Monday, July 23, 2012

Great Events In History

On this day in 1944, I was born in a manger in Chicago because there was no room in the inn. And lo, there were packers abiding in the stockyards, keeping watch over their herds by night. And there was thunder and lightning, and they were sore afraid. But a voice said unto them: “Today, in the Windy City, a blogger is born, which is LawHawk, the RFD. OK, so it wasn't that dramatic, I was born in a hospital, it was a typical summer in Chicago, and nobody in my family sports a halo.

As the years roll by, I tend to try to pretend it's not my birthday. Another day closer to the ultimate reward. But since my doctors tell me I'll live to be a hundred (I'm not sure that isn't a curse), I thought that rather than simply comment about birthdays, I'd play the game “where were you on (fill in the date or event)?” I have been around a long time, so I thought I'd just put down those events during my tenure on earth that are so vivid that I can picture exactly where I was and what I was doing at the time. Some are very personal, others were felt and remembered only by relatives and friends, and some were major events that all Americans and the world shared in. But for each of them, I still have that vivid memory.

I'm listing those events below. I'm sure I'll think of others as I ponder. But for now, I'm curious to hear from you. What events hit you so hard that you remember specifically where you were and what you were doing when the news was announced? Many of your memories will be entirely different from mine because you are much younger and don't suffer from “old folks memory.” On the other hand, I'm sure that there are some we all shared in common.

The very first event that I remember with that kind of clarity rather than just a vague memory is the Tehachapi earthquake of 1952. I was sound asleep when I was suddenly awakened by a sharp jolt and the movement of my bed across the floor. Still somewhat groggy, I told my dad to quit shaking my bed, and went back to sleep. Of course my dad was with my mom in their bedroom, holding on for dear life. When I finally got up, my bed had moved completely from one side of the room to the other end. I stepped over the books, stuffed toys and knicknacks which had been knocked off shelves and went into the living room. Everything was pretty messy there, but the big surprise was the huge crack in the ceiling that ran from the dining room, through the living room, and out to the entryway.

We lived in the LA suburb of Downey, which is almost sixty miles from the epicenter in Tehachapi (the Wolf Fault, actually). But buildings were knocked down in Bakersfield, downtown LA, and even as far out as Long Beach (which had suffered its own devastating quake in 1933). Fast forward to two years ago. My younger daughter had been begging me to get out of San Francisco and move nearer to her in Caliente and to my older daughter in Simi Valley. I was ready to leave anyway, so we started the search, and here I am. But I almost wasn't. I asked her to be a little more specific about where Caliente is. She said she lived right at the edge of the Sequoia National Forest, but that the place she was hoping I would take was about three miles farther down the mountain as the crow flies. OK so far. Isolated, and the property has three and a half glorious acres.

Then she made the mistake of telling me about nearby towns. Bakersfield is about an hour away. Tehachapi is about fifty-five minutes away. Lake Isabella is about thirty minutes away. “Whoa, say what? Tehachapi is about how far?” Well, it's actually eighteen miles away, but the Wolf Fault is even closer. It takes about fifty-five minutes to get to Tehachapi on winding mountain roads, but it takes the shock of a major earthquake about half a second to cover the same distance. So here I am, almost on top of the location that is my first clear memory. I managed to be living in San Francisco during both of the big quakes in Los Angeles. I managed to be living in Los Angeles during both of San Francisco's big quakes. But now I live practically on the site of the great Tehachapi quake, and the geologists say we're overdue. Hmmmmph.

There were many small and big events in the years following, and I have memories of most of them. But the next event where I remember precisely where I was and what I was doing was the Cuban Missile Crisis. My best friend and I were living in a dorm near the UC Berkeley campus. The only TV in the house was in the attic room of one of the other students. So when we weren't in class, all the dorm residents were huddled in that one small room, waiting to see what would happen. Out of the blue, about six months ago, I got an e-mail about our Cal 46th anniversary class reunion and our 50th anniversary Big Game Week (against Stanford). It was from the guy who rented that attic room. He asked the usual “do you remember when . . .” questions. And I replied, “I'll never forget it.”

The next event came just over a year later. The news had just been announced that John F. Kennedy had been shot in Dallas. I had been in class when the news was flashed to TV, but I wasn't anywhere near one. My buddy and I were meeting to grab a quick burger between classes, and the best place to meet was on the steps of Sproul Hall (the spot where most of the free speech demonstrations took place and where I had a student part-time job in the admissions office). He looked terrible, and there were tears in his eyes. He had already heard the news. I asked what was wrong, and he told me the president had been shot. It still didn't register with me. There had been a lot of demonstrations against University of California president Clark Kerr, but I couldn't believe anyone would shoot him.

