Reminiscing in times of distress can be comforting to some and uncomfortable for others. In my REAL LIFE – pre Corona Virus, or as I have nick-named it “the VID” – my life was SO FULL I barely had time to think. I am that person, who plans and tries to execute every minute of my life. There are SO many different things I want to do and see-at least that is what I have always told myself. NOW however, as I am limited to home and ZOOM (which I know I should embrace BUT I secretly HATE!) I have lots of time to think and less opportunity to do. The VID, I believe will be a pivotal point in many of our collective histories. I took a bit of time to think back on other poignant moments in my history.
Where Were You, When:
Event: VE Day- End of World War II in Europe
Date: May 8 or 9, 1945
Hit song on that day: My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time
Artist: Les Brown sung by Doris Day
AH never mind on this one. You would have to be at least 80 to have a clear recollection of this event. AND no one in that age group is reading this essay, except maybe my mother and I will just ask her myself. It has been described as one of the defining questions of the Greatest Generation.
The first “Where were you, when?” question which I can answer is:
Where Were You, When:
Event: John F. Kennedy Assasination
Hit song on that day: I’m Leaving it Up to You
Artist: Dale and Grace
Well technically, I cannot answer that question myself. I was born on July 25, 1964- 8 months and 3 days later. BUT both my mother and father spoke of this event with much sadness. As my mother recounts, “It was the start of a string of horrible assassinations. Dr Martin Luther King- April 4, 1968, Bobby Kennedy – June 5, 1968. It felt like our world was turning upside down. We had such high hopes for change in our world. It was such a scary and unsettling time.”
Where Were You, When:
Event: Neil Armstrong as FIRST EVER HUMAN to Walk on the Moon
Date: July 20, 1969
Hit song on that day: Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)
Artist: Zager and Evans
I was just about to turn 5. I remember my Dad woke me up, in what felt like the middle of the night, and carried me into our living room to watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. My Dad told me, “You are going to watch history being made in just a few minutes.” At that point, my parents had bought their first home in suburban Chicago. The living room housed the tiny black and white TV, with which we were all going to watch this piece of history.
When Mr. Armstrong, actually started to climb down from the Apollo 11 spaceship, right before he made the famous statement, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” I remember thinking to myself, as I was curled in my father’s arms, “There is a giant robot walking out of a spaceship to a really scary looking planet. I hope I never have to go to that place!” I believe my child’s brain was thinking this historic event was going to be more like The Jetsons then it actually was!
Where Were You, When:
Event: The Evening of Nixon’s Resignation
Date: August 8, 1974
Hit song on that day: Feel Like Making Love
Artist: Roberta Flack
I was with my family in our Suburban backyard. We had a deck that connected to the family room. We still only owned one TV, but I believe it was an upgrade and just a bit bigger-still black and white- which sat on a rolling cart. On special occasions we were allowed to watch TV on the back deck- I don’t remember what constituted a special occasion. But I guess Nixon resigning was one. I was 9 at the time. So, if I work backwards my siblings were 7, 6, 4 and 2.
My Dad was a News junkie. He religiously watched the evening news. I do remember that summer the Watergate hearings were on all the time at my house. So, when Nixon resigned it was a big deal. The first American President to resign, an event, which I am sure rocked my parent’s world. Even if Nixon was a part of “the other party.”
Where Were You, When:
Event: The End of the Vietnam War
Date: April 30, 1975
Hit song on that day: He Don’t Love You (Like I Love you)
Artist: Tony Orlando and Dawn
I was in 5th grade, 10 years-old. I attended the local Catholic School, walkable from my house by 6 blocks. I would walk home from school each day at lunchtime, because in those days we had an hour lunch break. As I was walking back to school on that spring day, I remember Mary Alice Dillion running up to me and screaming, “It’s Over! Now, my cousin Jimmy can come home.” Then she ran off and got in line to enter our school. At ten, I did not have a best buddy and certainly, I would not classify Mary Alice as even an acquaintance. She was a classmate that some grades I was in her class and some grades I was not. So, on April 30, 1975, I remember being a bit dumbfounded by her statement. What was over? And where was her cousin coming home from? It wasn’t until much later in my life that I would connect WAR with coming home for some and the heartache of the families of those who did not.
Where Were You, When:
Event: The Shootings of John Lennon and Ronald Regan
Date: December 8, 1980 and March 30, 1981
Hit song on that day: Rapture
Artist: Blondie
Within 4 months of each other 2 Iconic figures were shot by men with mental illness both claiming the act of shooting these famous men was out of their hands, as some “other” had directed them to do this. I don’t remember registering the John Lennon shooting. I was aware of The Beatles, and certainly could sing along with ALL of their popular songs, but at the height of their popularity (1964-66) I was all of 2 years old. Not a cutting age music listener at that time. So when John Lennon was shot and eventually died, I have a vague memory of it being a sad event. BUT I couldn’t tell you where I was.
