Open Thread Update: Your “I Was There” Moment

Last time we asked for your “I was there” moments when you were part of an historic moment, directly or indirectly.

The assassination of JFK was a searing memory for many of us, and for Reader Jane, all she can say – understandably – is “9/11. I was there. Period.”

On a happier “note”…

Musical Memories

Reader Giana was at Woodstock, and so was Senior Planet Contributor Kate Walter, among other seminal music events…

I saw The Doors at Asbury Park Convention Hall in 1968. I danced to Santana at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. I was at a Grateful Dead concert in Jersey City in 1974 when one of the band members announced that Nixon had resigned. The audience went crazy.

And Readers Cleta and Lynn had some up-close experiences with music icons.

…when Tina Turner did her farewell tour at RLyadio City, even though it turned out she kept performing. We had front row seats.

-Cleta

I was there when a new singer named Barbra Streisand was going to have her first concert in Central Park in NYC. I was 21 years old, and the evening before the concert, I was walking through the park. I heard a most beautiful melodic singing coming through the trees. I followed the sound…and came upon Barbra rehearsing. She was breathtaking. I do believe it was one of the miraculous moments in my life!

-Lynn

Life and Culture

Readers Ellen and SK supplied their stories of big moments in sports and Reader Dorothy T. described marching in Harry S. Truman’s inaugural parade!  Read more about their experiences in the comments.

Readers Eric and Debbie shared their amazement at the decommissioning of vital military sites….

…two of those decommissioned sites are the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in South Dakota, administered by the National Park Service, and are open to tourists. It’s an odd feeling that “my old job” let alone one with such importance to national defense and security is now open to casual visitors and part of the park system.

-Eric W.

Politics and public life… 

When I was eight and walking home from grade school in Juneau, Alaska all the bells in town—mostly church bells started ringing. I saw my mom outside on the back porch of our house and said “Mommy, why are the bells ringing?” and she said to me “We just became a state.” (Alaska had just obtained statehood that very day; Juneau was the capitol.)

-Aurora

But few can top the experience of Reader Victoria.

I was the original girl drummer, playing a solo on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour in 1968. I played professionally for 57 years until my recent retirement.

Original Column:

One thing about getting older is you experience things that become history…even though you may not know it at the time.

I was at Nixon’s second inauguration parade in 1973. It wasn’t really about politics for me; it was a chance for a unique outing with a bunch of the cooler upperclassmen who were my friends.

It also turned out to be the only inauguration for a president and vice president who both resigned from office.

The bus trip was fun and the crowd was sedate, by modern standards. One veteran demonstrator showed us how police horses were trained to ever so gently nudge away anyone who came near.

The motorcade sped up when it got near the obviously rowdy group I was with; they chanted slogans, the car sped by, and the moment was over.

YOUR TURN

But that’s me.  What was your “I was there” moment?  Were you at Woodstock? Did you witness the “Immaculate Reception?” Share your story in the comments!

 

Virge Randall is Senior Planet’s Managing Editor. She is also a freelance culture reporter who seeks out hidden gems and unsung (or undersung) treasures for Straus Newspapers; her blog “Don’t Get Me Started” puts a quirky new spin on Old School New York City. Send your suggestions for Open Threads to her at editor@seniorplanet.org.