My friend said “No, President Kennedy.” I had cut my political teeth at age 16 working on the Kennedy campaign. I was in shock. Classes were canceled, as were all the Big Game Week festivities. I spent the rest of the day at chapel or back in my dorm room, mourning. It seemed to me that for the first and only time in my memory, all the churches in Berkeley were open for those who were seeking spiritual relief, even though it was not a Sunday. The only very specific memory that I have of what transpired next was when Walter Cronkite came on to make an announcement. His voice was choked up, he removed his glasses, and told us the president was dead. The weather turned gloomy, and stayed that way for a full week.

The next four are easy. August 25, 1968—my wedding at Christ Lutheran Church in Downey. Followed by March 3, 1970, the birth of our first baby (Laura) at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Hayward, California. Then May 19, 1972 , the birth of our son (Christopher) and October 7, 1976, the birth of our younger daughter (Andrea). Both of the latter babies were born at Kaiser Foundation in Panorama City, California. The latter two memories are very similar. In those days, husbands in the labor and delivery rooms were rare and highly optional. I remember the expectant father's waiting room. There's a reason I went to law school and not medical school. But Laura's birth remains a little more vivid. The elevators weren't working at the hospital, and OB-GYN was on the fourth floor. I partially carried and partially dragged my poor, very pregnant wife up three flights of stairs. I remember the stairwell better than I remember the waiting room

I remember the after-grad ceremony from law school better than I do the ceremony itself because it was a wild affair held at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City. Just a few week earlier, Johnny Carson had made one of his frequent cracks about the goings-on at the hotel, which he regularly called “The Sheraton Unique.” I also remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I found out I had passed the Bar Exam. I was mowing the lawn on the day before Thanksgiving, 1977. The pass rate was so low that the examiners had taken extra time to grade, then re-grade the tests. My wife told me that I had a phone call from one of my classmates. She worked at a law office, so she had access to public Bar records. I said hi, then she excitedly announced: “Congratulations, Larry, you're a lawyer!” I also remember swearing-in day because it was held at the Los Angeles Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, four days before Christmas. The Pavilion is located in direct line-of-sight with the downtown Los Angeles Superior Court, and I couldn't wait to walk down that street and have my first case.

The next memory is another earthquake, but it's a very odd memory. On January 17, 1994, Northridge (in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley) was hit by a devastating earthquake. My older daughter lived in Northridge. But she and her husband were safe visiting with me in San Francisco. It was early in the day, and I watched the news as the magnitude of the damage became more apparent. I had hesitated to wake them up, but I finally did so. I told her to stay calm, it's only “things” and you're safe here with me. But she still looked like she was in shock. I tried to reassure her, but then she blurted out that Andrea, my younger daughter, was house-sitting for her. Now we were all in a panic. The famous picture of the four-story apartment house that pancacked down to the basement was next door to her apartment. Her apartment was literally at ground zero, and my baby was inside.

They decided to pack up and head home, and I spent the rest of the day trying to locate Andrea. A friend of mine called, and after hearing the tone of my voice, immediately headed to my place. That's what good friends do. I finally was able to get through to my son who was living near the UCLA campus in Westwood at the time while working on his BA. He told me that the freeways between Westwood and Northridge were down. So I told him his little sister might be trapped in a collapsed or badly-damaged apartment. He got on his motorcycle and headed for Northridge over the back roads through the Sepulveda Pass. Some hours later, he called to say there was no sign of her at the apartment (which was badly damaged, but not destroyed). He then headed to his mom's house in Simi Valley. Andrea had also taken back roads to Simi Valley and was safe, but even Simi Valley took some of the hit. The fireplace had moved five inches away from the living room wall.

The next event I'll always remember was 9-11, and it had eery similarities for me as the Northridge quake. I woke up early for some reason, and turned on the TV while the coffee brewed. My first thought was “why are they showing a disaster movie on a news channel?” The first tower had already been hit. As I listened and realized this wasn't a movie, I heard them saying that a second plane had just hit the other tower. Nobody was yet sure what was happening, and it took some time before there was universal agreement that this was an intentional terrorist attack. Then we started hearing about Flight 93 out of Newark. That also didn't register with me at first.

