Good thread, bpc!
The first memory I have of a significant current event was of the Manson murders. I was 6 years old and that hot, hot weird August (1969) is burned into my mind. The Manson murders are mixed in with the Vietnam war in my mind, with the horror of that war.
The Zodiac Killer - and that my mom and I had an extremely frightening encounter with him.
The SLA/Patty Hearst kidnapping.
I recall, as a child in 4th grade, that Watergate was a huge scandal.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's plane going down (1977).
The Iran hostage situation that happened in 1979.
The 1985 hijacking of flight TWA 847 by a radical Islamic group - a horrifying ordeal in which passengers were held captive (some murdered) on the plane over a span of 17 days. (I gave birth to my first child, my daughter, during the time that hijacking was happening.)
Princess Diana's death. She and I were both married young to men 16 years older than us, we were having our children at roughly the same times, and I felt bonded with her. Her death seemed so cruel, after she had endured such a rough marriage and vicious public life.
The Columbine shootings.
9/11. My family comes from Brooklyn; I had been in NYC exactly 1 year before 9/11.
The Loma Prieta earthquake (San Francisco) in 1989. Terrifying and very, very sad.
President Obama - 1st black pres (a good event!)
My sister was a roadie for many years and one of the musicians she frequently worked for was Tom Petty. She spoke so highly of him, and I've always felt a strong affinity with him and with his music. When he died so unexpectedly, it hit me hard.
The wildfires in 2018 - we thought those were as bad as it could get...now this. Here we are again, but this time with most of the state on fire.
This damned plague. I've so had enough of it.
It feels good to say "I'll stop here."