Archive through November 17, 2002
TV ClubHouse: Archives: Where were you when.....:
Archive through November 17, 2002
Whit4you | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 05:15 pm     and your thoughts at the time... and perhaps add one 'event' as well? A) Jonestown - Jim Jones Massacer B) Elvis Died C) Apollo 13 crippled D) Exxon Valdez E) McGuire home run record F) Baby Jessica in the well G) Mount St Helens explosion |
Max | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 06:05 pm     H) President Kennedy was assassinated I) John Lennon was murdered J) The Challenger exploded (sorry, these were always the big three for me - until September 11)
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Car54 | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 06:16 pm     My favorite story is my first year out of Grad School, I was teaching a class of middle school age kids costume history, and talking about important moments, I said..."We all remember where we were when President Kennedy was killed". They all looked at me and finally one kid raised his hand and said..."Um no ma'am...we weren't born then!" I was about 23...I felt like I was a million years old. |
Hippyt | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 06:27 pm     I grew up about 45 minutes from Memphis. I have and Aunt who lived (still does) in Memphis,and is a major Elvis fan. Since it was summer I was sitting on the couch watching soap operas,I think I was around 12. They broke into the tv show to say Elvis was dead. I was shocked,but the thing I remember most is my Aunt calling crying,and my 'wonderful' Mother calling my Aunt stupid,and hanging up on her.Thanks for the memory Mom! Geez. |
Teatime | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 06:50 pm     A) Jonestown Massacre: I was a senior in high school and we covered this extensively in government class in the days following as details came out. B) Elvis died: I had just bought a new pair of shoes and was riding home in the car with Grandma when it came over the radio. We both cried. I'll never forget those shoes. F) Baby Jessica in the well: Probably biggest personal impact of the list. Husband and I had just moved out of state from the area (Odessa, TX) and his work had been oil field related. As we watched on CNN, we saw people we knew from that field involved in the rescue. J) Challenger explosion: Picked up my son from kindergarten that day where, unbeknownst to me, he had just watched it on live television. Poor kid had a hard time getting me to understand it was real, and not a story he was making up. adding: K) Man walked on the moon: Mom called the whole neighborhood inside (about 20 kids + moms) to watch on our (19"! color!) TV. We were spellbound. Of course we ended up not needing the color that day... |
Kstme | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 07:38 pm     B) Elvis...Thekid was 3 months old, to the day and I remember thinking she'd never know what a great voice he'd had. LOL, isn't his "new" album #1?? G) Mount St. Helen's...living in Seattle and working downtown. A friend and I were in an elevator about 3 days before the event and I'm going "Poof, Poof...the mountain goes Poof, Poof" She was ready to deck me...the elevator was FULL! The morning of the explosion, our long standing brunch group was over in West Seattle having brunch. On the way back from the restroom I noticed the bar area was all a-buzz. The mountain was the topic of conversation and we all left for home to watch on tv. H) Pres. Kennedy...just walked out of Study Hall. People were screaming and crying in the halls...teachers and students. It seemed so surreal. My government class teacher had run home to get his small tv and we stayed in his room glued to it. J) Challenger explosion...this really relates to thekid. I was trying to get ready for the day and she was staying home because she was sick. She was watching Scooby Doo on tv and they broke in with the news. She's never watched the show since, not even the movie. She was eight. |
Nimtu | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 07:49 pm     A) Jonestown -College freshman - horrible pictures of all the bodies. I) Lennon - at home ready for bed and was shocked at how hard that hit me! J) Challenger - just walked into my very first Hospice patients house and we all sat and watched it together on t.v. I remember the patient crying for the families...he died two days later. K) Watched with family on black and white t.v. Adding: L) Robert Kennedy - in school, second grade, the teacher cried and they sent us home. (Whit, you always start the best threads!!) |
