Where Was I?
Almost everyone remembers where they were when world changing events took place. Here are my memories of where I was when significant events happened throughout my lifetime.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
At 10 years of age, I was old enough to go to the movies by myself. On this date, I was with two friends headed for the Waldo Theater in Kansas City. On our way, we heard a radio very loudly announcing the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the fact that this surely meant war. Our reaction, and the initial reaction of most of the country, was that the Japanese were tiny people from a small island and would be no problem to defeat. We went on to see a Lone Ranger short and a western movie.
V-day, the end of World War II, September 2, 1945
The whole family was at our cabin at Lake Lotawana when the news came over the radio that the war was finally over. I was a little young to comprehend the full significance but my parents and their good friends, Edith and Candy Houston, were delirious with joy and proceeded to get quite drunk.
Assassination of John Kennedy, November 22, 1963
We were convinced it was time to have our 100-pound Newfoundland, Priscilla, groomed. I was following my friend, Joanne Lyon, on Ward Parkway Boulevard in Kansas City to a dog grooming place she knew. Joanne had heard the shocking news on the radio, put on her blinker and pulled over to tell me. We went on to the groomer who thought Priscilla looked like a special dog and asked if he could take her to a dog show in St. Louis the following weekend. Priscilla had been bought from Little Bear Kennels in Connecticut as a pet puppy, not a show dog, but we thought it would be fun to see how she did in a show and gave permission. As it turned out she won best of breed, and we allowed her to continue to be shown and she won her championship and could be called Champion Little Bear's Priscilla. It did not change her personality one bit.
First Moon Landing, July 20, 1969
Robbie and I were living in apartment seven in the Château Chaumont, and I was hard at work building and selling the Château Roaring Fork. It was a beautiful Sunday, so we took all three kids and were off on a picnic at one of our favorite picnic spots on Independence Pass. We did not see the TV coverage until we returned late in the afternoon.
September 11, 2001
Betty and I happened to be in a hotel in Denver that morning. She was watching TV when they announced the first airplane hit the trade center. We were both glued to the TV when we saw the second plane hit and hardly left the hotel room that day as the terrible news kept coming in.