides watching the news, the blue sky and crisp beautiful fall day. I was at my second or third day of college, and my first class didn't have a room yet so we sat outside one of the buildings at picnic tables. They cancelled classes after about 11am but we weren't told why. I was taking the bus/train home for the first time that day and didn't have a cell phone yet, so I sat at the train station and listened to people chattering about how 20,000 people were dead and just had no idea what was going on. Got home and my dad had been sent home (non-essential state employee) and we just watched the news and I napped, because I'd been in Boston at a concert that night before until like 1am. Columbine is probably the event I most would remember from high school? I must have been a sophomore.. my mom made me stop wearing the trench coat I had.
|
|
justme
Senior Associate
Joined: Feb 10, 2012 13:12:47 GMT -5
Posts: 14,618
|
Post by justme on Aug 5, 2017 20:03:00 GMT -5
9/11 I was in AP English my senior year. I suppose I was very naive still but I couldn't understand how someone could do that to us. My parents went out that night and left us kids alone. I was doing homework and my brothers came in saying there were planes. I was like no way they are grounded. Turned out to be military planes flying cover for the multiple chemical plants on the river. When I arrived at work and was told a second plane had hit the other tower, I was confused and mentioned how could air traffic control have screwed up so badly to send the planes into the towers. It never even dawned on me at the moment that people could do that to other people and I was fifty years old at the time.. If I'm remembering right, I believe even the newscasters didn't believe that second plane was actually going to hit the tower until it actually hit it. They were still thinking it was a small plane like a Cessna that originally hit and then wondering why another plane was so close when it was obvious one already hit.
|
|
Tennesseer
Member Emeritus
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 21:58:42 GMT -5
Posts: 63,120
|
Post by Tennesseer on Aug 5, 2017 20:08:43 GMT -5
9/11 has been mentioned often in this thread. For those who might be interested, here is a radar video of U.S. airspace the morning of 9/11. It begins prior to the first stike and ends with the last of the commercial airliners landing at the nearest commercial airport as directed.
|
|
daisy
Familiar Member
Joined: Aug 24, 2013 0:43:49 GMT -5
Posts: 739
|
Post by daisy on Aug 5, 2017 20:13:04 GMT -5
The Tylenol Terrorist - when an unknown person in the Chicago area was filling Tylenol capsules with cyanide....when the news broke ('82 - my Junior year), my NW Chicago area high school made a panicked announcement that anyone who had a bottle of Tylenol on hand should bring it immediately to the office. This is when we were still allowed to have OTC meds in our lockers or purses, and shared them with impunity.
Also, I remember that AIDS was becoming a major news headline at that time - at that time basically only classified as a homosexual male disease predominantly on the West Coast.
|
|
|
Post by empress of self-improvement on Aug 5, 2017 20:30:25 GMT -5
With 9/11, I remember hearing the jets at Hanscom AFB scrambling as they were providing air cover and seeing a buttload of military vehicles coming from Camp Curtis Guild, in Reading. It was freaky.
I was at work and my sister came in to pick up a package and told us about the first plane. Then the owner's moron brother told us when the second one hit since we weren't allowed internet access. Went home at regular time and spent the night in front of the tv with my dad.
|
|
|
Post by empress of self-improvement on Aug 5, 2017 20:31:07 GMT -5
Just shows how good my reading comprehension skills are (usually reading is pretty high, listening pretty bad, but I am getting old, so everything is going) Ditto. Completely overlooked the "in high school" part. I was a junior for the Bicentennial. I was 3.
|
|
TheOtherMe
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 14:40:52 GMT -5
Posts: 26,956
Mini-Profile Name Color: e619e6
|
Post by TheOtherMe on Aug 5, 2017 21:45:59 GMT -5
Challenger accident: My sister was home recovering from a miscarriage. She said it let her sit and stare at television and cry for hours.
I watched the wedding of Princess Diana and Charles. I also watched her funeral.
Remember well the day Nixon resigned.
One of the hostages in Beirut's wife and family lived down the street from me in one city where I lived. He was already a hostage when I moved there and, sadly was still a hostage when I moved away.
A friend of mine got pregnant when we were juniors in high school. They got married and are still married today.
|
|
Tennesseer
Member Emeritus
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 21:58:42 GMT -5
Posts: 63,120
|
Post by Tennesseer on Aug 5, 2017 21:50:42 GMT -5
If I'm remembering right, I believe even the newscasters didn't believe that second plane was actually going to hit the tower until it actually hit it. They were still thinking it was a small plane like a Cessna that originally hit and then wondering why another plane was so close when it was obvious one already hit. That's what I was watching, I was waiting for a script to run and had the tv on in the background so as they were talking about the first attack the second one was happening live behind them. ''If you caught the live broadcast from the early on, you saw people jumping from the building to their deaths. I remember 2 things really stuck with me that day. First all the grounded planes that everyone else had mentioned, but I was in KC, where the Stealth bombers are based, we had a steady stream of jet traffic. Not the same as a commercial flight sound. The second, and this is when I knew it was bad, the news reports were streaming with the reactions from world leaders and it was reported that Fidel Castro offered condolences and aid or support if needed. I thought oh shit it must be be bad if Castro is offering the US help. Did not know that. News regarding Cuba & the September 11th attacks:
|
|
Apple
Junior Associate
Always travel with a sense of humor
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 15:51:04 GMT -5
Posts: 9,931
Mini-Profile Name Color: dc0e29
|
Post by Apple on Aug 5, 2017 23:46:06 GMT -5
Also, I remember that AIDS was becoming a major news headline at that time - at that time basically only classified as a homosexual male disease predominantly on the West Coast. I was in Jr High when Magic Johnson announced he had HIV. I remember some of the guys just being worked up about it.
|
|
Apple
Junior Associate
Always travel with a sense of humor
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 15:51:04 GMT -5
Posts: 9,931
Mini-Profile Name Color: dc0e29
|
Post by Apple on Aug 5, 2017 23:47:54 GMT -5
Title changed so people notice the high school part
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,233
|
Post by NastyWoman on Aug 6, 2017 0:49:30 GMT -5
What I stands out among what I remember from when I was in secondary school, aside from the JFK, RK, and MLK assasinations: man walked on the moon, world wide protests against the Vietnam war, and the tv reports of the race riots across the US. The latter colored my view of the US for a very long time (no pun intended).
|
|
billisonboard
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 22:45:44 GMT -5
Posts: 37,385
|
Post by billisonboard on Aug 6, 2017 6:59:23 GMT -5
It is before 5 in the morning, the house is silent, and I am thinking about the specific title and the challenge of "coloring inside the lines" for me. The high school I went to was a three year school and I only made it for a couple of those. That means that it was less than 1/30th of my life.
|
|