On our drive home from Portland we were treated to a spectacular view of Mt. St. Helens and I was surprised to remember how long ago it was when that bad boy erupted. It was May 18th, 1980. 29 freaking years ago though I remember it well. I was living in Kelowna and I was temporarily baffled by what looked like black snow falling from the sky. It got me thinking about other events and what I was doing during some of them. My memory is shit, but for some reason, there are some things that are indelibly stamped on my brain.
March 19th, 2004- Iraq invaded by US forces(again)- I’m working at a ranch with little access to current news. I don’t actually know until 3 days after the fact.
December 6, 1988 Roy Orbison dies- I’m sitting in a hotel room drinking beer and chatting with the drummer of some band and watching the coverage on TV while my friend fucks the lead singer in the next room. She fucked a lot of lead singers that year.
September 11, 2001-Twin towers downed by terrorists- I’m living in Germany trying to swallow back the panic I feel knowing that I can’t fly back to Canada this very second.
August 31, 1997 Princess Diana Dies- I’m sitting in a pub drinking Corona with a friend. When the waitress mentions it, we think she’s joking.
September 5th, 1997 Mother Teresa Dies- I’m sitting in the same pub again drinking Corona. I am shocked that it’s still Diana all over the news and the death of Mother Teresa seems to go largely unnoticed.
January 12th, 2003- North Korea openly threatens the US with nuclear war - I am sitting in a tiny dive bar in Chile straining to hear CNN over the Spanish dubbing and secretly shitting my pants in fear.
December 8, 1980 John Lennon is killed- I am 10 and sit with my crying mother while she plays the “Imagine” record over and over.
November 8, 2000 Bush Elected for President- I’m drinking wine in my Vancouver apartment and sitting in stunned silence with my roommate.
April 2nd, 1982 Falklands war begins- I watch the coverage at home on TV and my 12 year old self is convinced that we are all about to die in a nuclear war. I distinctly remember wishing our house had a bomb shelter
July 1, 2001 Canada Day- I’m drunk at the Canadian consulate in Paris. I vaguely recall myself and 3 other backpackers asking the band to play O Canada which they didn’t know. We sang anyway, to a patio of dignitaries that looked at us as though we were on crack. It wasn’t really a “backpackers” event but we were lured by the free beer to anyone holding a Canadian passport. Much to my surprise I woke up many hours later on a train to Barcelona.
**After reading this list one might assume that I spend a substantial amount of time in various pubs. One would be correct.**
November 22nd 1963 Kennedy assassination (yes, it was huge even over here in Canada)- My 14 year old mother vividly recalls sitting at her friends house watching the coverage on TV while her friend-for whatever reason- doodled on her back with a pen. She assumed that her back full of smudgy ink marks would go unnoticed by her parents considering the gravity of the day. She was wrong. “Behaviors” such as these eventually got her locked in a convent. No small wonder she ran away with the circus (aka my father) just two years later.
So….. where were you when shit happened?
