Our Sponsor Sideshow Send us News
Lord of the Rings Tolkien
Search Tolkien
Lord of The RingsTheOneRing.net - Forged By And For Fans Of JRR Tolkien
Lord of The Rings Serving Middle-Earth Since The First Age

Lord of the Rings Movie News - J.R.R. Tolkien

  Main Index   Search Posts   Who's Online   Log in
The One Ring Forums: Off Topic: The Pollantir:
What's the first big news story you remember?
First page Previous page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next page Last page  View All
Poll: What's the first big news story you remember?
Pearl Harbor
Kennedy assassination
Watergate
Fall of Saigon
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Challenger explosion
Oklahoma City bombing
9-11
Indonesian tsunami
Other (please explain)
View Results (68 votes)
 

Magpie
Immortal


Dec 8 2011, 12:17am

Post #26 of 134 (2370 views)
Shortcut
the 1969 moon landing [In reply to] Can't Post

was one event I can't remember at all. I mean... when it happened, I not only was not watching, I'm not sure I even knew it was going to happen. It was the summer before senior year for me. Perhaps I was out cruisin the gut... as we used to call it. Or eating with my friends at Pizza Hut with its groovy black lights.


Alassëa Eruvande
Valinor


Dec 8 2011, 12:23am

Post #27 of 134 (2414 views)
Shortcut
It was early in 1986. I was taking a college freshman chemistry test. [In reply to] Can't Post

When I finished the test, I walked over to the student lounge and everyone was glued to the tv. I just remember the newscast showing the cloud over and over, and it reminding me of a caterpillar with two antennae. Weird what sticks in your head.

During the weeks after, I was regularly appalled by my fellow students' attitudes that NASA somehow "deserved" the disaster, since they hadn't had one since the Apollo incident. I remember some chick saying how NASA had gotten too "cocky" and this tragedy should bring them back to reality. Jerks. I guess they forgot that people died that day. Mad


Magpie
Immortal


Dec 8 2011, 12:24am

Post #28 of 134 (2375 views)
Shortcut
The sinking I remember is the Edmund Fitzgerald [In reply to] Can't Post

certainly not as many people on board since it was an ore boat carrying a crew of 29 (and no passengers).

The night before, I'd been at the mall (in Michigan) for some reason and when I went to leave, the wind was blowing so fiercely, the stray carts were just flying across the parking lot.

The next morning, I talked with my mom and she said a ship went down in Lake Superior. It was odd knowing the cause was the same wind I'd experienced.


Spencissimus
Lorien


Dec 8 2011, 12:31am

Post #29 of 134 (2373 views)
Shortcut
Probably the Thredbo Landslide and the rescue of Stuart Diver [In reply to] Can't Post

This is an even that probably only Australians and New Zealanders are aware of...It happened in July 1997, when I was 7 (and only half a month before Princess Diana died, which would have doubtless been the biggest news story had Thredbo not happened first). I don't remember it 100% clearly, but I do remember hearing tidbits on the news every night for the 3 or so days that the rescue teams searched for survivors, and eventually found Diver.


acheron
Gondor


Dec 8 2011, 1:22am

Post #30 of 134 (3030 views)
Shortcut
That's mine too [In reply to] Can't Post

Well, I was vaguely aware there was an election in 1988. I am always disappointed in myself that I don't remember the Berlin Wall. Definitely remember the Gulf War though -- I would have been 8 too. (You a 1982 baby too? Wink )


silneldor
Half-elven


Dec 8 2011, 1:59am

Post #31 of 134 (2307 views)
Shortcut
Sputnik [In reply to] Can't Post

I was seven. But with Kennedy's Death i remember where i was. I was a freshman in HS studying in study hall in the auditorium and it came over the speaker system


Alcarcalime
Tol Eressea


Dec 8 2011, 2:04am

Post #32 of 134 (2396 views)
Shortcut
Well, someone may guess I am old! [In reply to] Can't Post

My oldest memory of a world event was when Truman fired Douglas MacArthur. I would have been no more than 5. I don't remember exactly when that was.

I remember thinking how could anyone fire a general, they were next in line after God. Having been born at the end of WWII, I grew up with news about generals, and watching news reels and war movies, I seem to have had a rather inflated idea of generals!


