What historical event have you witnessed live? My dad and I went to parliament hill

[applegrove]

to witness the signing of the Canadian Constitution when I was a teen. The Queen and Pierre Trudeau were there to sign it. There was such a large crowd on Parliament Hill that we were in across Wellington Street. That 1982 constitution is copied by newly emerging democracies all over the world.

[El Supremo]

1. Obama's acceptance speech.

I was about 10 miles away when JFK was assassinated.

And I was on the edge of the big fucking Ruskin Heights tornado in 1957.

[applegrove]

2. Oh I'd love to see Obama give a speech live.

[DFW]

13. I was there at the stadium in Denver too!

I agree, quite an event.

Seeing Cheryl Crow and Stevie Wonder perform, and then Al Gore speak right before didn't hurt either.

[kwassa]

3. Woodstock

also the Obama inauguration.

4th of July on the White House lawn with Bill and Hillary, not exactly history but impressive.

and knew some people before they became famous persons.

[RushIsRot]

4. I attended JFK's inauguration.

[kentauros]

5. Apollo 11's Moon Landing

Then again, we all had to watch that one on TV

However, we also lived in the same neighborhood as most of the astronauts, and the Aldrin's lived directly behind us. I got to witness the media frenzy at age-8

[csziggy]

7. I got to watch the take-off from about a hundred miles away

Dad figured out exactly where to watch and we watched most of the Apollo take-offs. The timing was just right - about the time the TV cameras lost the rockets, we would run outside and could see their vapor trails above the neighbor's garage. Early morning launches were best - unless a train was going through we could actually hear the rumble of those Apollo rockets!

[kentauros]

10. I'll bet you could hear it!

The largest rocket we've ever built, and it worked every time

I wonder if anyone in your area back then took photos of it...

[csziggy]

29. I think I have some shots with my Instamatic clone

But I'm not sure. I'll have to go through the old negatives and see what I have. All there would have been was a little smoke trail going up.

I don't know if anyone else in my town watched from there. Most people who were interested drove over to the Cape to get as close as possible. Dad couldn't afford to take time off from his business so he used this way to get at least a peek.

[applegrove]

8. Oh. For an 8 year old it must have been so exciting.

[kentauros]

11. Yeah, it was!

And we had just recently gotten a color TV, so with the later launches and landings, we could see the footage in color

[applegrove]

12. I can remember seeing footage of one of the landings on our black and white tv.

[kentauros]

15. I don't know at what point it changed,

but the first few landings only broadcast in black and white due to how little electricity that took versus color. Later landings when they had the Lunar Rover, then they had color cameras (and nuclear battery packs!)

Even when the rest of the media lost interest after a while, we continued to watch them all. Thank goodness for PBS!

[RebelOne]

26. Yeah, saw that on TV.

I was an avid science fiction reader when I was a teenager. My mother would always tell me to stop reading all that junk. Well, I was in my 20s when Apollo II landed. I rejoiced in calling my mother and saying, "See, I told you that it would happen one day."

[kentauros]

30. Some people just don't understand science fiction,

probably due to most of the literal junk that ended up on TV and in movies. Kind of the same way these days with anime. Once they're totally turned off by the likes of Yu Gi Oh and Pokémon, then they think it's all like that and will never see superior shows like Ghost in the Shell or Miyazaki's Spirited Away.

I hope your mother's reaction was good anyway

[Arugula Latte]

6. First Clinton inauguration.

Lived in DC and was more than happy to see Poppy leave town after one term.

[WolverineDG]

9. Obama's Inauguration

Along with a few other DUers. I think I'm still thawing!

[DFW]

14. A few minor ones

Gridiron 1995, where I met Clinton and Gore for the first time.
A mock interview where Stephen Colbert grilled Howard Dean (not open to the public)
The 1960 Democratic convention in L.A. where JFK was nominated (OK, I was 8, but I was there!).

and: the lunch in DC where Helen Thomas was introduced to Howard Dean--by me! There were
only 4 of us, including my brother.

As far as Canada goes, we always used to get invited to the July 4th parties on the roof of the Canadian
embassy in Washington, and Raymond Chrétien is still a friend. THE best foreign service office of ANY
country I have ever met. If he ever lost his accent, I would have kidnapped him and made him work for us!

[applegrove]

16. I cannot imagine being 8 years old at a political convention. Would be hard to top that.

[DFW]

20. I tagged along with my dad, who was a journalist covering the convention

His mom was a personal friend of Hubert Humphrey, so we got some access that other journalists did not.

At one reception I met an aging Groucho Marx, who promptly told me to get lost!!

[Rochester]

17. I saw the Olympic Torch run once

I'm assuming you meant things seen directly, rather than on TV. I'd have a pretty long list if you include the latter.
I saw the former governor at the opening ceremony of a new building.
I saw the annular eclipse of 1994.

[Tabasco_Dave]

18. The LA riots

[RebelOne]

28. Remember those well. And the Rodney King beating. n/t

[AsahinaKimi]

19. The San Francisco earthquake of 1989

Its an event I hope never to repeat ..

[Adsos Letter]

25. Me too! The building I was in was doing The Twist.

[RebelOne]

27. Remember that one.

My nephew was in LA when it happened. I was at my sister's house that morning when he called her and said everything was shaking and he wanted out of there.

[KBlagburn]

21. Participated in Desert Storm and the Desert Storm Victory Parade in DC

Lived through the Oklahoma City Tornado of 1999 the most powerful in history, was also based in OKC during the Murrah Building Bombing. I have a piece of the Berlin Wall.

[Motown_Johnny]

22. I saw Nixon's helicopter fly off after he resigned (I was 11)

the hotel room was not facing the White House so we watched him resign on TV but we could see the 'copter once it took flight.

Weird coincidence that we happened to be there on vacation when it happened. We also were driving back up to Michigan from Florida the day Elvis died, so we were in Tennessee that day but didn't witness anything (I was 14).

[charlie and algernon]

23. Obama at Nationals Park for the 100th anniversary of the Presidential First Pitch

Here are the photos I took of it.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x263809

[pipi_k]

24. The discovery of fire

hah! not really!


So, anyway, I can't think of any historical event I witnessed live. Plenty on TV, yes, but in person...no.

[gratuitous]

31. Zapatistas gathering in San Cristobal

For their procession to Mexico City in 2001. What struck me at the time, and has stayed with me ever since is how organized the group was. They called in thousands of people from all over the countryside to assemble in San Cristobal on one day, people without cell phones, without e-mail, without any modern amenities at all. And they came by foot, on horseback, in cambios and cars to gather in the town square. Our little congregation can't get 30 people together for a meeting without half of them forgetting, getting the day wrong, or not knowing what the meeting is going to be about.

[HopeHoops]

32. I saw a drunk puke in the middle of Walnut Street - like RIGHT in the middle of it.

Wait, that probably wasn't historic since it was on the main bar drag in Harrisburg.

[kwassa]

33. Aside from Woodstock, the LA riots, the '94 Northridge quake, the biggie, and many major fires

in the mountains above Los Angeles.

Los Angeles is a happening place.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

34. I was at Jack Abramoff's sentencing

Also a bunch of rallies, some of which may be in the history books someday.

[Tikki]

35. The '84 Los Angeles Olympics...

UCLA Venue. Worked there for 5 weeks. Fun.


TIKKI

[hobbit709]

36. Chicago '68.

[mdmc]

37. I got to the see the hostages come home from Iran

[jmowreader]

38. I was at the "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" speech

Well...actually, I got sent to it.