Monday, July 5, 2010

Where was Archie?

I thought it would be of historical interest to ask my crotchety old WWII veteran neighbor know as 'Archie' where he was when he heard about important news events. A 'Where were you when?...'

So. This is how it went.

When FDR died? Playing catch with a baseball behind the barracks at Bainbridge Naval Base. He thought the war would be over and he wouldn't get killed overseas.

When the Challenger exploded? Watching it on TV and noticing the spark from the booster aiming at the main tank and thinking, "Well that is gonna blow up..."

When JFK was killed? "NEVER YOU FUGGIN MIND AND I DON'T KNOW NUTHIN ABOUT NO GRASSY KNOLL NOW GET OUTTA MY HOUSE!!!"

3 comments:

Tam said...

Interesting side note: The Challenger disaster is a wonderfully illustrative example of the faultiness of eyewitness testimony.

(The launch wasn't broadcast live, except on NASA TV to educational customers and CNN, which was still in its relative infancy.)

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

Didn't see it my ownself. I was in Mr. Hinkeldey's class learning History.

Bubblehead Les. said...

I saw it live at the Portmouth Naval Ship Yard in Kittery,Maine (where my last submarine, U.S.S. Ulysses S. Grant (SSBN 631) was going through overhaul) at the Chiefs Club. Yes, it was on CNN. But within 20 minutes, every radio and TV station in the country was carrying the news. Bad day, very bad day.