What's Your Earliest Memory of a Historical Event in Your Lifetime?

[Zenobiyl]

12 minutes ago, Patine said:

 

Francis is apparently the first non-European Pope since Zachary (from Byzantine Syria) in the 8th Century.

And the first pope to follow a retirement (instead of death) in possibly the entire church history

[Zenobiyl]

1 hour ago, Patine said:

No, that would actually be Martin V, who was elected in 1417 after a de jure 3 year sede vacante period when John XXIII and Gregory XII, two of the three claimants for legitimacy in the complicated and tangled affair of the, "Western Schism," of the Roman Catholic Church, both agreed to abdicate and allow a fresh conclave so a resolution, and Church unity, could be enabled.

Huh that’s some neat trivia. Thank god we don’t have anti papal shenanigans anymore.

[jvikings1]

I remember some of the 2004 election, especially when I went with my dad to vote. It was also the first time we did a mock election at my school (at least when I was there). I couldn't tell you a whole lot about what happened, but I did know the major candidates.

[pilight]

The first major event I recall is Nixon's resignation.  

[Rodja]

Oh God.You guys make me feel sooo old for me it was Carter inauguration

[vcczar]

3 hours ago, pilight said:

The first major event I recall is Nixon's resignation.  

I never realized you are older than me. I always assumed you were in your 20s. 

3 hours ago, Rodja said:

Oh God.You guys make me feel sooo old for me it was Carter inauguration

He was president when I was born. 

[Pringles]

4 hours ago, Rodja said:

Oh God.You guys make me feel sooo old for me it was Carter inauguration

Sounds like an epic memory to have. Of Jimmy walking down Pennsylvania Avenue and taking the oath! 😛 

[Rodja]

42 minutes ago, vcczar said:

I never realized you are older than me. I always assumed you were in your 20s. 

He was president when I was born. 

I was 7 years old then and i remember my family getting really excited about his inauguration,i didn't understand any of it back then but liked Carter as a guy cause of the family influence.As i good more into politics my appreciation of him just grew stronger.

[pilight]

7 hours ago, Rodja said:

Oh God.You guys make me feel sooo old for me it was Carter inauguration

My parents were big Carter fans.  They took me down to Plains for his kickoff event for his first presidential campaign.

[DakotaHale]

Late to the party here.

I was in first grade in 2008 and we had a mock vote in our class. I didn't know who either candidate was so I voted for Obama bc he looked nicer and I went home and told my dad and he got mad at me. I watched the first election results come in but fell asleep before Obama won. Wasn't until 8th grade when I started to get heavily into politics (was a cringe neocon back then).

[vcczar]

9 hours ago, DakotaHale said:

Late to the party here.

I was in first grade in 2008 and we had a mock vote in our class. I didn't know who either candidate was so I voted for Obama bc he looked nicer and I went home and told my dad and he got mad at me. I watched the first election results come in but fell asleep before Obama won. Wasn't until 8th grade when I started to get heavily into politics (was a cringe neocon back then).

It still baffled me that the 2008 election and some later elections are the first elections for people on this forum. As I said, 9/11 seems like yesterday to me still. The 2008 election seems like a few hours ago.

In a weird way, I divide my life into life before 9/11 and life after 9/11. It wasn't just the attacks, it sort of coincided with a lot of other changes (cell phones, laptops, smoking bans, social media, etc.). On 9/11, I had a LAN line and an answering machine. No cell phone. I had had a cell phone for a year in 1999-2000 but it was always roaming and was expensive to use. I didn't get another cell phone until like 2003 or 2004. Most people didn't have cell phones in 2001. I had to walk home to see if anyone called me. I had a desktop CPU, but no laptop. I didn't know anyone that had one in 2001. I got my first one in like 2006. Social media wasn't a thing in 2001. MySpace came out in 2003. That was immediately popular. There was a social media in 2001 called like College _____ something. It wasn't as advanced as Myspace. I had an account but after 9/11/2001. I probably made one the next month. It probably had about 25,000 people on it. It wasn't a huge success. In 2001, just about every coffee shop and restaurant smelled liked cigarettes. I've never smoked a cigarette, but I almost always smelled like I smoked because I hung out in coffeeshops 12+ hours a day. Smoking bans started in central Texas about 2004 or 2005. There's a lot of other changes that sort of overlapped a bit with the world changing on 9/11. I'd say the hugest change is that people are much more interconnected with the internet and data today. Before 9-11, we were more like part of the animal kingdom. Internet and computer stuff was left at home or at work. When you went out, it was just you and society and nature. I'm kind of glad I got to live two decades in the old world, and I've now lived two decades in the new world. 

[vcczar]

2 hours ago, Patine said:

You're playing the, "old man to the kids," schtick, there, like I've been accused of. 😛

I'm fine being that if I am. I'm not too nostalgic about the past and I'm liking most of our technological and social improvements, even if they are never as evolved as I wish they are at any given time. I think the "old man" schtick, generally involves the speaker stating that their way of life was better than the present. I don't think that's the case.