Where were you when...?

[GrinningManiac]

Where were you, fellow Escapists, when something special or notable occured?

It dosen't have to be funny, or exciting, or even something everyone else could know.

It could be the Fall of the Berlin Wall, or when your son/brother/cousin was born.

I have two notable mentions, though one is, sadly, 9/11

Spoiler

I was 9 when it happened, but what happened the day before, on the 10th, was quite frightening in restrospect

I had rented a video of the cartoon "Men In Black" wherein the One-that-wasn't-Will-Smith accidently memorywipes himself and believes it is 1970. When Will Smith asks him "What's the tallest building in New York?" he says
"Empire State"
"Nope, Twin Towers" he says, pointing at them. I had no idea what the Twin Towers were at the time, and I asked my mum. Tallest buildings in the world, she told me. Well...duh. The episode continues, and some aliens hijack a blimp and try to drive it into the Newyork Skyline...

...You can see where this is going.

The Towers are narrowly missed due to the heroics of the Men In Black and the episode ends.

Next day, I get home from school.
"Remember those towers you asked me about yesterday? They fell over, someone drove a plane into them"

I'd only known of their existence for a day...

And now, to end on a lighter (and shorter) note, I remember one New Years Eve the clock struck, we all cheered and sang Auld Lang Syne. My mate's phone went off, and he rushed outside to hear the guy on the other end. We all drink champange and congratualte each other on another year, when he runs inside
"They're Getting Married!" he shouts.

His brother had proposed to his girlfriend on the strike of 12. It was a pretty awesome feeling at the time, and I still get a buzz thinking about it

 

[orangebandguy]

I was at school when I heard about it, I was 9 I think.

I rememember where I was when Princess Diana was announced dead, me and my family were driving to the coast for our holiday when it was reported on the radio.

 

[rokkolpo]

i'm a bit nonchalant towards all the stuff that goes around in the world.

i remember when my dog died if that counts.

 

[reg42]

I was there when Korn toured to my country... Thats about it really, boring life.

 

[Plank of Wood]

I know for a fact that I was watching Crocodile Hunter when Steve Irwin died. I shit you not.

 

[Abedeus]

I remember I was about to leave the car after a trip when John Paul II died. The radio station immediately stopped broadcasting the music and announced the death, 21:37.

 

[EnzoHonda]

I was going to be late for school when 9/11 happened. I switched on the TV to check the weather, and it was still on CNN, I saw the second plane hit LIVE. That freaked me right the fuck out.

 

[xDarc]

I watched Airplane! and killed Robert Stack. I was going through the movie making a mental list of the dead actors and mistakenly included Robert Stack. The next day it was on the news he died. I'm sorry. : (

P.S. We just did an 8 page thread where 95% of you were in school when 9/11 happened.

Correction- 4 page thread: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.155802?page=1

 

[Evil Raccoon]

I was sitting on the couch, playing Half-Life when my mom told me to get down because 9/11 happened.

 

[scrambledeggs]

At school when Steve Irwin died.
The CLEANER told me.. i didn't believe it at first.

At school when 9/11 happened.. got home and every channel for weeks was entirely made up of clips. I remember it vividly.

 

[Mr.Governor]

I was at home playing my computer when pretty much everything happens

 

[Frequen-Z]

This phenomenon is called Flashbulb Memory, I studied it briefly in Psychology a couple of years ago, had my memory been better, I'd describe how and why it happens, but alas, it's been too long without revision.

I didn't hear about 9/11 until hours after it'd happened, same for Princess Diana's death, therefore no moment really sticks out for me.

 

[Frankydee]

I don't recall much but I was sitting in class just before morning announcements when 9/11 went down. I was in eighth grade at the time.

 

[GrinningManiac]

I should point out, for clarification, that this is not a "Where were you when 9/11 happened" thread.

It is a large and prominent memory for all of us, and I assume most people include it because it stands out, but just for clarification, that's not the only subject, it's anything personal or universal you remember and where you were when you got the news, like a pregnancy or a celebrity dying

Just clarifying

 

[Raven's Nest]

I was alive when the Berlin wall came down but I was too young to remember. Add another who was at school when I found out about 9/11. I got home and saw the second plane hit live too.

I was working in a virgin megastore when I heard Dimebag Darrell's death announced on the 8th Dec 2005. I was given a break to deal with the shock... Lol.

I like the fact I was too young to remember watching star wars for the first time... I suspect it was when it was first released on VHS.

I was on holiday with my friends in Dorset when both the 7/7 bombings happened, my mum was on the underground at the time but thankfully not in the wrong place. On the same holiday, the 2012 olympics were announced to be in London...

 

[GodofDisaster]

I was at school, when 9/11 happened. The Teacher brought this TV into the classroom, and showed us the news.

 

[technoted]

sounds harsh but for 9/11 we were all little kids and a lot of us were excited when school took us into the hall to watch it, we didn't realise it was real we thought it was a film and school hadn't told us anything, i feel bad thinking about it now

 

[Keepitclean]

Princess Diana's death- Sleeping
911-Sleeping
Bali bombings- Sleeping
2005 AFL Grand Final 5pm-Crying
2006 AFL Grand Final 5pm-Laughing at Adam Goodes

 

[cheywoodward]

When 9/11 happened I was at school but I heard about it when I got home from my mom. I was only 6 at the time so I didn't really understand what happened until another kid who was a year older than me showed me a painting of it that he made and explained it to me. The weird thing is that since I live near Boston, where one of the flights that crashed into the Twin Towers took off I hear a lot of stories about how people in my town were supposed to be on the flight but missed it due to a strange occurrence like running over someones dog.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

I was watching a video of Captain Scarlett on 9/11 (I was 12) when my dad came home and said to turn on the news. I watched it for the rest of the day.

I was at My Gandmother's house when Diana died.

I was on Holiday in Florida during the July 7th bombings, and it took me a day before I actually found out what happened.

I don't remember where I was when the Berlin wall came down as I was about 9 months old at the time. Probably at home, asleep. I do have a piece of the Berlin wall, but it could be from some guy's patio for all I know.

And I was on the Escapist when I found out about Michael Jackson's death.

On a less disastrous note I was in a KFC on my way to see comedian Ross Noble when I got a call, and some found out some friends has secretly got married that day.