I was a freshman in college in 1984, and this landslide victory made me realize that, in fact, we are really THE GREATEST NATION ON THE FACE OF THIS EARTH!
I was a freshman in college in 1984, and this landslide victory made me realize that, in fact, we are really THE GREATEST NATION ON THE FACE OF THIS EARTH!
Getting a new pair of dentures.
House Music and other forms of dance music! :)
Winning the Drum Corps Associates Championship with the Hawthorne Caballeros in 1984 and 1985, going undefeated for 2 years.
Bill
I’d have to say when I started kindergarten. 10 years of being chained to a school desk began.
Or there was the ‘88 Dem convention. My first political memory. I was not yet 5 and liked the F word. My mother didn’t mind my saying F888 Dukakis.
On a personal level, in that time I met the first boy I would fall in love with and lose. I didn’t realize until many years later how much of an effect that boy had on every aspect of my life. The worst is, I will probably always love him.
The Soviet shootdown of Flight 007 and Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada which opened my young eyes to the Soviet threat that was confronting this Nation at the time.
For me, the Challenger explosion. Not just on the personal tragedy level, but because I was working Shuttle mission support at the time, and that work (including my job) was going through a contract transition at the time.
Changed the trajectory of my career. Changed my life.
Thanks for this thread. Looking back, the 1980’s were formative for me:
Iranian Hostage Crisis spans the entire year— weak Carter
Election and attempted assasination of President Reagan— an era begins
My marriage in 1983
Leave teaching and attend law school— 1985-1988
Challenger explosion
Grenada
“Tear down this wall” !!!!!
What a decade!!
One day, I read a Ronald Reagan quote that was the headline in our local newspaper, "I will not negotiate with barbarians", right before the 80' elections.
It was a defining moment in my political evolution.
Watching military thugs with artillery, wearing masks, storm a private American residence and steal a small child, Elian Gonzales. I sat in front of the TV and sobbed, not believing this could be happening in our country.
For my first Presidential election in 1984, I forgot to file absentee when I was in college. I skipped out on school for the day, asked a friend if she wanted to ride along with me and can proudly say that I drove 400 miles to vote for Ronald Reagan.
As a bonus, I ended up marrying the girl who came on the ride.
My Dad took me to Devonshire Downs in Northridge, CA to see Ronald Reagan at a 1980 campaign stop. I remember some knucklehead yelling out, “What are you gonna do about smog?” every couple of minutes.
Anyway, when Reagan was finished speaking, he walked thru the crowd. I stuck my hand out and he smiled at me and shook my hand. I was nine years old. I’ll never forget it.
We got a campaign poster that had a giant peanut crossed out in red. The next morning I pinned it to our garage door.
When Robert BORK (was nominated at a Justice of the Supreme Court); and was completely castigated personally ... it was horrible to WATCH or to have happened. He believed in maintaining the original intent of the U.S.constitution.
What they did to an eminently qualified conservative Judge changed the style of politics, before the world, to this very day.
The term ‘Borked’ came out of this debacle. It opened a new era of how to discredit any candidate with which the liberals disagreed.
For SHAME.
My parents divorced.
For me. It was the Savings and Loan Crisis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_and_Loan_crisis
I’m surprised I didn’t see any previous replies to this huge 1980’s event. It affected all Americans.
Me especially. I was laid off by by an S&L that had been in business over 65 years. I went through mergers. I was under employed for almost a year. I delivered pizza’s just to pay the bills. It was tough.
Too bad I wasn’t as smart as Hillary Clinton - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison_Guaranty - who made millions at taxpayer expense off of failed S&L’s.
Beirut barracks attack.
The Russians shooting down KAL 007 (on my 15th birthday.)
Lockerbie.
August 1, 1981: MTV played its first video (which was what song, boys and girls? heheh! Video Killed the Radio Star — the Buggles, September 1979)
Knocking up a bimbo when I was 20.
It took me 15 years to bootstrap myself out of that historical event.