Where Were You When?

During our lives, we experience key moments that will be forever linked in our memory bank. These are times when we  say, "We were....when..." With the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001 approaching, our memories of that horrific day come front and center. It is only natural to recall where we were when we first heard the news about the World Trade Center attack.

That said, I've been thinking about where I was on that as well as other key dates in history... dates and places that will never be forgotten.

First plane hits World Trade Center - Sitting in my office, working at my computer, when a co-worker comes in announcing that a plane hit the World Trade Center. My immediate thoughts were terrorism and fear. The fear really hit when my son called minutes later to tell me that his high rise office building in Atlanta was being evacuated and we couldn't locate my sister-in-law who worked for Merrill-Lynch in their World Trade Center location. 

JFK's Assassination - My family had stopped at a gas station on our way to Lexington for Thanksgiving. My eight year-old brother came running out of the store announcing, "Kennedy was shot." Instead of driving on to Kentucky, our family stopped at a nearby motel and spent the rest of the day and night watching news reports.

Russia/Cuba Showdown - Living in Louisiana, outside of Barksdale Air Force Base, the fear of an attack from a Cuban missile was very real. Our school principal played the radio broadcast over the school intercom, so as we sat at our desks, we heard a blow-by-blow account of the Russian ship turning around and ending the Russia/USA stalemate.

Elvis Presley's Death - Lamar and I were shopping in our favorite store - Kmart - when someone in the store shouted, "Elvis is dead." Like so many other patrons in the store, we rushed to the television department to watch the news broadcasts.

Lamar's Proposal - Third date with Lamar, he announces, "You're going to marry me." My response - "You've got to be kidding." Who was I to know that he was a fortune teller?