Twinkie | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 08:09 pm     When Kennedy was killed I was just about to get on the school bus to go home when teachers started running out crying telling us he had been shot. We kids cried all the way home. When the Challenger exploded i was standing at the end of my parent's driveway where we always watched the launches. We could see it very well and when it exploded I knew instantly what had happened. I had seen too many successful launches and they sure didn't look like that. Then I ran in the house to listen to the news. I cried very hard that day. |
Jmm | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 09:00 pm     I'm not good at these where were yous, but you have hit on a couple that do hit hard. F- Baby Jessica- Had just moved to MI from OK, youngest DD was about 6 months old. Sat in front of the TV for hours just watching them rescue that precious little girl from that hole and cried as I held DD tightly. H- President Kennedy - Was having lunch at my Aunt's house waiting for my cousin to come home and take me in for afternoon kindergarden. Watching tv when the news came on. J- Challenger explosion - Was still in OK, great big pregnant with same DD. Working at the YMCA and one of the members brought in a small tv and we all sat around the front desk just watching the scene over and over again. M- I just remember my Mom crying when Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. |
Whit4you | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 09:20 pm     A) Jonestown - one of the biggest memories for me in my teens - I'll never be able to get the photo out of my visual memory of the bodies piled upon bodies - was perhaps the first time I'd ever seen dead bodies. B) Elvis - I was in 'awe' of the "young elvis' - wasn't really even aware of the 'old elvis' till after his death. Till the day he died I was sure I'd meet him someday - and had very realistic dreams of doing so, so his death was unbelievable to me. E) McGuire - I was a huge baseball fan when I was a kid (Pete Rose) and had completely lost touch till that home run season, I watched every game he and Sosa were in and thought it was really incredible. G) Mt Saint Helens - I was standing outside in Ione Wa (n.e. corner of Wa state) and I wrote something on my BF's car - said you need to wash this car, minutes later what I'd written was GONE, I really really thought that was strange! Didn't get what was going on. A while later the skies went dark it was very scary. FYI my sister-in-laws father holds a record never to be broken as the man who climbed that mountain the most, since the mountain isn't the same anymore. J) Challenger - I saw that live on TV and was in a state of total shock - they showed it over and over and I watched it over and over - the visual of that explosion is very intense. K) Man walking on moon - I was about 4 when that happened - and hoenstly I didn't know it was REAL lol. Most the stuff on TV wasn't real then and neither was that even though people SAID it was real, I never believed it. Not till I was 9ish..lol. |
Max | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 09:25 pm     A) Jonestown - Jim Jones Massacre I was about to move to the SF Bay Area. I just remember being shocked at the news footage of all those bodies, espeically the kids. B) Elvis Died I was never a big Elvis fan. The Beatles were more "my generation." I remember mostly thinking that people were making quite a huge fuss about his death. C) Apollo 13 crippled I'm pretty embarrased to say that I really don't remember much about this. I was 14 and I guess I can use adolescent self-centered tendencies as an excuse! Most of what I know about this is from the movie and the HBO Series "From the Earth to the Moon." D) Exxon Valdez My ex-husband and I were getting ready to move to the Northwest from Silicon Valley. I remember being appalled at the amount of devastation all that oil was going to cause and suspecting that someone screwed up royally. E) McGuire home run record Hmmm. I remember following this, but not like it was the most important thing around. Living in Oregon with no pro-baseball team, I've gotten a bit out of touch with stuff like this. F) Baby Jessica in the well Again, a story that I remember well, but not in relation to what I was doing at the time. I still think it was a miracle that they got her out of there alive. I know there's a sad follow-up story about the guy who pulled her out, though. G) Mount St Helens explosion This was before I moved to the Northwest. I remember seeing all the news coverage and being amazed at the amount of ash in the air. I've now been to the national park at the mountain and it's truly an amazing place and very difficult to imagine what it must have been like to be anywhere in the area from Portland to Seattle at the time. H) President Kennedy was assassinated My first major event. I was 7 and in grammar school. I remember being in class and the principal coming in the room and pulling the teacher out to the hall. When she came back