If I were to ask....

[Freet]

Where you were and what were you doing when Kennedy was shot....

I don't doubt I would get some confused looks. I'm expecting the replies would go something like...

Dude, that's ancient history.
Kennedy who?
Yo Mama
Gimme Itams

But there was a time when just asking that question would get an emotional response every time. This was a time when we truly feared Russia. They were spending massive amounts of money building up a massive military and building a huge nuclear arsenal. So were we. We hated them and they hated us and everyone was convinced that we were on the verge of watching the world go up in one massive mushroom cloud. In school the teachers were actually teaching us how to survive a nuclear attack by getting under our desks. No kidding.

Kennedy had recently gotten Russia to pull their nuclear missiles out of Cuba. He actually made Russia take a step back and, because of this, he was our hero. And then he was killed. Now we all feared that, with Kennedy out of the way, there was nothing stopping Russia from putting them right back there. We didn't know who shot him. We didn't know if the Russians had a hand in it. Hell, we still don't. Most of the world loved that man and, in a moment, he was gone. And the world would never be the same again.

You folks have no idea what I am ranting about here, but you will.

50 years from now ask someone where they were when they heard about 9/11. Then and only then will you realize how I'm feeling right now.

The times, they are a changin'.

[Alastor]

I was in 8th grade. It was second hour (I think) and I was in the locker room getting changed from gym class. One of my friends was talking about it... And I actually had to ask what he was talking about.

"The space shuttle. Live on TV. We just saw it explode."

Challenger had just exploded. I remember the images in my head almost crystal clear.

It still paled in comparison to what I felt on 9-11.

I think the older and wiser one is when these types of things happen, the more one is impacted by them. As we grow we learn more about the world and about people. Our arrogance shrinks and our compassion grows. Our understanding expands and our immortality declines.

We understand more, and we see what's happening and we understand the implications, the results, the loss...

Things that would have hit me harder as a child didn't, simply because I didn't fully understand them.

But I was in college when 9-11 happened, and it rocked my world.

So, Freet, where were you when Kennedy was shot?

[Freet]

I was in 8th grade. It was second hour (I think) and I was in the locker room getting changed from gym class. One of my friends was talking about it... And I actually had to ask what he was talking about.

"The space shuttle. Live on TV. We just saw it explode."

Challenger had just exploded. I remember the images in my head almost crystal clear.

It still paled in comparison to what I felt on 9-11.

I think the older and wiser one is when these types of things happen, the more one is impacted by them. As we grow we learn more about the world and about people. Our arrogance shrinks and our compassion grows. Our understanding expands and our immortality declines.

We understand more, and we see what's happening and we understand the implications, the results, the loss...

Things that would have hit me harder as a child didn't, simply because I didn't fully understand them.

But I was in college when 9-11 happened, and it rocked my world.

So, Freet, where were you when Kennedy was shot?

Walking down a hall in John F. Peeler Elem. School, in Dallas.

[I'm not Goro this time]

I wasn't even born O_o

But I vaguely remember what I was doing when 9/11 happened. I just came home from school and my mom was worried. She told me about it, but I didn't react much. I never react much.