First Big news event .

As everyone is sharing these things, I need to look up the dates, because I remembered a lot of the same things. Turns out in 1981 was a big year.

Hostage release.
Reagan shooting.
Charles and Diana.
Luke and Laura.

I was 9 and remember all of these.

(And to be fair, John Lennon was slain just before the closing of 1980.)

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I used to always wonder what was going to be my generation’s Kennedy assassination, the moment that everybody knew exactly what they were doing when they heard. I remember thinking first that it was going to be the OJ verdict, then Columbine happened and I thought “oh, this is it.” Then, of course, 9/11.

I think the first “event” I really remember was OJ and the Bronco - my family didn’t have air conditioning and it was super hot so my mom and I were sleeping in the basement, and I remember staying up late to watch the “chase”.

That’s the first one I remember clearly, and probably for the same reason as you! We owned commemorative photo albums :joy:

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Ah thanks for this. I was thinking mine was 9/11. I was in 7th grade. But I definitely remember OJ and Columbine too. It’s just, you know. 9/11 absolutely overshadows those.

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I also remember the Exxon-Valdez oil spill in ‘89, but I’m from Alaska so maybe that’s why. I vaguely remember the Challenger explosion but I had just turned 6. I remember things from high school and early college much better…Ross Perot running for president, the OJ stuff, the Gulf War, Princess Diana dying, etc. But none of those is like 9/11, where I remember exactly where I was when I found out. The others are all general memories. That one is precise.

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The night that OJ ran away I was sooooooooooo sick with the worst sunburn of my life. I will never forget it. And I will never forget the OJ thing. :joy:

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Same for these memories. I think I was roughly the same grade. Born in 82 (on this day to be exact :blush: 9/13)

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Challenger, definitely. Like others, I was home sick, so was watching the launch live. I was very much into it because I had hoped to go to Space Camp and had been saving money and planning for it. (Never actually did it.)

Another biggie was definitely the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan.

And of course, the most significant of them all: who shot JR?

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I always wanted to go to Space Camp.

I recently learned that grownups can go too. And it’s not super expensive! Am thinking about it for a birthday trip one year :blush:

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That would be awesome. Wonder if they do family space camp!

I think so. Check the site. I learned about it from Mike Rahlmann of the BOG Podcast. He was a Space Camp counselor for years!!

Reading these, and since this is an election year, I think my first national exposure was the Kennedy/Nixon campaign. That was a divisive event.

Also, WW2 was still big. I knew kids who were maimed by unexploded ordinance which then exploded, untimely. Kids - my brother among them - were still memorizing plane silhouettes. Kids were encouraged to play war games, with toy guns, with an idea that we needed to stay prepared. And amidst all of that was of course polio.

Switching gears, I almost put the wedding of Charles and Diana. It was a big deal in my family - my toddler niece dressed in her version of a bridal gown while she watched with her grandmother, who grew up in England. I doubt that my niece actually recalls the wedding. I’ll have to ask . . .

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Exact same, and I was the same age too.

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I also have a clear memory of the eruption of Mt St Helens

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Oops, that made me remember the day that Nixon resigned. He gave a speech and got on a plane.

I was old enough to remember this, but we lived in Saudi Arabia at the time and didn’t have a TV.

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A generation gap. :smile: I was in the 6th grade when my teacher had to tell us about the assassination of President Kennedy.

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Um, not to question your memory, but those two things were about 5 years apart. :sunglasses:

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I keep forgetting I’m no longer the alone as the oldest here :smile::+1::smile:

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Happy Birthday!! :sparkler::birthday::sparkler:

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JFK assassination. I was still at a pre-school age, but I remember it and watching the funeral on TV

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