Then I remembered. My son was supposed to be in New York City for one of his regular meetings with his company's east coast reps and the Defense Department (among other things, he is an expert cryptographer). He had become used to the trip, and had learned that it was frequently easier to fly out of Newark than JFK. He was scheduled to be returning to Berkeley that morning. Panic! I tried calling him multiple times on his cellphone, with no response. More panic! Finally, out of desperation, I called his home phone to leave a message pleading with him to call me as soon as he got home (thinking, "if he gets home").

In the end, it all turned out well. He picked up the phone. He had neglected to tell me that he had quit his job the week before to start his own consulting business. He had left his cellphone upstairs in his bedroom and didn't hear it ringing. He was downstairs watching the same scenes of horror that I was watching. Only he knew where I was.

I was stuck in my apartment in San Francisco recovering from surgery during Ronald Reagan's funeral. It was very frustrating for me, since the final burial service was held at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. I had worked on and voted in favor of setting aside the land for the library when I was a Simi Valley planning commissioner, and I adored Ronald Reagan. But I was stuck in San Francisco, a town that voted against Reagan by astounding margins. I watched it all on TV, and probably had a better view of it than my daughter Laura who lives in Simi Valley and actually attended the event.

Oddly, I also remember exactly where I was when the news was announced that Barack Obama had been elected President. My office was located just inside the front doors of the Westfield San Francisco Centre on Market Street. There was a lot of cheering and noise-making that I could hear even inside. Figuring it was another typical San Francisco demonstration or riot, I poked my nose outside to see what was going on. It was a huge and enthusiastic crowd, largely young and black, shouting “we won, we won.”

38 comments:

Jen said...

LawHawk, Happy Birthday! :)

Tennessee Jed said...

In the words of the song: "You make me feel so young" Enjoy your day, Hawk and thanks for all the great posts :)

BevfromNYC said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Anonymous said...

Jen: Thanks for your wishes.

Anonymous said...

Bev: Thank you. I left NYC just before the student riots and building burnings at Columbia in '68. So they can't blame that one on me. I loved New York, but nothing particularly earth-shattering happened during my sojourn there. Just a lot of crime and I particularly remember the graffiti on the subway cars.

Anonymous said...

Tennessee: Thanks for not using Ole Man River as my theme. LOL

AndrewPrice said...

Happy Birthday! And many more.

T-Rav said...

On behalf of myself and the three sane people still living in Chicago, I would like to say happy birthday, LawHawk. Make it a good one!

Anonymous said...

Andrew: Thanks, but just remember, the more birthdays I have, the longer you have to put up with my rants. LOL

tryanmax said...

Happy Birthday, Hawk! I think your micro-memoir is way better than that one by that guy who's lived in Hawaii and Indonesia and Chicago and all the rest of the 57 states.

It's always interesting, the things and the details we remember. The thing I remember most about 9-11 was scrapping the edition of the college paper and starting afresh. I don't even remember what I ended up writing. I didn't even keep a copy because I didn't want to.

Anonymous said...

T-Rav: You mean the Magi haven't left yet?

Old joke: Why wasn't Jesus born in Chicago? Because they couldn't find three wise men and a virgin.

Anonymous said...

tryanmax: LOL And at least I left a very clear paper trail. In some cases, I kinda wish I hadn't.

Short but funny story. When I was in kindergarten, I was determined to learn cursive writing before all the rest of the kids did. So I practiced using my signature. My cursive was pretty primitive until I was in sixth grade, when I got a left-handed teacher who was a bug on good handwriting. She told me that being left-handed was no excuse for messy handwriting and made me work at it. So my signature, among all the other things, became very clear--Laurence G. Hawk.

The years rolled by, and it was time to register with the State Bar for law school. They require fingerprints and a birth certificate. I had never actually seen my birth certificate, so I had to order one from Cook County. Imagine my surprise when I found out I had been spelling my name wrong most of my life. There it was, in bold white and black--Lawrence, with a w. They had the right mother, the right father and the right hospital, so it had to be me. Yoiks! Why nobody ever corrected me is beyond my understanding, and every official document I have spells it with a u. Except the birth certificate, of course.

I guess Barack Obama and I do have something in common after all.

tryanmax said...

At least it didn't take you two years to find your birth certificate from the time you were asked for it.

Your story reminds me of two similar stories that each of my grandfathers has.