in, she was crying and her face was practically ashen. I don't think she told us what happened, she just said we all needed to go home now and our parents would explain. I always walked to school, so my friends and I started to head for home. I remember going past the cafeteria and seeing all the adults in there watching a TV set and crying. It was the first time I'd ever seen adults crying and upset like that. I remember being pretty much glued to our black-and-white TV set for the next few days. The image of John-John saluting the casket as it went by will never leave me. And then, I remember watching Lee Harvey Oswald being taken down the corridor and Jack Ruby coming up and shooting him in the belly. I think that kids my age started right then to question things and be more cynical about the 'honesty' of government. I) John Lennon was murdered I was living in Oakland, California and had started working a home-based business selling jewelry at parties (sort of like Avon or Tupperware). I had been in San Jose for a meeting that evening and was driving home. Turned on the radio and was pleased to hear them playing a whole bunch of Beatles songs. Then, they took a break and explained that they were saluting John Lennon who had been gunned down outside his apartment that evening. I was so shocked that I had to pull to the side of the freeway and stop. I was crying too much to be able to drive. I just sat there for about 15 minutes before I could get myself together enough to drive the rest of the way home. That a man who lived his life encouraging peace should be murdered in such a manner was and still is appalling. J) The Challenger exploded 1986. Ah, yes, I remember it well! I was living with my new husband (we married in September '85) in San Francisco in a home where the garage was downstairs and all the living area was upstairs. A few days earlier, I had caught my heal (I wore big ones back then) on the stair carpet and fallen, breaking both bones in my leg just above the ankle. I was at home with my leg in a cast up to my hip and in a LOT of pain. I was propped up on the couch with pillows under my leg trying not to move too much and thinking that I'd finally be able to watch a shuttle launch live (it was still a big deal back then, not routine like it is now). All of a sudden, BOOM! it exploded. I was devastated, especially in light of all the stories about Krista McAuliffe going tino the launch and her family being there watching and the kids from her school being so involved and all. THen, of course, all day long that was ALL they showed on TV. Talk about depressing. K) Bobby Kennedy's assassination I remember watching this on TV, too. At 12 years old, it seemed to me that Bobby held the promise all of us felt was broken when his brother was assassinated. To see him gunned down on live TV was devastating. |
Kaili | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 09:56 pm     a, b, c- Not born yet d- (exxon)- Young so I don't really remember much except that it was a big deal, especially since my mom is a huge environmentalist. I actually cared a lot more about it as I got older and understood more...I do remember seeing the poor oil covered birds though and being sad. I guess I rememver some news stuff. e- (homerun)- I remember it, but I never cared so I only remember the hype afterward on the news. f- (jessica)- again, I was young so I remember watching it on the news and thinking about it but I was at the age where it didn't mean much to me. g- however, I was really young at the time of Mt Saint Helens but I remember because I was living in Oregon and I remember the ash and the HUGE deal it was since we were so close! I guess I'm really pretty much too young for a lot of these events to have really had a huge effect on me... |
Kaili | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 10:01 pm     Oh!!! I remember J!!! I was in elementary school and we all went to the cafeteria to watch it on TV. This was in Wisconsin. I'm cloudy about the rest of what hapened though...I remember seeing it and I think I just didn't realy get it at the time but later as I saw the news (yep, I watched a lot of news as a kid) I got it more. I remember it, but I don't remember the details. I think possibly the Branch Davidian standoff, the death of Princess Diana, and the Gulf War are things I can relate to more (even though I didn't really know ANYTHING about Diana until she died)... |
Whit4you | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 10:15 pm     Kaili - ya Diana was a bigggggy lets add that as N - Princess Diana's death O - OKC Bombing |
Max | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 10:38 pm     Isn't it sad how many of these big events are sad? We need some more HAPPY things! How about... P - The Bicentennial celebration July 4, 1976 Q - 12:01 A.M. January 1, 2000 |
