Which memorable events in history you've witnessed, either directly or through media?
Since I'm a freak of nostalgia, I think this thread has the potential of producing some fine, fine stories...especially from the oldest & wisest among us.
For example, those of you who lived through the 60's -- I'd love to hear your personal recollection of the Moon Landing or JFK assasination, etc. Everytime you hear it from a different person, it's like a new story altogether. But don't be shy to speak of the 90's as well, if that's as far as you can go. Any story would be a great addition to this thread.
I know there are too many events to list or talk about, but just talk about the ones that truly made an impact on you.
For me it was 9/11 which I witnessed through the media. I was only 13 at the time, living in England. I remember hearing it on the school bus radio and running home where my parents were already watching the news coverage. I remember the confusion and panic, no one knew what would happen next. I think it was probably the biggest news event in my life so far.
I lived a little over a mile from the Pentagon in 2001. On September 11th, I was awakened by a boom that rattled my windows. As the attack unfolded, almost everything in Washington was closed, including the subway system. An exodus of thousands of people on foot began toward the suburbs, some of them walking ten miles or more. It went on for hours. We had an armored vehicle at our corner for a week or so, and major intersections had them for longer.
I'm sure that if any Board members were around from the Civil War decade and if any Board members were around during WWII, they could comment. However, for me, what I witnessed is the 60s. That decade was like something from the Twilight Zone. You had the Civil Rights movement culminating in the March on Washington and the free speech movement led by Mario Savio at UCLA at Berkely. Then you had Medger Evers' murder, and those of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy. There was the police riot at 68's Democratic National Convention in Chicago and then Woodstock. Of course, most of the decade was overlayed with the Vietnam War which I witnessed up close and personal.
I remember the moon landing and closely watching on tv. What a chill that was when Neil Armstrong uttered the famous words.
I remember the Viet Nam war era when they had the draft lottery which would depend on your birth date. Everyone knew someone who was in Nam. My husband (ex now) was Nam for a year. There were protest, sit-ins,riots, burning of draft cards. What turmoil.
JFK/RFK,MLK what can I say? Looking back now I think "wow", that WAS an unbelievably horrible time in our history. Then of course 911, who would have EVER thought that possible.
The music IMHO was awesome though (i.e. Woodstock), although we sadly lost, and in many cases unnecessarily (on their parts) many of our rock stars to drugs.
I remember the moon landing and closely watching on tv. What a chill that was when Neil Armstrong uttered the famous words.
I remember the Viet Nam war era when they had the draft lottery which would depend on your birth date. Everyone knew someone who was in Nam. My husband (ex now) was Nam for a year. There were protest, sit-ins,riots, burning of draft cards. What turmoil.
JFK/RFK,MLK what can I say? Looking back now I think "wow", that WAS an unbelievably horrible time in our history. Then of course 911, who would have EVER thought that possible.
The music IMHO was awesome though (i.e. Woodstock), although we sadly lost, and in many cases unnecessarily (on their parts) many of our rock stars to drugs.
TIS
TIS, I forgot the moon landing. Where in Vietnam was your husband? I was in I Corps west of Hue.
We had met just months after he got out of VN. Now, I don't know the spelling of these cities and may be a tad off so keep that in mind, BUT it was either Bin Lo or Lo Bin (something like that anyway).
TIS
EDIT: Let me add as far as VN, he was SO sure he'd be drafted that he volunteered draft literally to get it over with and avoid sitting on needles & pins. So he went in at 18 and was out about 2 years later.
We had met just months after he got out of VN. Now, I don't know the spelling of these cities and may be a tad off so keep that in mind, BUT it was either Bin Lo or Lo Bin (something like that anyway).
TIS
EDIT: Let me add as far as VN, he was SO sure he'd be drafted that he volunteered draft literally to get it over with and avoid sitting on needles & pins. So he went in at 18 and was out about 2 years later.
he sounds alot like me. At 18 I volunteered, but that was '65. After I got hurt I was out in about 14 months. What branch or unit was he in? That town, I don't recognize hte name. Maybe it was south of where I was.
