Where I Was When I Heard... By Vince Hans [19 more lists]

And where were you?

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Assasination of John F Kennedy

I have no idea. I was only two years old at the time.

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1994 Northridge Earthquake

My wife and I were in bed in Valencia, California, just north of the downed freeways in this picture. I was awakened by the shaking and immediately rolled over on to my wife and away from the sliding glass doors next to the bed. We both continued to tumble to the floor. At some point between the start of the shaking and when we sat up on the floor, our dog Maggie had burrowed between us under the blankets.

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Death Of Kurt Cobain

On vacation at my mother-in-law's in the Atlanta area. We had retired to bed and were watching the evening news. Believe it or not, it was the very last story of the newscast - pretty much an afterthought. Not a big news story at all to the folks of Atlanta. The teasers throughout the newscast told us to stay tuned to hear about a "punk rock" singer who died.

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The First Time I Saw Bruce Springsteen

November 3, 1981 - Los Angeles Sports Arena. Front Row. This was the second leg of The River tour. I had become immersed in Bruce Springsteen during my freshman year of college, after being a casual fan since the 1978 release of Darkness. "The River" and many lonely nights in my dorm room put me over the top. I scored a pair of front-row center seats from my friend at the arena box office. I took my friend John with me - driving up from San Diego - on a school night no less. And even though I had a mid-term in my Journalism 101 class the next morning, I was not going to miss this opportunity. Needless to say, the show was incredible - one of his better ones by all accounts. In my memory, it was over five hours, but in reality is was just over three - but who's to argue. By the time we got on the road back to San Diego, it was pushing 1am. I remember being completely spent and barely able to stay awake for the drive back to school, where we arrived after 3am. Needless to say, I could not pull myself out of bed to take a 9am Journalism midterm, so I ended up failing the class. It was definitely worth it!

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OJ Simpson Verdict

I was working in Cleveland, Ohio at the time. I was at a shopping mall visiting a record store with a co-worker. We saw a crowd gathered around a store window watching a TV inside. That is where I watched to verdict being read. Check out the disgust in Robert Kardashian's face in the picture.

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Death of Michael Jackson

I saw a breaking news alert on my computer stating that paramedics were called to Michael Jackson's home. My boss and I were just getting ready to leave for a meeting at Universal/Fontana about 10 miles away. By the time we got to the meeting, the office was abuzz with the news. Part way through the meeting, someone came in to announce that MJ was dead.

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Final Episode Of MASH

I was living in an apartment while going to San Diego State University. My roommates and I watched it together there.

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9/11

I was working out at Bally's in Santa Monica. I remember walking around the track with my iPod on when an image of smoke coming from a building caught my attention. Still walking around the track, I had no idea of the magnitude - especially since no one else at the gym seemed to be phased by what was going on. As I continued walking, I saw glimpses of text saying "plane crash" and "World Trade Center," but still, with no one else at the gym reacting, it wasn't sinking in. Then finally it hit me that something big was happening. It was about 7am in California. I then left the gym and headed to my office so I could watch and listen to the news. I remember debating in my minde whether or not I should call my wife and wake her up to tell her the news. Obviously at that point, none of the serious details had been broadcast.

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Death of John Lennon

I was in college at San Diego State University, living in the dorms. I don't remember where I was coming from - a class, I guess, when I walked into my dorm rec room, a bunch of guys were watching Monday Night Football - and one of them told me of Howard Cossell's announcement that John Lennon had been murdered.

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Los Angeles Riots 5/1/92

It was the night of the Country Music Awards at Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles. My co-worker and I were expected to be at the after-party at a nearby restaurant, so we went to my apartment in the late afternoon to get dressed. As he was in the bathroom, I put the TV on and began to see the earliest broadcasts of the riots breaking out. I saw Reginald Denny getting pulled out of his truck live as it happened. I called my friend out to come check it out. We were freaked out, but had to be up at the party, so we headed up, not sure if it was safe or not. When we got to the party, word had started to spread through the event - remember, no twitter, etc back then. And there was no TV there, so we were the ones who broadcast what was going on out in the "real world."

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