Kstme | Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 11:02 pm     P...This was the year my dh and I got married. We took 42 days to see the US during that summer. On July 4th, we were at Disneyland. As we traveled further east, we thought we'd run into mega-crowds on the Eastcoast and surprise, surprise, we did not. We had a wonderful time in Williamsburg and D.C. Saw all the Memorials without being pushed around. It was awsome. Q. I spent the day with Peter Jennings. |
Kaili | Friday, November 15, 2002 - 06:35 am     N- I went into work and my boss was telling everyone- evidently he had quite the infatuation with her and he was really, really sad. Everyone talked about it so much and I had never really been into the whole royal family thing, had never paid any attention. O- I learned about this one on TV at home. Don't remember the exact moment. P- Just a twinlke in my mom & dad's eyes Q- I went up north to my mom's house with my boyfriend. She and my stepdad live near the south shore of Lake Superior. At about 11:30 we all went to the beach. From that beach you can see across the lake to the lights od Duluth and Two Harbors. Anyway, we started a fire and when the fireworks started going off in Duluth, we poured our champagne into plastic cups and had our little toast, talking about how weird it would have been if we saw all the lights in Duluth go out from right there. Thenwe went home because it was cold. Keep in mind, this is northern Wisconsin in January! |
Marysafan | Friday, November 15, 2002 - 08:53 am     A) Jonestown - Jim Jones Massacer I was in San Diego just stating a new job in Escondido, while still going to school to finish my degree. I didn't get to see much tv then...but I vividly remember the pictures from the Time magazine articles. VERY sad....and puzzling. B) Elvis Died I was in San Diego, California. I remember feeling sad, but also sickened. What a waste it was for this much beloved man to live his life this way and to have it end so poorly. C) Apollo 13 crippled I was in Norfolk, Va. My hubby was in the Navy and in the Carribean Sea where he was for nearly every "moon shot". Every time there was a moon shot...we had to send ships to keep an eye on the Russians who were keeping an eye on us. I followed all these trips to the moon closely and lost a lot of sleep worrying about these guys. D) Exxon Valdez. I was in Omaha, Nebraska in a new supervisor position. I remember spending lots of time discussing the consequences of this with the company big wigs. E) McGuire home run record. I was living here in the farmhouse in Iowa. I used to love basball...it was my favorite sport. The last boycott/lockout changed all that. When they no longer cared enough to hold the World Series...I decided that I didn't care anymore either. I turned my back on them. I remember them interrupting the NASCAR races from time to time to keep up posted on the run for the record. I also remember being VERY annoyed with them for doing it. I felt if I wanted to watch it...I would simply turn the channel. Go away already...you are bugging me! F) Baby Jessica in the well. I was living her in Iowa. Somehow I just knew they were going to get her out. I wasn't the least bit worried. I was glad to see I was right ...for once! G) Mount St Helens explosion. I was in San Diego again. I tried hard to imagine it. I couldn't even wrap my brain around such a horrific event. I was stunned. H) President Kennedy was assassinated. This was huge. We in the 8th grade in Mr. Herman's science class the last class of the day. Mr. Herman was our favorite teacher, the girls liked him because he was so cute...and the guys liked him because he was the basketball coach. As we took our seats, he explained to us that the President of US had just been shot. It was very serious. He told us that we could do whatever we wanted for the rest of the period as long as we were very quiet. His face was pale and he was very somber. Then he put his head down on his desk...I am sure he was praying and did so the entire hour. We were all very respectful of his wishes and then went home to learn the news that the President had died. I was always grateful for the way Mr. Herman handled us. I) John Lennon was murdered. I was in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan. It was December, I turned on the tv to check the weather forecast...and got the news....I was shocked, and stunned...and hurt and angry ...and still disbelieving. How could this be possible! I cried like crazy. J) The Challenger exploded. I was a new supervisor in Omaha, Nebraska. My new boss was flying in this morning and we were going to take a tour of Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota, to inspect my stores for the first time. I was VERY nervous. When we got to the very first store...the manager told us what had JUST