My father's father wasn't given a middle name, so when his youngest daughter (my aunt) had to fill his name in on a school form, rather than leave the middle name field blank, she wrote "blank." Apparently, mail for Darwin Blank Maxwell came for years.

My mother's father had it worse. His parents couldn't agree on a name, and it's difficult to say exactly who won. His mother managed to get "Lyle" placed on the birth certificate, however he goes by "Orville" to this day. Oddly, there was no similar consternation that his middle name should be Eugene.

rlaWTX said...

Happy, happy birthday, LawHawk!! It's interesting the things that make a mark...

1/28/1986 - the Challenger explosion (also my dad's 32nd birthday) I had snuck into the library during lunch (8th grade) and a TV happened to be on. I sat there trying not to be noticed and still get close enough to see what they were watching. I still wasn't sure what was going on when I headed to my after-lunch class. Then they made an announcement over the intercom... Stunned silence and not a lot got done in the rest of the classes that day.

2/1/03 - my dad had just turned 49 and I heard about the Columbia explosion. Lufkin, TX was in the news (I had lived there in '01) because the pieces were strewn across East TX. My dad joked that NASA should avoid his birthday. I remember it so well, because my dad died 13 days later, 2/14/03.

9/11/01 - I had moved to Alexandria, VA one month before. My now ex was working in Pentagon City, felt it hit. I was in the car listening to the radio for the stuff in NY. I was in the doctor's office in Arlington when the DC plane hit. I came out, paying my bill, and everyone is just stunned and blubbering and weird. I realized that I was missing something. They let me use the phone and I managed to get thru to my husband's cell. As I was leaving the building, a woman came up to me asking if I had heard about the Pentagon - kinda shell-shocked. Then she said that she had just left her kids at the Pentagon day-care. She stood there a second and then rushed out. I realized I needed to call my folks, so I used the pay phone in the lobby, and my mom called my in laws. It took my ex 4 hours to go the 7 miles to our house from Pentagon City.

Anonymous said...

tryanmax: I was actually amazed at how quickly they sent me the certificate. What's even weirder is that over the years I lost or misplaced it, so I had to order another one for the paperwork I was filling out for Medicare and Social Security. The second one came as quickly as the first.

Darwin Blank Maxwell--hilarious!

Tam said...

Lawhawk, are we the only ones here with July birthdays? It seems like everyone else celebrated in June. I may be sitting on jury duty on my birthday (11th anniversary of my 29th birthday!) this Wednesday.

I was in my 8th grade English class during the Challenger explosion. An announcement over the intercom came on, they wheeled a tv into our classroom and we all watched the replays, stunned.

1989 I was in my us history class when the Berlin wall came down. I think the official announcement did NOT happen during school hours, but that was where I learned about it.

9/11/01
I was in bed and when the alarm went off, I could tell something was really wrong by the tone of voices. I was not fully awake so the words didn't register. Moments later my husband called and said to turn on the tv, something really bad was happening.

4/20/99 Columbine shooting: I was teaching jr. High in UT and my principal's assistant came in and took over my class and ushered me to the office, asking if I knew anyone in Littleton. I said yes, they turned on the t.v. for me and let me call my people. None of my immediate relatives were involved, but my sister's nieces and nephews were there.

4/15/09 first big Tea Party rally: I took my kid to a wildlife museum in Denver. My parents and I wanted to avoid crazy protesters. This was before we really knew what the Tea Party stood for. We may have changed our plans had we known then what we know now!

1/8/11 I was debating going to Congress on Your Corner with my newly reelected congressional representative, Gabby Giffords. I decided not to.

When Dear Leader was inaugurated, I was at a book club with a bunch of liberal chicks. Whenever the commercials ended, they all breathlessly shushed each other and clutched their chests. (gag) At one point, one of them said, "He could do anything to me." I replied, "bend over."

Anonymous said...

rlaWTX: Both shuttle explosions have a place in my memory, but for reasons unknown, I couldn't tell you where I was or what I was doing at either time.

I can certainly see why you would have clear memories of 9-11. One of my labor relations clients, Tourneau, had a watch store in Pentagon City. They had some pretty scary stories to tell me. I had carefully investigated DC labor law, only to find their store was actually located in Alexandria. A little embarrassing. But Alexandria's labor laws turned out to be much simpler and far more sensible. I did take a trip to the Pentagon, but it had been fully repaired by then.