I remember the riots of 67. I lived in Michigan at the time and was camping at Lake Michigan with some friends (away from everything). I didn't know til I called home and found out what was going on. People were getting pulled from their cars and beaten, buildings on fire, riots. Now I lived in Grand Rapids at the time, but Detroit had it much worse if I remember correctly. It was pretty unbelievable.
My father owned a dry cleaners right in the area where a lot of the activity was and was fearful his business would be set ablaze. I remember begging him not to go to work the next day (or until this was over). Fortunately, he was spared any loss. It was a scary time.
Some of the more memorable events that I remember:
1. The Beatles on Ed Sullivan (although not their first appearance) 2. The moon landing 3. The end of the war in Viet Nam 4. Watergate, and the subsequent resignations of Agnew and Nixon. 5. The deaths of Popes John Paul I and II. 6. The shooting of President Reagan. 7. The space shuttle explosions. I had had some minor surgery in 1986 and was home recuperating, so I tuned into the launch. I remember seeing that unusual smoke trail, and the expressions on the faces of the spectators. They even showed the family members of the astronauts. It was terribly sad. 8. For some reason, the deaths of Princess Diana and JFK, Jr. are inextricably joined in my head. I remember staring in disbelief at the TV when John-John's plane went down and they were searching for the wreckage. Nobody believed that they were lost. 9. Of course, September 11th, staring out our conference room window at the smoke of the ruins and thinking of the thousands that must have been in the Towers when they fell. 10. I remember crying when I heard that Elizabeth Smart had been found, I was so happy for her parents. As a parent, it was so frightening to think of someone coming into your house and taking your child while you slept nearby.
Seems like most stories listed here deal with tragedies, certain deaths and assassinations, wars and terror attacks, kidnapping etc. Well, that's history. But hey, we still have sport events to remember as well
So...anyone cares to remember that recent royal wedding? I was told it's an historical event and I must watch and witness like everyone, but I admit I couldn't take it after 20 minutes of seeing them waving hello. Maybe if I was into clothes and fashion I would've been more into it.
One of the good things about living a long time is you get to see a lot of history. In my 60 years I've seen some things I hope to never see again, and conversely, I'd like to see some other things happen again.
The September 11th terrorist attacks were probably the most disturbing things I've seen. My own backyard was attacked in an act of war. I've grown to expect to see that in the Middle East or Iraq but never thought I'd see it in my City. Hearing U.S. fighter jets flying overhead was extremely unnerving.
Even still, I think the assassination of John Kennedy was the news event that had the single biggest effect on me. I was 12 years old then and just at the age when world events were making a difference to me. We (the U.S.) was at the height of the Cold War with Russia, the only other SUPER world power at the time. We had forced them to back down in the Cuban missile crisis the year before and I gave credit to JFK for that. I believed him when he told us that we were a great country and I admired him. Seeing him cut down in such a horrible manner marked the end of the innocence of my youth and brought on the tumult of the '60s.
As far as sports goes, I think my favorite moment was watching Secretariat win the Belmont Stakes (the last leg of the Triple Crown) by 37½ lengths. It was Big Red's "goodbye" and he did it in great style!
Even still, I think the assassination of John Kennedy was the news event that had the single biggest effect on me. I was 12 years old then and just at the age when world events were making a difference to me. We (the U.S.) was at the height of the Cold War with Russia, the only other SUPER world power at the time. We had forced them to back down in the Cuban missile crisis the year before and I gave credit to JFK for that. I believed him when he told us that we were a great country and I admired him. Seeing him cut down in such a horrible manner marked the end of the innocence of my youth and brought on the tumult of the '60s.
SC
I think for "our" generation that ONE event (JFK Assassination) is imbedded in all our memories for life. I know I will NEVER forget it. Without rehashing any "conspiracy" or the why/how of it, I can't quite put my finger on it, but I agree that this marked an "innocence" lost for our country. It was simply unheard of that this type of horror could happen in the U.S. We learned (sadly) that it could. Then looking back at RFK, and MLK, what a horribly violent period it was.
I was only four years old when JFK was killed. It's barely a memory. So for me it's 9/11. Hands down.
I was on my way from the Bronx to IJ Morris funeral home on Flatbush Avenue in Marine Park, Brooklyn. A lot of people may not realize this, but the bridges and tunnels weren't closed until after the second tower was hit.