happened. My boss led the way into the electronics dept. Where we watched for quite sometime in disbelief. Needless to say, the inspections become less important...and we just made courtesy visits the rest of the day. K. Man walking on the moon. 1969 the best year ever. We have a saying in our house...everytime someone mentions 1969...someone adds ...WHAT A YEAR! (even my daughters who weren't even born!) I was in San Diego with my new hubby. This was the ONLY moon shot we were able to see together. I was glad that we were able to share this historic event. L) Robert Kennedy. I had just graduated from high school that summer. I was home watching tv...and couldn't beleive it. I was crushed. this was the man I wanted to win. He was standing up against the war. I read a book not too long ago...and it the book it said he "gave the "v" for victory sign". I want to make it clear that he didn't. He flashed the peace sign. There is a big difference and it matters much. Politicians weren't in the habit of flashing the peace sign at the time...it was a "hippy" thing. He was making a very bold statement with this simple gesture. It was one of his last acts. for me it was the beginning of the end of the war. Many mainstream American kids, became anti-war after that. M) Martin Luther King. I was in study hall. Being from the "Great White North"...we were pretty much removed from what was happening in the south and in the UP of Michigan...even Detroit is considered south! But I knew it would have an enormous impact in the country. N - Princess Diana's death. I was living here in Iowa. We had just finished watching the Nascar race and I had gone into the kitchen to start dinner. My husband, knowing how much I loved her...came into the kitchen and put his arms around me. He said, "Mary, I think you need to come into the living room. There has been an accident...and you need to see this." The last report I heard before going to bed said something about a broken leg...and I thought they wouldn't be releasing that info unless she was going to be okay. My daughter, who was in college, came home late that night and came into my room asking me if I had heard the news. I told her I knew about the accident, but that I thought she was going to be all right. Then my daughter told me, that Pricess Diana had died. I was devasted. The next few days, I mourned for her. Her funeral was on my birthday...and I remember not wanting to talk to anyone. I grieved for her. It was a loss for whole world. O - OKC Bombing I was working in our new business. The gal I was working with had a brother who was in downtown Oklahoma City...and he called to tell us about an explosion...and said we need to turn on the news right away. It was a very scary time. P The Bi-centennial. I was in San Diego with our Bi-centennial baby! We spent the Fourth of July at SEA WORLD with a bunch of our Navy friends. It was the most spectacular fireworks show I have ever seen. What a night! Q. January 1, 2000 I was here in Iowa in the farmhouse. Hubby and I were baby sitting our three grandchildren. Jacob was 9 and very much into the excitement of the whole experience. We had ginger ale, champagne glasses and party hats all set to mark the big event. The plan was for the girls to fall asleep ...and hubby and I would play UNO with Jacob to pass the time. Well 10:00 rolled around and the girls were not even close to falling asleep...so we sat in the living room watching the new year come in around the world. We got to Rio when Jacob...overcome with his excitement...conked out! Then Courtney soon after. It wasn't long after that when I heard snoring coming from the sofa...hubby was out too! There was just baby Kelsey and me left to bring in the New year. I sat and rocked her and we had a good old time. How peaceful. Someday, I will tell her how she and I were the only two left to mark the occassion. |
Weinermr | Friday, November 15, 2002 - 09:06 am     E - Home run record. Much more memorable for me was the year that Hank Aaron beat Babe Ruth's home run record. Now THAT was an accomplishment. The way that man dealt with the pressure, the press, the horrible abuse, is an inspiration. My mom had a little guest house behind our house, and it had a kitchen counter, upon which sat a small portable TV. I was doing some kind of handiwork for the tenant who lived there (a cute young teacher - c'mon, I was a teenage boy), and was watching the game between the Dodgers and the Braves. I was following Aaron's progress throughout that season, and had the little portable TV on while I was working when Aaron came to the plate. I'll never forget Vin Scully's call of the game, and the pure joy when Aaron hit an Al Downing pitch into left centerfield and made history. |