Anonymous said...

Tam: For me, the Berlin Wall was a process, and though I cheered the day it finally came down, I can't really say I remember where I was or what I was doing other than being in San Francisco and seeing the reports on TV.

Your remembrance of the first Tea Party rally brought to mind one of the landmarks I had forgotten about. Because I had worked so hard on the Kennedy campaign, I received an invitation to attend his last major rally before the 1960 election at the East Los Angeles College Stadium. I didn't know it was anything special until I got there and showed the guard my ticket. I was seated on the platform, just two rows behind the future president.

I can certainly see why you would remember 1/8/11. The horrors we barely escape are as significant as the ones we walk into the middle of.

Anonymous said...

Tam: Just to point out how memory can fail when the event doesn't seem personal, I just checked the date, and in fact I was still living in North Hollywood before moving back to San Francisco at the time the Berlin Wall came down.

T-Rav said...

I only have memories of the last three events listed (9/11, Reagan funeral, Obama election). Although I live in a well-known earthquake zone, I have only felt one tremor that I know of, which was an aftershock of a more moderate-sized quake about four years ago. Come to find out, it does feel exactly like a heavy truck passing by.

BevfromNYC said...

Kennedy Assasination - I was too young to remember, but my Mother worked at Parkland Hospital and was there when they brought him into the emergency room. She was not allowed to leave until she got clearance. My Mom was Head Therapeutic Dietician amd was put in charge of feeding Gov. Connally and later Jack Ruby.

'60's Space Program - In a dark classroom watching the first everything on a small B&W tv!

First Shuttle re-entry/landing 1980? - In the Costume Shop at UT again watching on a small B&W tv with foil on the antenna to get better reception. Just as the shuttle touch we lost the reception!

Mars Landrover landing 2004 and started tranmitting pictures of Mars surface - At home in front of my color tv (this time) I kept wondering what would happen if a little face appeared?

9/11/2001 - I was two blocks away from WTC when the second plane hit - lots of running, screaming, and confusion...'nough said.

1/22/2009 - In the boardroom of our office, watching the Inauguration. I was the only one who stood up for the National Anthem and when Obama was sworn in...and they all voted for the man and I did not.

February 2009 - Signed onto Big Hollywood for the first time and found that there were actually conservative thinking artists! I swear I heard a chorus of angels sing!

Which brings me too...
2/28/2009, 4/15/2009, 9/12/2009 etc. - In Washington DC at the biggest Tea Party of all time and Commentarama!!!!

Anonymous said...

Bev: Wow. That's up-close and personal. Did she offer any opinions on whether she agreed with the Warren Commission Report or thought there might have been more to it?

You brought up a topic that triggered another clear remembrance of mine. I was on my way from Mountain View, California to Stanford to do some research. The radio announced that Neil Armstrong had stepped out of his Apollo spacecraft and put his foot down on the surface of the moon. I specifically remember the bright red '67 Camaro SS350 I was driving (it was my pride and joy) and that I was wearing a suit because I wouldn't want the Stanfordites to think a Cal grad was a slob. Oddly, I remember the Apollo 11 mission as well, but nothing specific at the time of the first dread words "Houston, we have a problem."

So glad you remember the launch of Commentarama!

Anonymous said...

T-Rav: OK, youngster, that makes sense.

San Francisco has small quakes on regular occasion. Most of them are barely noticeable. A bus going past my place on Jackson Street or Pacific Avenue shook the building more than most of the quakes. Slightly larger ones are noticeable if you're in the right place at the right time. Walking or driving you might not even notice. But sitting you would notice.

I mentioned the Oxnard quake. We barely felt it, but it was enough to cause me to check my older daughter's room to see if she had felt it. She was still sound asleep, but water had sloshed out her aquarium and ejected a couple of neon tetras. No other signs of the quake at all. These things are also selective. My office in Canoga Park had a few things knocked over, but nothing serious. But my colleague's office in Pacoima, 17 miles farther from the epicenter was an everything-off-the-shelves and broken-glass-everywhere mess.

rlaWTX said...

It's funny how for some things you just remember them happening (Berlin Wall) and for others something ties those details of that moment to your memory...