When I was pulling out of my garage, I'd heard on AM radio that a plane hit the Trade Center, so I figured that it was a single engine puddle jumper or something like that. When I got to the EZ Pass lane at the Whitestone Bridge, I saw all the smoke coming from the first tower. That's when I knew it wasn't a prop plane. Too much damage. I was about halfway across the bridge when I looked to my right and saw, with my own eyes, the second plane hit tower two and explode into a fireball. It was the most surrealistic and frightening thing I've ever seen in my life.
At that point, having known that we were under attack, I still had to deal with the idea of being adjacent to LaGuardia and halfway to Kennedy airport. I was a wreck thinking that a plane would explode right on top of me. I finally made it to Brooklyn and stayed there until the bridges re-opened (around 5 or 6 o'cock that night).
I'm old (and my skin is cold) ;)so my memories go way back:
--As a little little kid, I saw my Mom and the other women in our apartment building crying. When I asked why, she said "President Roosevent died." (Frankin, not Teddy). --The Shot Heard Round the World ('51). We were Giants fans in Brooklyn--dangerous thing to be. My uncle gave me his Giants pennant and told me to ride around the neighborhood waving it. Nearly got killed... --Sputnik ('57), when I and other kids thought the Russkies were going to drop nuclear warheads on us. --Cheering on JFK as he campaigned on Park Avenue South in NY. He waved to me. --Cuban Missile Crisis: Was riding a subway car in evening rush hour. While stopped at a station, heard sirens above ground. Everyone on the car looked at each other and shuddered. --JFK assassination: I was working for the Wall Street Journal at that time, and we saw the news coming in over our wire service printers. An old-timer standing next to me muttered, "People are lousy."
Truman was Pres when I was born but the first President I remember is Eisenhower and that's pretty vague.
Also TB, you were a great age at a GREAT time to have experienced the birth of Rock & Roll. Now, I'm not saying I wasn't around, but I was only 8 when Elvis hit the scene and didn't appreciate the full impact by going to concerts and R&R shows and such. I would love to have been in the middle of all the excitement not to mention controversy as a "teenager/adult".
--As a little little kid, I saw my Mom and the other women in our apartment building crying. When I asked why, she said "President Roosevent died." (Frankin, not Teddy).
--As a little little kid, I saw my Mom and the other women in our apartment building crying. When I asked why, she said "President Roosevent died." (Frankin, not Teddy).
You remember that????
SC, I'm at an age when I can go to the refrigerator for something and stand there with the door open, trying to remember what I was supposed to get. But I remember all sorts of trivial and nontrivial things from way, way back.
TIS, I remember Elvis's first appearance of "The Tommy Dorsey Show," and thinking that he must be a drug addict, but I liked him. But, even before that, I saw Bo Diddley on the Ed Sullivan Show. And I attended every Alan Freed R&R show at the Brooklyn Paramount from '56 through '61. Saw 'em all: Buddy Holly, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the Harptones, the Moonglows, the Flamingos--you name 'em, I saw 'em.
As someone older than SC and younger than TIS; I share many of their memories. I was in 9th grade history class when the gym teacher - a muscular, virile man - came into our classroom to tells us that the President had been shot; he was crying.
I remember four students being killed at Kent State U. by National Guardsmen. I had been working for NY Telephone at the time, 2 months after dropping out of college. A co-worker said, "they should have shot more of them". I remember my foreman commenting to me, "how come you never say n****r?" And sadly I remember all the race riots of the 60s; Harlem and Detroit.
Then there are sports; the football Giants losing to the Colts in 1958; Reggie Jackson hitting 3 homeruns in the World Series and the 1980 Olympics USA hockey team winning the Gold.
But of course on top of the list is 9/11. I was standing on Washingtion St, south of Rector St and witnessed both towers burning. I saw Tower 2 begin to fall and I ran to escape a massive building crumbling to the ground. I can replay the entire day; escaping "the cloud", walking 6 miles, sitting at a bar in midtown Manhattan drinking a vodka gimlet, fighting back the tears while the days events played on the TV; Arriving home at 9pm into the arms of my wife and daughter; the days and weeks that followed; being part of city that had to transform and adapt; the ever-present reminders of that day.
