Where were you...
 

When Reagan was shot?

The generation older than I remembers JFK, I was a year too late being born for that one. I remember when Hinckley shot Reagan. I was outside at the HS, we'd had track practice. I remember my friend, coming from softball, telling me and it really not seeming like a big deal (though yeah, she probably said he was probably going to be OK.) Of course this was in the day she could have only heard it on her car radio, or possibly if she had used the payphone and called home for some reason.

Anyway, here's a CNN slide show. Mostly I liked the second page, showing the newspaper publishing of the itinerary (they don't do that anymore.) And I liked the way they spelled Rebulicans. :lol:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/18/rea...ry/index.html#

I don't really remember, but I do remember my history teacher the next day talking with awe about the Secret Service agent who produced an Uzi from a briefcase within a couple seconds. You can see him and the briefcase in one of those pictures in the slideshow.

I remember JFK; remember John Lennon, remember The Challenger, remember 9/11. Don't remember Reagan. (and I wish I could forget him)

I don't remember.
I was nine and knew more about Australia than America.
I didn't even really know what an American accent was then. I just thought people talked funny if they were in films and cartoons. I would probably have thought it was a British dialect if pushed.

I do remember where I was when I found out Princess Diana had died. Not because it meant so much to me, but because Mum scared the life out of me. Woke me up, "Have you heard?" made me switch on the TV. I was terrifed - my immediate thought was the IRA.

And even now - even this week!! - she still remembers this.
Shouting up when I was drying my hair, "Liz Taylor has died!"
Stop hairdryer, put on towel, enquire through door, news repeated.
"I know"
"You always have to watch the news in the morning, otherwise if you get to school and everyone else is talking about it you'll feel stupid!"
Thanks Mum. Lots of 4/5 year olds avidly follow news on Hollywood stars, especially those from the 1950s.

When Elvis died, I heard an "OH NO" from my mom, listening to the radio in her kitchen. Of course, she saw him at Hobart Arena in Troy before he got REALLY big. She has an autographed picture.

Yeah, even Americans went a little wonky when Princess Di was killed. For me, it was the same day my grandmother died, so PD went without much fanfare from me, but I still found it very sad.

Who cares. They never killed him. It was only a flesh wound. And many people thought he went on to be one of the greatest presidents we had. Well that was until Clinton came along and then they knew how much better Reagan really was. And if you compare him to Jimmy Carter, Reagan was God like.

What an assjacket.

Somewhere I have an image of three college kids outside the exact same exit Reagan used, one of us acting like Reagan, one of us acting like Hinckley, and one of us acting like secret service.

We had an actual BB pistol that looked like a real gun. And we found ourselves at a conference at the same hotel. Goddamn I hope I can locate that shot some time.

I can't agree more, Clinton and Carter sucked ass.

Pretty funny. I wonder if they didn't catch you on some security camera after that incident. Surprised no one chased you away.

Bush and Clinton such great presidents....

First grade classroom. The teacher announced it and Valerie started crying, "oh god, not another one?" The rest of us first graders had no clue what she was talking about even after she said, "first kennedy, now reagan".

I still find it funny a first grader was so distraught over an assassination 11 years before she was born.

This shows that you have forgotten what it was like before 9/11. People could goof around back then without getting in serious trouble. Now you get charged as a terrorist if you wear a harmless blinky design on your shirt.

Or get put on a no fly list.

That's funny. Precocious one, eh? :)

Yeah, we didn't have the instant 24 hour news feeds like we do now. Someone had to have a TV or radio on and then it just went about on word of mouth. This struck me when I came upon that slideshow: what turned out to be NOT an assassination still, when hearing the president of the US was shot, there's a bit of apprehension. Even hating the Bush regime as I did, an inkling that either had been assassinated would have been a horrible thing. Like the president or not, a dead president does not bode well for the patriotic citizens of our country.

You're a lot younger than me, lookout. :) I do remember that day vividly, because of the circumstances, the location, my friend's brother's beat up old Rebel. I thought it would be an interesting comparison. Thanks for the input.

Aside: (Unless your patriotism is really just an excuse to shit in the corner before you go suck some dick, like the rare sighting of the Handlebarred Assjacket.) :lol:

Now if you'll excuse me, I see a notable ass I must go kiss, lest my not even remotely disguised dig paints me as a big meanie head. I need adoring eyes gazing at me while they pat me on the head and say "who's a good boy. Him is! Ess him is! Gullibles. :lol2:

Ah, the days before internet, 24hour news, tv's in the classroom, and smartphones.

We found out about the Reagan shooting when a parent drove to the school and told the principal who made an announcement over the PA and then played a radio broadcast for us to hear.

We cound out about the Challenger explosion when a parent drove to the school and interrupted our social studies class to tell us. Mr Ditmar ran down the hall and snagged one of the tv's before word got out and we got to watch the news coverage.

Yeah, it kind of boggles the mind, the difference. For example...we would have seen all those pictures from the Reagan shooting over and over if we had the kind of tech we have now. I bet that's the first time I'd seen them.

I remember watching a Red's game in the science laboratory in my Catholic elementary school. At least I think I remember that. Must have been WS playoffs or something?

Well, yeah, but a substitute nun once said we were going to the lavatory and I was SO excited because I was sure we got to watch another ball game. Imagine my surprise when she led us past the lab doors and to the bathroom. Pretentious little nun. :lol:

I remember the OJ Simpson trial verdict, too.

I was in Philly - Swarthmore, to be exact, watching TV at my sisters house.

That's minutes from my current house!

I can vaguely remember the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations. I can remember being woken up early to see some space program event, but I have no idea what it was. I was at work when the challenger exploded, listened to coverage on PBS. I have no idea where I was when Dutch was shot, though I was disappointed he survived. Elvis? Didn't care. I was visiting the in-laws at the beach when Princess Di died.

Can you remember where you were when JFK Jr. flew his plane upside down into the ocean in the fog? It was a lazy morning, and I couldn't get off the couch. All the network channels were showing the search boats on the water, going back and forth.

Same with the Columbia disaster.

I was with one of my captains in the AF who was devastated to see it on the news. He and Jr took surfing vacations together every 3 months for a number of years.

I didn't believe him at first either but then Jr walked into our building to meet him for lunch.

I just remember thinking "no freaking way." I mean, the guy was on Seinfeld. It was so surreal.

I remember when Sonny Bono and some Kennedy got killed skiiing into trees and a message went around that said "We will continue to kill one celebrity per week until you curtail logging practices. Sincerely, The Trees."

I didn't know anyone had shot Reagan until around 1999 when I went to college. But what can I say, I was homeschooled. Never seemed like a big deal, though, since it was history by then. He survived, meh.