Where were you 20 years ago today?

[Esterina]

In January 1986, I was doing the last trimester of Katimavik, a canadian government youth program, in which we do volunteer work in three different areas of the country, sharing the adventure with 11 others and a group leader. At that time, we were 3 months from finishing the 9 month-program, and stuck in a small town of northern Newfoundland. I was a working as an assistant french teacher at a high school. And the only way to go to the only club of the district was to borrow the village police car !

Certainly the highlight of my post-teen/pre-adult life ! Memories to last for ever...

[omisan]

Mr. Cherry's 6th grade class at Cupertino Jr. High School.

The whole Challenger explosiony thingamajiggy had just happened and I thought, "Welll, shit happens when you're sitting on 40 tons of explosive fuel." That was probably the moment, at age 11, when I began my lifetime of cynicism. Especially when a classmate, Tricia, started crying. She really wanted to be an astronaut and on that day, her hopes were dashed. Her dreams destroyed. Of course, anyone who lets one setback destroy their dreams probably doesn't deserve to attain them. She's probably a school cafeteria lunchlady now.

[Emphazy]

Originally posted by raysen@Jan 28 2006, 02:12 PM
20 year ago to the day I was in my mummy's tummy and will be for the next few months...until april 20th to be exact!Oh I remember it like it was yesterday! The good ol days hey?lol

[snapback]100443[/snapback]

Your mother ate you?!?! Damn, then she threw you back up in april? That's some crazy woman.

As for me 20 years ago I was in my mothers uterus. All I remember is that it was like being in a pot of vegetable soup that's just about to be served.

[Emphazy]

Originally posted by jamiepeaski@Jan 28 2006, 05:20 PM
I definitely think 9/11. That was really one of those days that I'll never forget the infamous "what I was doing when I found out."

[snapback]100466[/snapback]

I remember exactly... not that it was that long ago:

I was in my advanced tenth grade math class, and we had TV's in all of our classrooms hooked up to satellite. So after the staff heard of the 1st tower being hit, they flicked on the TV's and we actually saw the 2nd plane hit live. It was so unreal to see something like that happen, at school for that matter.

[juliagulia]

september 11th was so scary for me esp. since my teacher freaked out when I said my mom worked in washington but they weren't telling us anything (not even broad stuff like, something in NY happened).

they kept us all in our classrooms and no one could go into the hallways (everyone thought that we were being held hostages or something like columbine was happening).

It was so scary because every five minutes we would hear the secretary come on the announcments and call about 15 students at a time for early dismissal and my teacher was not being stable at all (her mom was in new york or something like that).

I finally figured out what happened when they let students out early and my friends mom told me, and I ran home cause as an 11 year old, i didn't realize that my mother wouldn't be affected by the pentagon attacks since she was on the waterfront and no where near the pentagon...

Looking back on it now, it doesn't seem like that big a deal, but they could have at least explained a little more to us, and people wouldn't have been freaking out so much about it, thinking that they were going to die...

[Joker]

9/11-

Watched it all live on TV from work. I happened to be working as a TV salesman at the time.

[Diorama]

20 years ago I was 3.5 years and probably waiting for my big sister to come home from school. I was in awe of her and followed her around constantly. I was also a child that wanted to read! I used to open books and scan all the words on the page and 'pretend' to read it. I had this fascination with reading and to this day love reading a good book and take literacy very seriously!

9-11 happened a week after I came home from my european backpacking trip . So I was a little freaked since I had just recently gotten off a plane! But I was on the bus and this skater dude starting talking so loudly about how a plane hit the world trade centre. I half believed him, but I felt something was wrong so when i got off the bus I actually ran all the way home. I remember running in the house and turning on the TV. What a gross feeling.

[expatben]

I was on the bus comming home from school when the radio told us. It was freaky there was a breif silence and then we just went on like nothing had happened no big deal. It was one of those times when something really bad happens but it hasn't sunk in. I went home and saw the images my sister turns to me and said you'l never guess what just happened and I told her I know. I called up my best friend to tell him.
The next day I had a politics class and we theorsed about who could do this. Its funny we mentioned Communists, American terrorists but I don't think anyone knew who Al Quieda were and did not even suspect the Middle East. Now of anything happens they are the first to be suspected/blamed.

[raysen]

Originally posted by raysen@Jan 28 2006, 06:12 PM
20 year ago to the day I was in my mummy's tummy and will be for the next few months...until april 20th to be exact!Oh I remember it like it was yesterday! The good ol days hey?lol

[snapback]100443[/snapback]

Can i appologise I have been dense! I just re read what I wrote and I don't know what I was thinking but err 20 years ago I was nearly 1!!!I felt I should correct myself! WHAT A SPAZ!! lol

[aliz]

20 years ago i was not born. but as this seems to have turned into a 'where were you when you heard about 9/11' discussion, i remember waking up on the 12th of september (the planes went into the buildings at about 11:30pm australia time so most people didnt know til the next morning) and my mum said "i've woken you up early.." at this point i was thinking oh my god someone died "...because some terrorists in america.." i was now thinking oh my god our friends in america are dead or america has declared war on australia (hey, i had just woken up ok) ..." some terrorists flew two planes into the world trade centre in new york" and at this point i feel really bad now but i actually though 'oh, is that all'. i guess i just wasnt used to mum being so serious about stuff that was happening on the news- but when i got up and saw the pictures i realised it was a big deal. then i got to school and half the people didnt know about it cause they all watch cartoons or music videos in the morning, not the news. wierd eh

[chelseafc05]

just out of curosity wat part made ya think america declared war on australia..it was on every free to air channel.. so they couldnt of beeen watchin cartoons...

i remember wakin up and it bein on tv i thought america was bein bombed to start with.... then it said terroists attacks.... then i watched it for a bit ...then wandered off to school just a few hours late... and everyone was like ohh have you seen the news america been attacked in which i replied "yes' then we spent the rest of the day talkn bout hypothetical situations and world war 3

[chelseafc05]

i also remember the start of the 2nd gulf war coz i got kicked out of class for listening to cnn on the radio then i watched it for 4 days straight

[Somnambulation]

If 9/11 is a 'where were you when you heard' moment, mine is always going to be pretty pathetic. I was still home for the summer from my 1st year at college and had slept in until noon. I got up and ate breakfast and didnt turn on the tv to eat as I normally did. Afterward I went out and went for a swim then laid in the sun for a while before finally going inside and turning on the TV.

[tumblezweedz]

Challenger - Gr. 12, setting up for weekly Mass. There was a TV on somewhere in the school, and someone came in to tell us. We had some extra special intentions to pray for that day.

9/11 - actually, battening down the hatches for a typhoon, in Japan. We got a phone call at 5 the next morning (for us) saying, "Something big is going down in the States. Base is closed, stay put til you hear more." Flicked on the radio and onto my knees. We weren't allowed to drive around except for emergencies for the next couple of days, and our husbands were on 24 hour alert to scramble the jets for the next several weeks. Every time I picked up my daughter from school, we had to pass armoured vehicles with guns pointing at us through the gate. Within hours, the Japanese community had presented the base commander with 1000 origami cranes as a symbol of peace and sympathy. Their continued support was extraordinary and humbling.

Columbia - driving home from Krispy Kreme - flicked on NPR and couldn't figure out what was going on...my husband knows a shuttle pilot, and we were on tenterhooks to find out the crew.

Defining moments so far? The above, plus the fall of the Berlin Wall, and aftershocks. And the birth of our kids.