SC, I'm at an age when I can go to the refrigerator for something and stand there with the door open, trying to remember what I was supposed to get. But I remember all sorts of trivial and nontrivial things from way, way back.
Tb, it isn't the number of years that have passed since your memory that is amazing me, but rather your age when the event happened (that astounds me you remember it).
How could I NOT mention the Beatles aka British Invasion? I was too young to get the full impact of Elvis, but was the perfect age for the "Moptops" or "Fab Four".
The day after their Ed Sullivan performance the school was absolutely a-buzz. That is all you heard thru the hallways...:did you see Ed Sullivan...Did you see the Beatles. Girls were already choosing the cutest. There were Beatle boots, Beatle hats, Beatle lipstick.
The top forty charts were shortly after dominated by mostly English artists. Everybody loved England and everybody wanted to be English. I went to see Hard Day's Night with a friend and man, we waited and waited and waited in a huge line. Once we got in the movie and from the time they showed the Beatles, all we heard was screaming throughout the entire theater. They showed Paul's shoe and girls screamed Fun memories though. I am so happy I was a part of that excitement and glad I saw this great group evolve into the legends that they have become.
TIS, the British Invasion is part of that 60s decade I cited earlier. I'd forgotten about it. That was phenomenal. 'Till then I had no idea that the British were musicians at all.
TIS, the British Invasion is part of that 60s decade I cited earlier. I'd forgotten about it. That was phenomenal. 'Till then I had no idea that the British were musicians at all.
It was an incredible time wasn't it? There hadn't been that kind of excitement since Elvis.
Speaking of the Elvis era, I remember my older brother going to see "Rock Around The Clock". He tells of how everyone was getting out of their seats and dancing in the aisles. That was the first of that kind of excitement I think. I just imagine how "new" the whole thing was back then and how many said it wouldn't last. LOL
I was at school during 9/11 and we weren't really told anything until the afternoon. I had gone home at lunch and learned about the attacks there. Other historical events:
- The death of Pope John Paul II: I just remember this dragging on for days as the media coverage began well before he actually passed away. - The death of Pierre Trudeau: It was a big deal in this country with plenty of media coverage here.
I remember that as well. Speaking of a young Catholic (and I know I've told this story before), I remember when the entire school (all of about 80 kids LOL) walked to the corner to watch the first Catholic Presidential candidate's motorcade pass by. We all chanted "Kennedy Kennedy he's our man...." Even the nuns were excited.
The crowd was not that huge at that particular corner maybe because it simply drove by (however sitting in a convertible on top of the back seat. Can you imagine that now?) and didn't stop or because he was new to the scene. Thus, I wormed my way as close as I could get to wave at him (hoping he was waving at me).
In the same line, I actually shook RFK's hand in 68 when he arrived at the local airport.
I absolutely enjoy every second of reading your stories, I tell you guys, it's better than sex!
Originally Posted By: Turnbull
SC, I'm at an age when I can go to the refrigerator for something and stand there with the door open, trying to remember what I was supposed to get.
I wouldn't worry Turnbull. Seeing you play "Goodfellas dialogue" on a daily basis, I'd say you've got one heck of a memory. I hope to do so when I'm your age. It's a good exercise.
I've got a couple more specific questions; I'm writing on a couple of topics, one about Racism, the other on Boxing. I'd love to hear what you've witnessed in those areas.
Any stories on MLK, civil rights movement, Freedom Riders bus tour, KKK, Jim Crow laws, racism in the south and all over America, any acts of racism you've witnessed.
As far as boxing goes, I'd love to hear your personal experience of attending fights or listening to the radio. Gambling as well.
And keep up with anything else you remember; sport, culture, inventions, religion, etc.
1. The Beatles Miami appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. 2. The launch of the first manned mission to the moon. 3. Elvis Presley 4. The Allman Brothers when they were still a back up band. 5. Various operas at Covent Garden, Paris Opera House and the Met. 6. Game one of the 1955 world series (Jackie Robinson stole home). 7. Baltimore v. Dallas superbowl from the sidelines. 8. Florida State 52 Michigan 21 at the Big House in Ann Arbor 9. The Rolling Stones 10. Vigil at the Dakota the night John Lennon died. On television, 9/11
As far as boxing goes, I'd love to hear your personal experience of attending fights or listening to the radio.
