Dillards 28: A Walk Down Memory Lane

[Destiny]

Previously, we talked about our earliest news memory (for the record, mine is a super vague memory of the Los Angeles Olympics. The fully formed one would be Challenger exploding.)

 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

15 minutes ago, Destiny said:

Previously, we talked about our earliest news memory (for the record, mine is a super vague memory of the Los Angeles Olympics.

Ooh, the '84 LA Olympics were totally awesome! Really good opening and closing ceremonies.

[HumbleJillyMuffin]

7 minutes ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

Ooh, the '84 LA Olympics were totally awesome! Really good opening and closing ceremonies.

Indeed they were. My sixth birthday fell during those Games. I wanted to be an Olympic gymnast and was pretty much glued to all the coverage, and turned a piano bench into a vault and a three foot high decorative flower bed "wall" into a balance beam (it was exactly four inches wide). My poor parents didn't know what to make of my Mary Lou Retton obsession, and my dad sat me down to explain how much work goes into chasing the dream of an Olympic medal that will only end up in a drawer. That only made me far more determined, but I ended up figure skating instead of doing gymnastics. And yes, some of my medals ended up in a drawer, but the experiences and lessons I learned while chasing after those medals have been far more valuable than any Olympic gold medal could possibly be. 

[Destiny]

5 minutes ago, HumbleJillyMuffin said:

I wanted to be an Olympic gymnast and was pretty much glued to all the coverage, and turned a piano bench into a vault and a three foot high decorative flower bed "wall" into a balance beam (it was exactly four inches wide). My poor parents didn't know what to make of my Mary Lou Retton obsession, and my dad sat me down to explain how much work goes into chasing the dream of an Olympic medal that will only end up in a drawer.

Are you me? Cos I was super obsessed with being a gymnast after those olympics too - fortunately an obvious severe lack of talent talked me out of it instead of my parents having to. I still remember her winning the gold; it's my only clear memory from those games. Of course, as soon as her wheaties box came out, I wanted to get that too, even though I didn't like Wheaties. They got me the cereal, then I had to actually eat it, which sucked, but I saved that box for YEARS.

[Coy Koi]

I think OJ was the first major news story I was really aware of. And I didn't even really care to be aware of it, but there was just no escaping it. I was 12 when the murders occurred, 13 when the verdict was reached. I'd never even heard of OJ before then (I've never been into sports), and I was too young to really understand the significance of the case, so I just didn't really care that much. Still, I ended up absorbing a lot of info about it, because I wasn't living in a cave. In 8th grade, the teacher stopped our standardized testing to watch the verdict live on TV. Probably the most personally significant part to me though, was earlier when my grandma chastised me after my sister told her I had a crush on a black classmate by saying, "Look at OJ." Yeah, I don't talk to her anymore... Still haven't been murdered though!

[Stokstaartje]

The first major event I remember is the Enschede fireworks disaster. I was six when it happend and lived in a village about 20 km from Enschede.

I remember standing in the yard with my dad and my brother watching the smoke.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enschede_fireworks_disaster

[elliha]

I have a vague memory of my father sitting in the kitchen saying: "To think, they shot Palme". Olof Palme was a Swedish primeminster who was assassinated in 1986 so I must have been four years old. The crime is still unsolved so we don't know who shot him and I have wondered who my father meant by "they". He is dead so I cannot ask him but I assume that dad probably blamed political opponents on that day. My parents were both fans of Olof Palme and always voted for the Social Democratic Party so I think that this was more than just the shock of a murdered prime minister to them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olof_Palme (for more information about him if anyone is interested)

[mango_fandango]

Sometimes when I read FJ I'm reminded of how young I am (21). I don't really even remember the 2004 Olympics, probably because I wasn't that interested at that point. I remember Beijing, although because of the time difference most of the coverage was over by the time I woke up. 

London 2012 was the best summer. I'd get up at midday and head straight to the living room and flop in front of the TV for the afternoon. "Super Saturday" kicked ass. I remember the diving and the Chinese guy being all disappointed with the silver and Tom Daley getting the bronze and going all WOOO! and jumping back in  

(Although Rio was even more successful for us. We won more golds than you guys!!  )

[Kangaroo]

44 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

Sometimes when I read FJ I'm reminded of how young I am (21). I don't really even remember the 2004 Olympics, probably because I wasn't that interested at that point. I remember Beijing, although because of the time difference most of the coverage was over by the time I woke up. 

London 2012 was the best summer. I'd get up at midday and head straight to the living room and flop in front of the TV for the afternoon. "Super Saturday" kicked ass. I remember the diving and the Chinese guy being all disappointed with the silver and Tom Daley getting the bronze and going all WOOO! and jumping back in  

(Although Rio was even more successful for us. We won more golds than you guys!!  )

I'm 23, and I can barely remember the 2004 Olympics. Mostly, I remember that there was an Olympics. I think the time difference meant it was all on in the middle of the night here.

I think I only remember 2000 because I was there, and by 2008 I was old enough to understand and be interested a lot more.

