History of the outside world. Strange Horizons: Why All Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Are Historians, Palmer, 23 February 2026.
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1981. When President Reagan was shot, I heard the news as I walked into the student center in college. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum: Assassination Attempt.
1986. When the Challenger exploded, I remember talking about it with someone at work. NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance: Challenger STS-51L.
2001. When 9-11 happened, I was at home, watching the Weather Channel on mute, wondering why all the airplane icons were red. “The order went out to land every aircraft at the nearest airport.” NATCA: ATC on 9/11.
Sometimes it is a personal concern.
1982. When an Air Florida Flight 90 ran into a bridge in DC, I was studying abroad and worried because my father was flying a lot at that time. He would not have been going to Florida, but the specifics had not made it to where I was. FAA: Boeing 737-200 – Transport Airplane.
These are the moments we share with a society at large. Those moments when we know that we are seeing capital-H history unfold in real time. “We didn’t know the size of the rock, but we could see it rolling down on us.” [One Year Later]
As a side note, I always wonder about the people who avoided the big event. Missed their plane. Stopped for coffee. Called in sick. Imagine being annoyed about whatever inconvenience life has thrown at you, only to step out of the subway and see that. It must feel deeply odd.
Where were you when?
Previous post, with list [Witness to History, Blog Hop Invitation]
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 
I’m old enough to remember with JFK was assassinated. I was about 5 walking down stairs with my grandmother when the news bulletin interrupted whatever show she had on. My mother came home from work in tears.
JFK- I was home. When I think of it I recall our house in NJ, although we were already in MD at that point. Mom said I must have mixed it up with the memory of the inauguration. I was 9. 2001 – on my way to the pharmacy, heard on the car radio. Came home, turned on the TV. My aunt in CA couldn’t get through on the phone, and knew that my (estranged) brother lived in VA, so emails were flying fast and furious. My cousin lived in Brooklyn. His daughter was home from school, and he and she sat on the roof of his building and watched the people walking over the Brooklyn Bridge. His wife was at work.