My brother-in-law and I used to regularly go the fights in Madison Square Garden in the mid to late '60s. We were big fans of middleweight Emile Griffith, one of the best fighters of the era. We'd also see our favorite slugger, Frankie DePaula, a light heavy from Jersey. He was a mob owned fighter and he'd go on to getting himself whacked because he slept with a wiseguy's girlfriend.
Anyway, one of the strangest fights we attended was the last one at the old Garden (on 8th Avenue). It was March, 1967 and the main event was two good lightweights ~ Frankie Narvaez and Ismael Laguna. Laguna was favored to win and he did so in an unanimous decision (even though it was a very close fight). Narvaez's fans didn't like the decision and they set out to show their displeasure .... they started a RIOT!!
Considering that this was to be our farewell to the old Garden we bought good seats and were sitting on the main level, which had become the target for bottles thrown from the cheap seats. We covered ourselves as best we could and half crawled out just as the organ came crashing down from above.
Happy to be outside, we started our way to the subway to get back to Brooklyn when I saw Muhammad Ali in the parking garage across the street. I walked over, and handed him my newspaper (which coincidentally had a picture of him posing with Wilt Chamberlain) and he signed it. (This was at the time when a lot of people were still calling him "Cassius Clay").
I read Paret had his arms pinned between the ropes so he couldn't protect himself from numerous punches...the ref should of jumped in earlier to stop it.
I read Paret had his arms pinned between the ropes so he couldn't protect himself from numerous punches ...the ref should of jumped in earlier to stop it.
I don't remember his arms being pinned BUT the ref definitely should have stopped the fight earlier!
It didn't help either that Paret had taken a BAD beating from Griffith in an earlier fight and probably was not in good enough condition to even be in the ring against Griffith again.
I'd love some more old stories, specifically of things you saw with your eyes instead of on TV.
SC and Turnbull, dust off those old gears in your head, maybe spray a little WD-40 on them and enlighten us some more.
I guess I'm looking for more personal experiences rather than big historical events. Just interesting stuff you've witnessed in your lifetime. Surely some of the members who remember (or don't) the days before dirt was invented have a lot of knowledge, wisdom, and funny tales (and maybe a few have tails).
I'm trying to think of good ones but mostly it's all birth and death, or both at once. I am not sure how much they have to do with anything but they are things I've witnessed and I'd already typed it out before I re-read the first post. Thinking about it, these are more things I experienced than things I witnessed.
One thing I witnessed on TV was 9-11. 9/11 is coming up. Wonder what they have planned. I was in my web page design class surfing the internet like a good student and saw a plane hit the tower. Figured it was a small plane and didn't think too much of it until my 2nd class when I watched it on TV and saw it was a big plane and then the 2nd crash happened. Pretty surreal day of school, nothing was taught, we watched tv and talked about the events.
Watching my very beloved family dog get it's neck broken (and killed instantly) by a car going 50mph had an impact on me (too?). My dad and I both burying him with tears in our eyes is one of the only unifying bonds I've ever had with him. I was probably 13 or 14 then.
My grandpa hit a deer and brought it home to his farm to use the meat. I remember after the head was cut off sitting in the back of his pickup truck with a pocket knife posing for pictures like I'd cut the head off with that tiny knife. I wish I could find those pictures. I was probably about 8 years old. I didn't think much of it, but looking bad now that sounds pretty weird and funny. That deer ended up being put in a refrigerator, that got unplugged or something. During the hot humid summer. It did not smell very good.
Watching my stillborn son be born at 20 weeks. About 2 months from now it'll be 4 years since. That's a very painful thing still. It is hard to celebrate a wedding anniversary when it will forever be linked to that since they were 2 days apart.
My senior year of high school I lived at that old farm, it hadn't been in use in a long while. There was a half poorly built house with a very unsturdy and buckling floor I slept in for awhile wondering which step would take me to the basement. Poker by candlelight, since there was no electricity. The trailer was a little better. Very old and rotting everywhere but a step up from the "house". I used buckets of collected rainwater to flush the toilet since there was no running water.