The shooting of Ronald Reagan was another story. I remember exactly where I was when the announcement came over the PA system at my school. I was a junior in High School at an all-girls Catholic school, Immaculate Heart of Mary. As my husband and I lovingly refer to it as the I HATE MEN school. Being educated by nuns with other young women was a trip. Lots of hormones, high pitched screaming and so many crazy antics. We wore uniforms, which meant the only thing you could express your individual sense of style with was your hair and your shoes. I have crazy-ass hair which I have never been able to contain. So that left me with shoes! WHICH, has absolutely nothing to do with the Ronald Reagan shooting.
When the announcement interrupted our spring choral concert rehearsal. “Ladies, please stop what you are currently doing. We have just learned that the President has been shot. We will have a moment of silent prayer for the safe recovery of our leader.” I remember grabbing the arm of the girl next to me in the Alto session, Beth Somebody or other, as we were all silently saying a Hail Mary or Our Father or some such Catholic staple. We were ALL SO VERY dramatic back then. Turns out Reagan recovered just fine. He went on to run our country until January 1989, giving the history books the now famous Reaganomics, the Iran-Contra Scandal, and signing the INF “arms-control” Treaty with Soviet leader Mikahil Gorbachev, ALL while exhibiting early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
Where Were You, When:
Event: The Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger
Date: January 28, 1986
Hit song on that day: That’s What Friends Are For
Artist: Dionne Warwick
I was sitting in a small classroom in Altgeld Hall at the University of Illinois. I was in my senior year taking, “Calculus for Social Scientists” – yes, it was dummy calculus. Which I barely passed. That my then boyfriend, now husband, had to painstakingly walk me through. When I am stressed, oh these so many years later, I still dream that I am sitting for that class final.
The TA in charge of leading all of us Social Scientists through Calc started class by saying, “Can you believe what happened with the Space Shuttle?”
I of course had no idea what she was talking about as I had spent my morning, sleeping in and racing to this particular class with a TAB in hand. It was then that I learned of the explosion which killed the first civilian to be a part of the NASA space program. Sharon Christa McAuliffe, a 38-year-old teacher from Concord New Hampshire was one of 7 crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. My chosen profession, Teaching, and the rest of the world mourned that day for the loss of lives and dreams.
Where Were You, When:
Event: The fall of the Berlin Wall
Date: November 9, 1989
Hit song on that day: When I See you Smile
Artist: Bad English
I was a young mother juggling 2 children (James and Virginia) living in a small village of Central Germany while my husband fulfilled his US Army ROTC commitment. He was in the field A LOT- off on Army training exercises. I was on my own for 2-3 weeks out of the month. We lived on the German economy with no other Americans in our little town. There was really no way for me to access any kind of news. Unless I drove 40 minutes to post and picked up our APO mail from the states.
So, it is not surprising, that I got the news from my college-age sister calling our rotary phone from the US. I believe she was crying when I answered. “You are there,” my sister stammered between gasps and tears, “You are witnessing history. It is all so unbelievable. I bet it is so very thrilling. It is amazing to be watching on TV what you are living right now!”
“What are you talking about?” I believe I had just cleaned up projectile vomit from the 6- week old, changed the 19-month old’s diaper and was dreaming of the shower I might get at some point when they both slept. The only TV I watched was VHS tapes of LA Law and Thirty Something which my mother would tape and then send to me.
“You don’t know?! Turn on the TV! The Berlin Wall is falling.” Yeah, that did not happen.
We were lucky to have seen the Berlin Wall the previous summer. Intact Berlin Wall, Check point Charlie Berlin Wall. Witness to the grey of East Germany and the Bright Lights of West Berlin. The only time in my life where I felt like an ultra-rich person. Having enough money to buy anything I could want in East Berlin was a heady experience for a 25-year-old from the Midwest. I do remember how grey and rundown everything appeared. It was as if nothing had been touched since WWII.
Where Were You, When:
Event: Two planes hit the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in the financial District of NYC
Date: September 11, 2001 (the only date I did NOT have to fact check)
Hit song on that day: I’m Real
Artist: Jennifer Lopez
I maybe one of the only humans in a Western country that has never seen the footage of the Twin Towers falling on 9/11/01. I was at school. My 3rd year back as a full-time working mom in the suburbs of Chicago. Those days were jampacked: getting three elementary aged kids off to babysitters before school so that I could get to work as the Special Education Coordinator at our local elementary school. I ran meetings and compiled LOTS of SPED paperwork.
On that particular Tuesday, I was in my office when our Principal called a mandatory staff meeting in the library. I found out about the planes hitting the Twin Towers at that meeting. We were instructed to have NO TVs on anywhere in the school. We would conduct school as usual. It was anything but ordinary. Throughout the day I witnessed
- Second graders recounting to each other: “Wasn’t it so cool when those planes crashed into the buildings!?”
- Parents picking-up their students because they were afraid what the next step would be.