Alcarcalime
Tol Eressea


Dec 8 2011, 2:07am

Post #33 of 134 (2330 views)
Shortcut
Yep, Eisenhower! [In reply to] Can't Post

I remember listening to his nomination at the Republican convention in 1952. I was 6, not quite 7 at the time.


silneldor
Half-elven


Dec 8 2011, 2:36am

Post #34 of 134 (2285 views)
Shortcut
I remember watching Eisenhauser on the tv [In reply to] Can't Post

but i do not remember anything specific.


dernwyn
Forum Admin / Moderator


Dec 8 2011, 3:21am

Post #35 of 134 (2294 views)
Shortcut
Do you remember the paper doll [In reply to] Can't Post

of him that was in MAD Magazine? This is Gary Powers. Cut him out and trade him for other spy paper dolls.

Or something like that...


dernwyn
Forum Admin / Moderator


Dec 8 2011, 3:31am

Post #36 of 134 (2367 views)
Shortcut
I was in a motel outside of Denver. [In reply to] Can't Post

With my mom and dad. We had flown from Massachusetts out to Colorado to visit my brother, who was spending the summer as a camp counsellor in the Rockies. We'd taken him to the rodeo in Cheyenne (Wyoming) (where I bought a "Frodo Lives" button), and when we took him back to the camp they had a TV on for the campers, as the lunar module had just landed. We hung around for a while waiting for the crew to step onto the Moon, but it got late and we had to leave. We got back to the motel room in time for the "small step/giant leap".


Ataahua
Forum Admin / Moderator


Dec 8 2011, 3:36am

Post #37 of 134 (2325 views)
Shortcut
Yes, I remember Thredbo. [In reply to] Can't Post

I had forgotten about Stuart Diver though. Thanks for the reminder Spencissimus.


Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal


Dec 8 2011, 3:43am

Post #38 of 134 (2295 views)
Shortcut
I remember that clearly too. [In reply to] Can't Post

I was in my office and the physics lab across the hall had TV, and I heard people gasp, and went in to see what was going on. I still remember the looks on people's faces as I walked into the room.

I heard so many awful news stories when I was in that building. I remember hearing about the Columbine massacre there, as I listened to the radio in my office. I never saw more shell-shocked students than the ones in my classes that day. And there was the Oklahoma City bomb. And I remember hearing about 9/11 as I was driving to work, and coming to the door of that building and being met by a wide-eyed coworker who said "Have you been listening to the radio?" We went over to the student center and watched it all on a huge TV there; the students weren't on campus yet, and the faculty and staff were supposed to be in meetings, but we huddled in front of the TV instead.


Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal


Dec 8 2011, 3:45am

Post #39 of 134 (2294 views)
Shortcut
You were? [In reply to] Can't Post

Wow, I was just an hour north of you, in our basement watching on the TV. We went outside afterwards and looked up at the moon and tried to imagine the people walking on it. My husband says he did the same thing.


Silverlode
Forum Admin / Moderator


Dec 8 2011, 3:45am

Post #40 of 134 (2370 views)
Shortcut
I remember sitting in class and watching Challenger explode. [In reply to] Can't Post

I remember the shock and confusion, and thinking "Wait....that did not just happen!" and the teachers being just as shocked and horrified as we were but trying valiantly to pull themselves together and continue on with the school day with a bunch of stunned or crying children. To make it even worse, our class had a field trip scheduled to the NASA/Ames research center a week later. It was the most depressing school field trip ever. I look back and feel sorry for our NASA docent, trying to answer questions about the disaster from a bunch of elementary school kids. Frown


(This post was edited by Silverlode on Dec 8 2011, 3:46am)


Annael
Immortal


Dec 8 2011, 3:48am

Post #41 of 134 (2287 views)
Shortcut
we did that too! [In reply to] Can't Post

Went outside, looked up at the moon - as I recall it was full - and said "there are people up there." Amazing to think.

And then we had a toast. My aunt gave me a tiny glass of creme de menthe. First and last time I ever drank that. Bleagh. Tasted like alcoholic toothpaste.


Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal


Dec 8 2011, 3:48am

Post #42 of 134 (2303 views)
Shortcut
This exercise does separate people by age, doesn't it? [In reply to] Can't Post

So often on TORn and the Internet in general, age isn't at all apparent. So it's kind of startling to do this once in a while.


Elizabeth
Half-elven


Dec 8 2011, 6:54am

Post #43 of 134 (2312 views)
Shortcut
Gotcha. [In reply to] Can't Post

I was 11, and remember it well. My parents were appalled. They certainly shared the notion that firing a General was like firing God. They were among those crying, "Unleash Chiang Kai-shek," although it turned out later he was both incompetent and corrupt.