I showered about once a week or whenever I could. Washed my hair with rainwater. My dad had gambled all the money away, lost our house, my mom's car (not his, surprise!) and my mom. We'd drive into town to eat fast food (whatever's less than $10 for both of us) or used a gas grill. Canned food, pork and beans from a can. No electricity for a mircrowave, no plates or skillets to use on the grill. My mom ended up living with us and we got electricity then. I'd met my wife online shorty after that through my friend who was off at college. I ended up going to college too. I'm maybe $60,000 in debt in student loans with nothing to show for it, but I got out of that situation. Should've joined the army instead. I was 18 or 19 when I learned how to drive. It was my wife who taught me just before I headed off to college.
Once while walking down a rural road with my towel and shampoo from my aunt's house I was approached from 2 directions with sheriff's cars. The one creeping up behind me used a speaker thing to tell me to turn around and drop the towel. I was laughing and wondering what the hell was going on. I drop the towel and the cop gets out with his gun drawn, he pats me down while the one who came from the front of me stood there. I guess someone called in a report of someone waving a gun around or something. They seemed confused as I was. Offered me a ride but I refused out of some stubborn little fuck you or something. Wasn't that long of a walk anyway.
I've always lived without basic things I need. I had the same hearing aid for close to 20 years but it stopped working a week or 2 ago. The other one had stopped 5 years ago and I got the cheapest one available at $400, that's the only one I have at the moment. Looked up hearing aid technology changes since those things and man it's so crazy and cool and awesome the things they can do now that would eliminate constant daily annoyances but I will never be able to afford them. I think I was better off not knowing what was possible.
Watching my happy and healthy baby girl be born 2 years ago was the best thing I'd seen, but watching her grow every day is better. And one good thing in an ocean of bad.
Fame, I was a kid in the 60s and only 7 when King was murdered, but do remember integration. Martin Luther King spoke at my dad's union meeting once, but I didn't get to go. I guess I was too little, but my brothers and my dad went and got to shake his hand. I do remember that we had an album of "I Have A Dream", which my dad used to make us listen to all the time.
Not truly realizing there was a world outside the Bronx, I didn't understand segregation. I asked my mother where this was, because blacks sat on the trains and buses with us, went to the same schools, and we had no "colored" fountains or restrooms. My mother told me that it was happening in "the South" and I assumed she meant in the South Bronx, a place where I wasn't allowed because it was so dangerous, but I knew that a lot of blacks lived there.
I look back now and am amazed at how insular and narrow that world view was, but there was no internet, only a few channels of TV, I'm not even sure there was FM radio at the time. If there was, it was pretty limited.
Speaking of MLK, got me thinking. JFK was killed on 63 and both RFK & MLK were killed in 68 (Apr/June). Considering how shocking and unheard of it was when JFK was killed, it isn't shocking, looking back, that MLK/RFK too were killed in the same year? We go from a nation thinking "that's unheard of" to 3 assassinations of political and/or powerful people in 5 years time. No wonder we are all skeptical, critical and untrusting these days no? We know that anything can happen.
TIS
P.S. See how nice LN was to me? SC & TB are older than dirt, but I'm not. Geez, you guys are old.
Speaking of MLK, got me thinking. JFK was killed on 63 and both RFK & MLK were killed in 68 (Apr/June). Considering how shocking and unheard of it was when JFK was killed, it isn't shocking, looking back, that MLK/RFK too were killed in the same year? We go from a nation thinking "that's unheard of" to 3 assassinations of political and/or powerful people in 5 years time.
Very good point, TIS. We went from relative innocence to political anarchy in a very short period of time.
Originally Posted By: The Italian Stallionette
P.S. See how nice LN was to me? SC & TB are older than dirt, but I'm not.
Pay no attention to LN... he's gonna shoot his eye out.
I'd love some more old stories, specifically of things you saw with your eyes instead of on TV.
SC and Turnbull, dust off those old gears in your head, maybe spray a little WD-40 on them and enlighten us some more.