Marysafan | Friday, November 15, 2002 - 09:53 am     Me too, Weinermr. I was in San Diego, my hubby was overseas. In the days before satillite tv and vcr's, I would write to him everyday and would include the major sports stories. I was following this amazing run hoping so hard he would be able to accomplish this remarkalbe feat...the record they said would never be broken...number 714. I jusmped out of my seat and woohooed, raisng both fists in the air. I was so happy that he was able to do it despite everything and everyone that tried to prevent it from happening. Here's to you, Hank! |
Denecee | Friday, November 15, 2002 - 02:19 pm     OKLA City bombing- I was at work and my sister who lived in OK City called me to tell me the news. My best friend was living with me at the time and her uncle worked in the building that was bombed. Just hours later we got the sad news that he was working at the time. He was a state trooper and a very good man. He was found alive and lived for about 30 days, which was kind of a blessing as the family all got to say their good-byes, very sad time. My friend flew back for the funeral which was very beautiful. |
Melfie1222 | Friday, November 15, 2002 - 06:42 pm     G: Mt. St. Helens - our family lived on the coast of Washington maybe 100 miles or so away. It was a Sunday morning and normally we would have been at church but I think my little brother was sick. I was out playing in the yard and listening to Casey Kasem's American Top 40 and remember hearing and feeling the boom. Even though we were so close, the way the mountain blew and I guess the wind was going, everything went to the east and we only got a faint dust of ash. For a long time afterward when we went beachcombing there were pumice stones washed up all over the place. N: Princess Diana - I would have been glued to the tv that night had I known, but I had rented movies and ended up not watching even those since I had an awful headache and went to bed early. In the morning when I opened the blinds next to my front door I could see the Sunday paper out on my steps and I could immediately see part of the headline "dies in crash". Even though I couldn't see yet who it was, I got this awful sick feeling because the headline was so big. Q: 1/1/2000 - I also spent it with Peter Jennings. I was happy to see all the peaceful happy celebrations going on around the world (the fireworks display from the Eiffel Tower was the coolest!) The Y2K hype/paranoia was huge (our computers/electric/everything is going to fail!) - one thing I learned in the months before is that if you have no water supply, you can drink the water in your toilet tank.  |
Pamy | Saturday, November 16, 2002 - 02:07 pm     Princess Diana's death was so sad for me. My Mom had died just a few months before. I remember staying up all night watching Diana's funeral. I lost it when I saw the card with the word 'Mummy' placed on her casket from her young son. It actually helped me a little with my own depression because I was thinking how much worse it would have been to lose my Mom at the young age her sons were. |
Sia | Saturday, November 16, 2002 - 08:28 pm     The night that Princess Diana died I was staying in my parents' summer cottage with my son, who was about 10 months old at the time. He and I had had a lovely day and evening and were upstairs with just a tiny black-and-white television turned on to network TV (no cable there!!) After spending the day cleaning, I'd rewarded myself that evening by reading a novel ("Catalina," by Somerset Maugham), and ws reading by the light of the TV with the volume turned down. At some point in the wee hours of the morning, I awoke and saw a reporter giving a breaking-news story, so I turned up the sound and was awake the rest of the night crying. Diana and I were practically birthday twins, although that's almost the only thing we had in common. I still marvel at the fact that a beautiful woman with tremendous potential for changing the world for the better could be struck down in the prime of her life, while I, just a housewife, just a mother a couple of years removed from the workforce, was left on the planet with no purpose, no achievable goal, and no means of accomplishing any of the things of which I'd once dreamed. |
