Sunday, August 26, 2012

everyone knows where they were when…



We often hear the line – even from Australians – everyone knows where they were the day Kennedy was shot.
Fail. I’ve no idea. The assassination of JFK was an American thing, but the footage certainly got some airplay here. I remember seeing it a hundred times, but this was after the fact.

MLK Jr? Fail.

The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand? Fail.


We never had a TV at all for a very long time. Naturally when we did get one, it was something that had to be watched at every available opportunity. One day I saw footage of the coronation of QE II – never having heard of a “replay” – and couldn’t wait to tell my mother there was a new queen. Fail.

In 1967 I tuned into a big “first” when Normie Rowe was performing at expo 67 in Montreal and it was to be broadcast live from halfway cross the world. We normally couldn’t get a decent signal anyway as our house was surrounded by prolestackers, and even catching the ABC news occasionally was a miracle.
But the expo from Canada was worse – most of the time the screen was black because the international signal had crapped out altogether.

I only mention this because Andrew wrote about watching the moon landing live on TV in 1969. I remember where I was when that happened, and believing [after Montreal] that such a clear signal could only be a hoax.


911? Yep. Remember arriving at the Mitcham factory where some young buck – whose only talent was for finding excuses to do nothing – started going on and on about a plane flying into a building.
If I hadn’t seen TV footage later I would still be wondering why was supposed to justify him doing nothing all morning.


How many times do we watch some historical drama now and hear a repeat of that infamous radio broadcast on 3 September in 1939:

I am speaking to you from the Cabinet Room at 10, Downing Street. This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note stating that unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany.

We know it was a Sunday, but what time of day was it first broadcast? How come every man, woman, child and dog in Britain was listening to the radio at the right time? If the people in these dramas are only listening to replays, why do they always look like it’s fresh news?
They all knew where they were when the announcement was made.




8 comments:

  1. I do remember where I was and what I was doing when John Lennon was shot and Princess Di died and of course 911, maybe more if I put my mind to it. I think I preferred it when TV was much more simple than it is today, and really, watching a black screen would be hugely more entertaining than all of the reality nonsense that's shown today.Watching other people's lives seems a little strange to me.
    btw everytime I see your profile pic it makes me smile!!

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    1. It's a great photo, isn't it? Which means naturally it was taken by someone else. Young Liam's had a few birthdays since then, but the photo is definitely a crack up.

      I fail both the John Lennon and Lady Di tests. TV is really simple for me now - I don't turn it on unless I have a DVD. Some series I watch on ABC or SBS websites.

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  2. I can't remember Lennon, but most of the others I can, including Elvis and one of the popes. I used to be able to quote Menzies' speech made when we joined the war.

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    1. Elvis? Not only hadn't left the building, but hadn't left "the" room. Fail. But you've reminded me about one of the Popes - had to look it up but I think it would have been John Paul I, because of all the twaddle about Nostradamus predicting several popes in rapid succession was a sign the world was doomed.

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  3. I don't know why but i do remember sitting in the kitchen listening to the radio with my parents when we were living in Racecourse Rd, Nth Melbourne when it was announced over the radio that President Kennedy had been shot. On the day Neil Armstrong walked on the moon our school gave us a choice to stay at school or go home and watch it on tv. That was good enough for me so bolted home and watched it tv, never did make it back to school for the rest of the day.

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    1. Hi Windsmoke. A day off was a good deal. I lived across the road from school, and had to grovel for a chance to go home. The school only had one B&W TV and it was useless. I had the rest of the day off as well, hating school with a passion.

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  4. That is a quirk of nature that we remember stuff like this. I remember that i was teaching in New Guinea when Armstrong landed on the moon. There was no TV up there then but we stopped work in the classroom to listen to the landing on the radio coming through the speaker over the top of the blackboard. What was strange for us was that in New Guinea there were natives in the mountains who hadn't even seen white men or knew anything of European civilisation. Can you imagine them trying to comprehend the moon landing.

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    1. The more I hear of your adventures, the more fascinated I am Diane. I know you've been having quality time with your family lately, but I'm looking forward to the next instalment of your autobiography. :)

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