This is very good in multiple ways. I hope it becomes a model and everyone who steals it, copies theirs to me. Am I the first to ask permission to acknowledge it in my own? And while I'm at it, I really appreciate your Mormon series. If you've had a look at my "earliest memories", you'll see why immediately. Thanks.
This was great, Sam. Agree with most of your instincts.
Fall of Soviet Union. The reunification of Germany pissed me off. Too soon after the Holocaust for anything good to happen to Germany.
Clinton Scandal: My ten year old daughter asking me what oral sex was and knowing that I'd never forgive Clinton. Yes, he should have been impeached and shunned socially.
As for Billy Idol, I agree. All Billy fans should have been Joe Jackson fans.
I remember there were standup comics around the turn of the millennium saying maybe we can call this the naughty aughties. Everybody assumed that we would come up with something hipper than the 'aughts,' which is what 1900-1909 had been, and we just never did!
Such an enjoyable read :) As someone who was born in Hungary, I had a very different reaction to the fall of the Soviet Union, but similarly to you, I had a lot of guilt about Rwanda, once I found out about it. The news somehow completely escaped me (in Israel by then)
For me, the Challenger shuttle figures prominently in this timeline. My high school history teacher said, of Clinton's claim that he never inhaled, "Of course he did. And he loved it." Also, I was teaching a morning composition class on 9/11 in a basement classroom and heard about it while coming up the stairs. The entire English Department at the U of Nebraska gathered in the lounge to watch the second tower fall. Interesting that there are no sports milestones here. 1986, the year of the Challenger disaster, was also the year I was chosen by the Mets in the Little League draft and became a lifelong fan (also the last year they won the World Series). I would also add Atari and Nintendo to the mix.
This is very good in multiple ways. I hope it becomes a model and everyone who steals it, copies theirs to me. Am I the first to ask permission to acknowledge it in my own? And while I'm at it, I really appreciate your Mormon series. If you've had a look at my "earliest memories", you'll see why immediately. Thanks.
Damn, I did rip you off! But a lot more has happened in your life than mine! Thanks for the kind words.
Does your father have a Substack?
Lol yes!
Lol. He doesn't but he's a very smart guy. Occasionally he communicates vicariously through this one.
This was great, Sam. Agree with most of your instincts.
Fall of Soviet Union. The reunification of Germany pissed me off. Too soon after the Holocaust for anything good to happen to Germany.
Clinton Scandal: My ten year old daughter asking me what oral sex was and knowing that I'd never forgive Clinton. Yes, he should have been impeached and shunned socially.
As for Billy Idol, I agree. All Billy fans should have been Joe Jackson fans.
Thank you so much David! Yes, I think Billy is a great musician hidden in a pop star. But haven't really listened to Joe Jackson!
Ann landers was asked what to call the 2000s and she said (paraphrasing) either aughts or naughts. So you can refer to them collectives the noughties.
I remember there were standup comics around the turn of the millennium saying maybe we can call this the naughty aughties. Everybody assumed that we would come up with something hipper than the 'aughts,' which is what 1900-1909 had been, and we just never did!
We must be about the same age. I like your teacher's political chutzpah.
I can't help but think of "We didn't start the fire" while reading this. That's not a bad thing!
Thank you Kathleen!
Such an enjoyable read :) As someone who was born in Hungary, I had a very different reaction to the fall of the Soviet Union, but similarly to you, I had a lot of guilt about Rwanda, once I found out about it. The news somehow completely escaped me (in Israel by then)
Thank you Imola. Yes, I was ensconced in an American pop culture bubble for a whole lot of major events.
For me, the Challenger shuttle figures prominently in this timeline. My high school history teacher said, of Clinton's claim that he never inhaled, "Of course he did. And he loved it." Also, I was teaching a morning composition class on 9/11 in a basement classroom and heard about it while coming up the stairs. The entire English Department at the U of Nebraska gathered in the lounge to watch the second tower fall. Interesting that there are no sports milestones here. 1986, the year of the Challenger disaster, was also the year I was chosen by the Mets in the Little League draft and became a lifelong fan (also the last year they won the World Series). I would also add Atari and Nintendo to the mix.
Lol. I skipped a lot of stuff! No sports and nothing actually "cultural." List could be a lot longer.