I can remember the 2002 Winter Olympics, but not the 2006 ones. Again, by 2010 I was old enough and really into it that I remember. Again, I think the time difference made a huge impact on how much I actually saw. 2002 was also really, really massive for Australians because we won gold medals for the first time at Winter Sports. Coming of the back of the Summer Olympics meant i was rather into sports!

I also can't remember any Commonwealth Games before 2010, and that is despite the 2006 ones being held in Australia!

 

 

Now I think about it, I don't remember much that happened between 2003 and 2007 without prompting. I must have been busy not caring from ages 10 to 14. Yay pre teen me!

 

[MadameOvary]

I feel old now! My earliest memory is the abduction and murder of Aldo Moro, the Italian prime minister(?). I don't know why this sticks in my memory, I'm not Italian so it was really just another news story. But I have a really strong visual of the body in a car boot. I googled just now and it seems I was seven when this happened.

The Duggars seem so insular and ignorant that I doubt they would have memories of any kind of (world) news events.

[bal maiden]

Thanks to all the NICU parents and siblings who spoke up. Yes, this is not the grief olympics, but I do think that perhaps that poster had underestimated what it means to be in the NICU. 

[formergothardite]

2 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

Sometimes when I read FJ I'm reminded of how young I am

Reading all the memories made me think about how neat it is that people of all ages and from all walks of life have formed connections and learn from each other. 

I don't remember paying attention to the Olympics until the whole Tonya Harding incident. We must have watched them, but none of it stuck in my memory. After that I became obsessed with figure skating. In my mind if I was younger, lived in an area with an ice skating rink and had parents who would pay for lessons, I would have totally been an Olympic figure skater. 

[jerkit]

5 hours ago, Destiny said:

Are you me? Cos I was super obsessed with being a gymnast after those olympics too - fortunately an obvious severe lack of talent talked me out of it instead of my parents having to. I still remember her winning the gold; it's my only clear memory from those games. Of course, as soon as her wheaties box came out, I wanted to get that too, even though I didn't like Wheaties. They got me the cereal, then I had to actually eat it, which sucked, but I saved that box for YEARS.

I was super obsessed with the 96 Atlanta gymnasts. I was 8 and I remember being on vacation with my mom and her best friend. We were staying in a condo on the beach and we would stay up late to watch them compete. 

[Fun Undies]

I'm 31, and the first news story that sticks out in my mind is Princess Diana's death.

We had literally just arrived back in America that week (after living in Germany for the last five years).  I was 12, about to be 13, and I distinctively remembering being woken up by my friend saying, "Diana was in a car crash."
(Took me a minute to figure out she meant THE Diana). 

I walked into the living room, watching the morning news like everyone else - and they were trying to say her "condition is unknown at this time".  The reason I remember is because my Dad instantly replied, "She's dead.  They're just not saying it yet."

Someone said out loud what I was thinking, "Why would they not say it?"

And my Dad just shook his head, and I can't remember the exact words anymore, but something along the lines of buying time to deal with the situation.  My Dad was a very warm, and funny person, but every now and then his soldier pragmatism came out when it came to commenting on how authority figures deal with releasing information

[GreyhoundFan]

5 hours ago, HumbleJillyMuffin said:

Indeed they were. My sixth birthday fell during those Games. I wanted to be an Olympic gymnast and was pretty much glued to all the coverage, and turned a piano bench into a vault and a three foot high decorative flower bed "wall" into a balance beam (it was exactly four inches wide). My poor parents didn't know what to make of my Mary Lou Retton obsession, and my dad sat me down to explain how much work goes into chasing the dream of an Olympic medal that will only end up in a drawer. That only made me far more determined, but I ended up figure skating instead of doing gymnastics. And yes, some of my medals ended up in a drawer, but the experiences and lessons I learned while chasing after those medals have been far more valuable than any Olympic gold medal could possibly be. 

A friend of mine in college was obsessed with Mary Lou. He marched next to me in marching band that year and every time we completed a routine without a problem, he'd throw his arms up in the air, hollering, "we stuck it!!" He actually drove to her family's house in WV to try and meet her. He made up a stupid story about being a reporter for our college's newspaper. He knocked on their door and spoke to her dad. When told she wasn't home, he actually went in their backyard and slid down the sliding board to their pool, recreating a picture of her from People magazine. He did a couple other crazy things. Today, we'd call him a stalker. He finally gave up his obsession about a year later.

 

2 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

Sometimes when I read FJ I'm reminded of how young I am (21). I don't really even remember the 2004 Olympics, probably because I wasn't that interested at that point. I remember Beijing, although because of the time difference most of the coverage was over by the time I woke up. 

London 2012 was the best summer. I'd get up at midday and head straight to the living room and flop in front of the TV for the afternoon. "Super Saturday" kicked ass. I remember the diving and the Chinese guy being all disappointed with the silver and Tom Daley getting the bronze and going all WOOO! and jumping back in  

(Although Rio was even more successful for us. We won more golds than you guys!!  )

I was just thinking how old I am. I remember the 1972 Olympics well, especially Mark Spitz and Olga Korbut. I agree with @formergothardite that it's cool we have such a wide variety of ages and experiences here.