Whit4you | Sunday, November 17, 2002 - 01:53 am     'left on the planet with no purpose, no achievable goal, and no means of accomplishing any of the things of which I'd once dreamed." Diana made an impact - but what if she'd been born very 'homely' - what if she'd had a tyroid problem and was 150 bls overweight and never became a "Princess' - she'd still have been the same person, just had more obstacles to overcome. Sia, you could be correct in your assumptions and I have no right to question them... but I will tell you how *I* feel and how *I* feel all goes back to Helen Keller who has left more of an impact on me then 20 Princess Di's (with no disrespect intended for Princess Di) Stop for a moment... and really think about anything ...anything at all at random.. say "The Color Blue" imagine .. just imagine trying to describe "The color blue" to someone who can not see OR hear. Try to concieve of explaining the word "Can't" to someone who can NOT see and can not hear. I truely believe the one and only reason that Helen Keller was one of the most successful women of her time is because nobody could convey the concept of 'you can't" to her. Someone who is hearing impaired learns quickly the concept of 'you can't .. probably by the age of 1 or 2... someone who is visually impaired learns the concept of "you can't" by the age of 1 or two as well. Imagine.. truely imagine trying to convey 'you can't - to someone who can not see and can not hear. You CAN'T convey that can you? When you are going up not able to concieve of or believe in your limitiations .. when nobody can convey TO you athat you 'can't' do something, you simply have no way to fathom that you 'can't' do something. Perhaps you have more obstacles to overcome than Helen Keller did - but as long as your alive I have a hard time believing your statement is a fact. If it's not a fact, but how you want things to be, then that's fine and that's your right, but it comes across as being a 'fact' not just 'how I want it to be" hope that makes sense? To me... Helen Keller 'died' the day her world around her crumbled do to an accusation of 'plagerism' she never overcame the hurt and shame of that accuastion and all that she might have achieved died that day with her. Her fears were her obstacle after that, and those fears held her back from a greatness we can never know. I'm saying and I'm aware this is off topic but this is a very very important part of my life: Anything you think of and can believe in - you can achieve - the only thing holding you back are your obstacles - overcome them. Few people can tell me an obstacle greater then not even being able to understand the concept of '________" (fill in that blank with just about every aspect of LIFE. but yet it was also the one thing that didn't hold her back because as I've said nobody .. including HER could convey to her the concept of "I can't" WE are tought from the moment we start to crawl the concept of 'you can't" - it's taught to us daily for the rest of our lives.... it's ingrained in our very being.... and we teach it to our children from the moment they begin to crawl.. and they teach it to their children. The one thing that sets Helen Keller apart is she was not able to conceive of or comprehend the concept of "I can't" until she was well into her adult years. This isn't to say we don't have the RIGHT to make whatever excuses we want, or CHOOSE to allow our obstacles to overcome us, or simply not have the energy or mental well being to overcome our obstacles. My point is just that they don't HAVE to if we don't want them to, we have a disadvantage that Helen Keller did not have and that is 365 days a year of being taught the concept of "I can't" Most people look at someone born deaf/ and blind as disadvantaged but honestly sometimes I think WE are the ones with the disadvantages. Sia - I hope you don't take this personally - I've shared this same thing so many times before - it's not about you... I just want you to know you DO have a purpose and if you WANT to - you can have achievable goals and if you want to achieve those goals you CAN find the means to, however what you choose to do is TOTALLY up to you, happiness is what matters, and if you believe your statement and it makes for a happier future fot YOU then that's fine. Hope you understand what I'm saying .. I was told so many times when I was younger.. "Someday I will say I knew you when (when you were BUNNY)" it was alot to live up to but at times I've believed they could really say that someday .. and perhaps it may happen... perhaps not... *I* know I am capable of becoming one of the most successful people ever and the only thing stopping me are my obstacles, and that all I have to do is overcome them. BUT - first and formost for now is just my mental well being and if that means just exsisting from day to day.. that's what I will continue to do. But that's a choice.. as is your statement and both are perfectly ok. I guess it's just important for me to point out that it IS a choice and as long as it IS your choice that's fine. YOu said "I have no purpose" but I don't see that as a fact - you've inspired me... helped to keep me strong - and in turn... I will do the same for someone else.. where does the chain end (perhaps at the next "Helen Keller, or Princess Di"? ) you can't know and may never know. Perhaps something you've said that's kept me going might in turn keep someone I motivate going .. six degrees of seperation. |
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