Anonymous said...

rlaWTX: It's the wonderful and often confusing complexity of the human mind. My kids don't remember the Oxnard quake, but the older grandkids vividly remember 9-11. And not just because of New York. My older daughter's son panicked because his daddy works in a tall building (he didn't know New York City from Los Angeles). When she got him calmed down, he suddenly teared-over again because his grandpa (me) lived in a tall building. He also didn't distinguish New York City from San Francisco. He kept pushing until she had allowed him to talk to both of us on the phone.

Individualist said...

Oddly enough 9/11 is the only date I remember..

I was in the 6th floor of the Bell South Tower in JAcksonville Florida (the CSX office) with my boss having my performance review.

the rest is a daze....

Anonymous said...

Off-Topic (but related to a couple recent posts), it didn't take long for the bullet train extravaganza to get more expensive. Less than a week after Gov. Moonbeam Brown signed the enabling and funding legislation, they discovered a "small hole" in the planning. As it turns out, none of the $2.5 billion in tunnel costs were included as part of the narrowly approved high-speed-rail deal. So those tax-loving Californians and San Franciscans are now facing an additional $650 million in bridge toll hikes and city taxes. A few million here, a few million there, and pretty soon you're talking serious money. LOL

TJ said...

Happy Birthday Lawhawk - hope you have a wonderful day!

I was working on 9/11 - but I actually got to work a few minutes late (after the first plane hit). When we heard that that the second plane had hit, I called my husband at home and told him about it. He turned on the TV and saw the second tower collapse. My son, who was 5 at the time, drew a lot of pictures about the Towers, but when I ask him about it now (he is 16) he barely remembers it.

I was working when the first space shuttle exploded, but I don't recall the second one as well. I'm not sure why that would be since it was much more recent.

Another event that I specifically remember was when Reagan bombed Libya in 1986. My future husband and I were watching TV in my apartment when the news report came on.

You guys and your earthquake stories - well I have a couple. The first one was in 1981. My mom, dad and I were in Culver City and we were staying on the 10th floor of this hotel. Sometime during the night we woke up to the room swaying slightly, the pictures banging against the walls and the lamps shaking. It was really just a tremor, but it was the first time I had experienced one and it freaked me out.

The second one was just last year - that was the one that struck Virginia, but we felt it down in NC. Again, I was at work. I'm on the bottom floor of a 3 story building and it felt like the whole building was on a boat. The folks on the third floor didn't even feel it.

Anonymous said...

Indi: The human mind is funny that way. We can remember all kinds of things, but often without clarity. And sometimes, just a mere mention of an event triggers long-buried and very specific memories.

And who doesn't remember performance reviews? LOL

Anonymous said...

TJ: I don't have a lot of specific memories about the Reagan teaching moment in Libya except that it worked very well. But I do remember a great bumper sticker that came out soon thereafter: "Good morning Mr. Qaddafi--this is your wake-up call."

Not to be a bad guy or anything, but don't forget that if the New Madrid fault goes, it will make anything the San Andreas fault has done look like child's play. And we'll be sitting here safe in California.

BevfromNYC said...

LawHawk - My Mom was almost fired for serving beef stew to the Governor. She explained rather indignantly to her superior that Gov. Connolly asked what was on the regular menu and it was beef stew. He said that was fine with him. She said that Gov. and Mrs. Connolly did not want any special treatment and were very kind.

When Jack Ruby went to Parkland for his final days (he had cancer), she was assigned to him. She made the astute decision that only she and one of her assistants would prepare and deliver his meals to him. She was paranoid that someone might try and poison him! Ruby died early one morning and Mom heard the announcement on the radio. She says that she pulled over to the first available payphone and called the kitchen. She said that she had to make sure that he hadn't been served breakfast yet. They told her that he had definitely died before he had breakfast...true story.

Anonymous said...

Bev: That's genuine living history. She must have some great stories to tell.

EricP said...

Happy Birthday, LawHawkRFD, and thanks for all the continued commentary and knowledge-dropping!

BevfromNYC said...

LawHawk - If we ever have a Commentarama-vention, I will bring her "memory book" of the events. It's pretty awesome.

Anonymous said...

EricP: Thanks for the birthday wishes. I hope we're imparting a little knowledge along with the fun and opinions.

Anonymous said...

Bev: That would be truly cool.

Joel Farnham said...

Happy Birth Day, LawHawk.

I have two incidents. The day Challenger fell out of the sky and 9-11-2001. Those two I remember where I was and who I talked to about it.

Anonymous said...

rlaWTX: We're going to have to encourage Bev to tell us more about her mom and her experiences. It sounds like they could become a very good book.

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