Well, TV was a big part of our lives, so I'll try to make my TV experiences personal:
--In '48, when Harry Truman was running for re-election, Howdy Doody was running for President of the Kids against Mr. Bluster. Our neighbor, Mr. Hughes, had a TV set, and he let me watch the "campaign." When Truman defeated Dewey on Election Day, I scanned the newspaper in vain to see who won the other contest. --In 1950, Senator Estes Kefauver started broadcasting his famous organized crime hearings. I asked my Dad why they were only showing Frank Costello's hands. He replied that Costello "had a nice manicure." --In the early '50's, the TV networks broadcast A-bomb tests from Yucca Flats, NV, live. I got up at 6 a.m. to watch every test. Right after the explosion, they'd show soldiers marching directly toward ground zero of the test. I remember thinking, "Gee, I guess the bomb's not so bad." Turns out that's what our government wanted all Americans to think--the better to think that a nuclear war was winnable. Too bad about the soldiers...
Didn't Griffith kill Kid Paret in the ring sometime in the mid 60s? That must of been a horrific experience for those in attendance.
Yeah.... it was 1962. I saw the fight live on tv. Griffith was gay and supposedly Paret was taunting him about it.
There was a GREAT documentary made a few years ago about Griffith's life. It's called Ring of Fire. Here's a condensed version from Youtube. At 6:33 of the clip, you'll see Griffith visiting Kid's grave at Saint Raymond's Cemetery in Throggs Neck, which is five minutes from my house. This was just before I took early retirement, and I was working a funeral at the cemetery the morning that they filmed this. I always liked Griffith a lot, but thought it inappropriate to approach him under the circumstances.
I had to go to the Chicago suburbs in '87 on a business trip--in and out of O'Hare the same day. Seated at the gate waiting for my return flight, I spotted a lone man standing stock still about 100 feet away. I looked closer and saw it was Ali. Superficially he looked great--no gray hair, face unmarked, none of the flab that accumulates on ex-heavyweights. But his eyes were a million miles away. Just then a little, middle-aged woman took him by the elbow and turned him toward another direction. Then a group of kids who recognized him ran over to him. A ghost of a smile played on his face--just a ghost. What a shame.
Speaking of M.L. King: I saw him speak at an antiwar rally in NYC in '67. Very forceful. King took a lot of flack from civil rights people who accused him of diverting his influence away from that cause to take up the anti-Vietnam cause. King argued that the war was a war against people of color. Some of his opponents countered that the Armed Forces were one of the few sectors in America where blacks could rise on their merits. King replied that blacks were fighting, bleeding and dying in outsize proportions to white soldiers.
Fame, I do remember that we had an album of "I Have A Dream", which my dad used to make us listen to all the time.
did they sell it in record stores? and does it have any other tracks, or just the "I Have a Dream" audio speech?
Originally Posted By: Sicilian Babe
Fame,
My mother told me that it was happening in "the South" and I assumed she meant in the South Bronx, a place where I wasn't allowed because it was so dangerous, but I knew that a lot of blacks lived there.
When was the first time you went to South Bronx?(if you did eventually) - and what was your impression? I remember when "Training Day" came out 10 years ago, and everyone was talking about "The Jungle". ("never come here with anything less than a platoon"). Reputation of dangerous areas could sometimes lose its touch with reality, I wonder how it was with the Bronx in those years.
Fame, It was given out at the union meeting when my dad met MLK. I'm not sure if it was available in stores, or if it was given to the members at the meeting.
As for the South Bronx, my brother taught in the famous Fort Apache area. I went to my brother's classroom, and it didn't seem to be that different, except all the kids were African-American. I know that seems an odd observation, but I had lived in a mostly white world, and blacks were always the minority. Now I was the minority, and it was an odd feeling. Not a bad one, just the first time. My brother was there during the 1970s, when the Bronx was burning. However, we moved away in the mid-70s, so I personally didn't see it.
Then of course 911, who would have EVER thought that possible. 
I was told it's an historical event and I must watch and witness like everyone, but I admit I couldn't take it after 20 minutes of seeing them waving hello. Maybe if I was into clothes and fashion I would've been more into it.
Wow, someone older than me. 
Fun memories though. I am so happy I was a part of that excitement and glad I saw this great group evolve into the legends that they have become. 