 

[Audrey2]

I'll add a couple of other early national events memories to the ones I discussed on the previous thread.

 

I'm not sure if I remember the 76 summer games or not. I have an impression of watching the gymnastics that is playing at the edge of my consciousness. I clearly remember watching the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, although I would have been in bed before the Miracle on Ice (USA college level students beat the always dominant Russians and ended up taking the gold medal.) I distinctly remember the feeling of sadness I had when they were talking about and ended up boycotting the 1980 summer games. Even in my 8 year old mind, I felt sorry for the people who had really worked hard to get there and wouldn't have another Olympic opportunity. 

 

I also remember Mt. St. Helens blowing. We came home from church,and I remember standing in my green living room and hearing about the eruption. It was both pretty scary (Mother Nature, in a big way, had invaded the continental United States, even though I was in the midwest and wouldn't see Mt. St. Helens until I was an adult) and pretty cool. I really enjoyed science. I remember reading the newspaper to find out everything I could about the eruption. I remember seeing or hearing about Harry Truman, they guy who wouldn't leave his home on the flanks of the mountain. A few months later, I remember devouring all of the Mt. St. Helens information in my Cobblestone magazine. 

 

Speaking of magazines, and this is a weird one, I remember reading The Murder of Robbie Wayne, Age 6 in a Reader's Digest that would have come out around 1980 or so. That story stuck with me even as an 8 or 9 year old, and I still think about it today. I started reading Readers Digest in second or third grade. 

[sawasdee]

My earliest non family memory is Princess Margaret's wedding, and John Glenn orbiting the earth. The whole class at catholic school prayed for him throughout....

JFK - I was at one of my first Girl Guide meetings after I 'flew' up from Brownies. We knelt on the tarmac in the playground and prayed.Catholic GG.

MLK and RFK - at high school in London. We were actually on a bus on the way to the sports field when RFK died -  our teacher saw a newspaper placard, and stopped to buy the paper. We turned back to school, and then the whole school crossed the road to the RC Cathedral - to pray.

So the only one I didn't pray for was Princess Margaret.....

[FJismyheadship]

The first news story I remember was a mother killing her children. Thought maybe it was Andrea Yates, but the years don't match up.. I was younger. 

Then I remember Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.

[Carm_88]

I vaguely remember the 96 Olympics in Atlanta, I do remember Donovan Bailey winning the gold meal in the 100m. I was obsessed with speed skating after the 98 Olympics in Nagano, Catriona Le May Doan was my hero for so long. The Winter Olympics have always interested me more than the Summer ones but I did love Rio.  

[mpheels]

The first story I remember is the fall of the Berlin Wall - I was 6 at the time, and didn't full understand what the wall was (I thought it bisected the country, rather than encircling part of the city). I did understand that the wall had kept people apart, and that the people tearing it down were really happy to be doing so.

[ViolaSebastian]

1 hour ago, formergothardite said:

Reading all the memories made me think about how neat it is that people of all ages and from all walks of life have formed connections and learn from each other  

Collective memory is fascinating, particularly when the collective memory is false. There's a group of people who think that these false memories are proof of an parallel universe, which they call the Mandela Effect, because a common "memory" that they have is Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s. Another common one (which I myself misremembered) is that the Berenstain Bears were the Berenstein Bears. No word on how I got from the parallel universe to this one. 

[AlternativeVoice]

 I remember watching Sinbad in a Genie movie back in the 90s. Everyone says you're thinking of Shaq but I'm not, it was defintely Sinbad & I watched it with my brother a few times. They are a bunch of folks that remember that movie as well but there is no record of it anywhere. Even Sinbad jokes about it. It's quite unnerving Tbh.

[SamiKatz]

25 minutes ago, ViolaSebastian said:

Collective memory is fascinating, particularly when the collective memory is false. There's a group of people who think that these false memories are proof of an parallel universe, which they call the Mandela Effect, because a common "memory" that they have is Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s. Another common one (which I myself misremembered) is that the Berenstain Bears were the Berenstein Bears. No word on how I got from the parallel universe to this one. 

I love all that parallel universe stuff!  So mind blowing.  I've read it is an explanation for people seeing full bodied apparitions - they're actually seeing people from another universe.  Bigfoots are from another universe as well, lol.

 

[jerkit]

2 minutes ago, AlternativeVoice said:

 I remember watching Sinbad in a Genie movie back in the 90s. Everyone says you're thinking of Shaq but I'm not, it was defintely Sinbad & I watched it with my brother a few times. They are a bunch of folks that remember that movie as well but there is no record of it anywhere. Even Sinbad jokes about it. It's quite unnerving Tbh.

Mandela effect!

[Palimpsest]

29 minutes ago, ViolaSebastian said:

Collective memory is fascinating, particularly when the collective memory is false.

I was convinced for years that I had really seen Julia Child drop a turkey on TV.

No, it was a SNL skit.  http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/juliachild.asp