- My own child coming home from school exclaiming, “Mom, can you believe what those Tourists did today?”
I was not in the habit of watching the news. I am an NPR gal. I certainly heard the news of the day, BUT I have chosen not to have the visual of that particular event.
I was most taken aback when I attended a Teacher Conference at Columbia University the summer of 2002. It was there that one of my fellow conference participants, a first grade teacher from the Bronx, retold her 9/11 experience. She said, “We had staff members receiving last calls from the towers, parents who were traveling that day, the smoke and eeriness of the weeks that followed…too many funerals that we all had to go to.” I am heartbroken all over again as I write that last sentence.
Where Were You, When:
Event: The Killing of Osama bin Laden
Date: May 2, 2011
Hit song on that day: E.T
Artist: Katy Perry featuring Kayne West
I can recall two distinct, radically different, conversations which I had that day. One with our son James who was in his ‘Firstie’ year at West Point Military Academy–that would be his senior year for those of you who are not up on your military lingo. The other with my life-long, peace loving and promoting, die-hard Democratic Chicagoan Mother.
James called the morning of the bin Laden announcement recounting the reaction of his fellow WP cadets. “Mom, people were going CRAZY. Loud music, shouting, furniture being thrown out of windows, small fires started in the courtyards.”
“What really?! I don’t get it?” was my ignorant response.
“MOM, Voldemort has been defeated!” HUM, I guess.
My mother’s reaction was equally puzzling to me. “I can’t believe our country would stoop to murder.” She proclaimed through tears. “We are a democracy and killing in the dead of night is not what our country stands for. There was no justice delivered today, just another crime.”
Two very different responses from my family members which poignantly pointed out to me that day how polarized our country is in our political beliefs. And the actions which those beliefs promote some of us to carry out.
Where Were You, When:
Event: The Corona Virus first disrupted your life
Date: March 13, 2020
Hit song on that day: Sucker
Artist: Jonas Brothers
I was in the lunchroom at Ben Franklin Elementary where I had been employed for the last 15 years. At noon that day it was announced to teachers that we would be leaving school and not coming back until after spring break. You should have seen the “happy dances” each staff member created when we talked about the news!
“WHAT? We get an extra-long spring break? REALLY? They are going to close school for “The Flu”?! We have to teach on-line for 2 weeks? OK well that will be a joke — BUT WHATEVER — I am finally going to have time to clean out the pantry!”
We teachers left our classrooms thinking this outbreak would be a small glitch in our teaching. We would come back in 3 weeks and resume our teaching lives, thinking we would probably have to make up the 2 weeks in the summer. Oh little did we know on that “happy dance day.”
Most of us had to quickly adjust our mindset and teaching skills to a whole new way of thinking. Sitting in front of a computer, teaching students through Zoom and YouTube, stretching our technology skills and patience to the limit.
And that was just Spring 2020. When we thought maybe we would be “back to normal” by May. Finish off the year with our students with a few accommodations?! THANKFULLY the summer will come and school districts, towns, states, our government will figure out how we can do this all more efficiently and effectively.
The “happy dance day” was before most of us were affected by The Virus. Many of us have had to live with the deaths of loved ones due to Corona or maybe other causes without funerals or open grieving time. All of us have had to adjust to the unease of the choice’s others make.
Mask or no Mask. Gathering with other people. Traveling to other states. We are now all acutely aware of the “safety of ourselves and others.” We all experience to some level the fear and anxiety that seems to be everywhere and the overall uncertainty of our world and how we negotiate it.
The teachers I work with are all caring individuals who want the best for the kids we teach. Most do not enter the teaching profession if they are not kind, giving and resourceful humans. We teachers are not able to decide how and when we will go back to work. Those in leadership positions are designing how we are currently teaching in fall 2020.
E-Learning is how most districts in Illinois have started out. It is a challenge for EVERYONE. Teachers, parents and kids. Many seem to think that bringing students back together in one setting is OK. As long as we are “Six feet apart and all wear masks” we will be safe.
My district has decided that students will be back in school a half day with one teacher. That teacher will have half of their class in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. Instead of 600 kids at a time in our school we will have only 300. It seems to be one big experiment.
Bringing large groups of people together in one place will be tested out in our schools. School with children being the place the leaders of our world seem to believe is the best place to start trying out large group gatherings?!
There is part of me that wants to believe this. I would like to get back to my “normal” life. BUT I am afraid there is no normal anymore. It is one day at a time and hope for the best. Making decisions and adapting to our new world is our new normal. AND having masks of all kinds, in all places, at all times!
The human species is resilient. We WILL work through whatever Corona Virus World we find ourselves in. As someone once said somewhere, “This too shall pass.” We will once again at some point be doing a “happy dance.” Until then we need to breathe deeply. Remain Calm. Think kindness. Smile A LOT and try our best to find joy in small moments.
I think maybe we should ALL be practicing some crazy- ass dance moves -so that when we do dance all together again- it will be an amazing “happy dance!”