Elizabeth
Half-elven


Dec 8 2011, 6:57am

Post #44 of 134 (2289 views)
Shortcut
I was watching it live, [In reply to] Can't Post

...while eating breakfast (I lived in CA). First I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then, I did. I went into the office and told everyone, and they were equally shocked. I don't think many of us got much work done that day, and I'm sure that was true all over.

The only other day like that I remember was 9/11.


(This post was edited by Elizabeth on Dec 8 2011, 6:57am)


Elizabeth
Half-elven


Dec 8 2011, 7:01am

Post #45 of 134 (2364 views)
Shortcut
My husband and kids went to Florida to watch the launch. [In reply to] Can't Post

I stayed home. The most wonderful vacation in years, with all of them gone for 2 weeks! The actual landing occurred while I was out with my dog, but I watched the moon walk live at home.


zarabia
Tol Eressea


Dec 8 2011, 9:10am

Post #46 of 134 (2335 views)
Shortcut
I was fascinated by the election of John Paul II as Pope even though I'm not Catholic [In reply to] Can't Post

It's strange that this story has always stood out in my memory. I was fascinated by the pomp and ceremony, and waiting for the white smoke to announce the election of a new Pope, as well as everyone's excitement that he was Polish. The fact that John Paul II's election as Pope was one of the first news stories that spoke to me as a kid made it especially meaningful that I was in Poland when he died.


Maiarmike
Grey Havens


Dec 8 2011, 12:27pm

Post #47 of 134 (2345 views)
Shortcut
Some of you guys have lived through some pretty important stuff! [In reply to] Can't Post

Some of them were probably horrifying though. Unsure

Me? I tend to remember pop-culture events in history a lot better that were big news stories. Like the OJ Simpson chase and trial, I remember seeing on TV, when my parents would watch it. Of course 9/11 was the one I most remember clearly, and understood what was going on, but I was 13 at the time.


Darkstone
Immortal


Dec 8 2011, 2:23pm

Post #48 of 134 (2325 views)
Shortcut
Oh, yeah! [In reply to] Can't Post

I also remember their parody "East Side Story" about Khrushchev ("Nikita! I just met a Red named Nikita!") that had something about him.

I remember the government trying to pass the flight off as a NASA research flight. Of course Khrushchev had set a trap and let the US government deny everything before revealing that Powers was alive and had confessed. I remember being very upset that the US government had lied. Innocence lost at seven years old. I mean, we were supposed to be the good guys!


(This post was edited by Darkstone on Dec 8 2011, 2:23pm)


Darkstone
Immortal


Dec 8 2011, 3:10pm

Post #49 of 134 (2384 views)
Shortcut
I remember... [In reply to] Can't Post

...being very disappointed he didn't take the name Pope George Ringo. Always seemed rather unfair.

But similarly, I remember being very impressed with the selection of Pope Paul VI in 1963. Of course back then there was a lot more solemnity without all the flashing color graphics or the need for constant analysis by talking heads. I think the world community was better served by the simplicity of "Show, Not Tell" over today's "Say Something, Anything To Avoid Dead Airtime".

And dunno why, but I always felt some connection between the death of Pope John and that of President Kennedy a few months later. To a seven year old both seemed part of a larger tragedy, an unthinkable shaking of the foundations of the world that had seemed so permanent.

But I still think there should be a Pope George Ringo.


Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal


Dec 8 2011, 5:31pm

Post #50 of 134 (2518 views)
Shortcut
That *would* be awsome. // [In reply to] Can't Post

 

First page Previous page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next page Last page  View All
 
 

Search for (options) Powered by Gossamer Forum v.1.2.3

home | advertising | contact us | back to top | search news | join list | Content Rating

This site is maintained and updated by fans of The Lord of the Rings, and is in no way affiliated with Tolkien Enterprises or the Tolkien Estate. We in no way claim the artwork displayed to be our own. Copyrights and trademarks for the books, films, articles, and other promotional materials are held by their respective owners and their use is allowed under the fair use clause of the Copyright Law. Design and original photography however are copyright © 1999-2012 TheOneRing.net. Binary hosting provided by Nexcess.net

Do not follow this link, or your host will be blocked from this site. This is a spider trap.