Where were you when the Wall fell?

[yasmina27]

I remember sitting in my apartment crying like a baby. Never in my life up until then did I ever believe I would see that.

One of my best friends in college was from West Germany. He was all I could think of, wondering if he was there in the throngs of people on the tv screen.

So do you remember where you were and what you were doing when the Wall fell?

[HipChick]

1. thinking about being born..

[Warpy]

2. Just home from work and watching "Nightline"

and wondering why the hell they just didn't unite and do this in the first place before so many people had to die trying to cross it.

The glee was infectious as they were atop the wall and whaling away with sledgehammers. I had pleasant dreams all night.

The next day, I did regret the loss of some of the art that was on the West's side of the wall, but only for a moment.

The symbol of despotism had finally fallen. The people had simply had enough.

[WilliamPitt]

3. Celebrating my 18th birthday, and signing up for selective service.

20 years later, I'm spending my birthday today thinking over an article on the whole thing (and nursing a Pats-beat-Miami hangover ;) ).

[xultar]

4. Sophmore in undergrad.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

5. I was a kid who liked to watch the evening news.

I remember Peter Jennings reporting about it back then.

[Arctic Dave]

6. I was on WesPac heading to the Persian Gulf.

[lumberjack_jeff]

7. Under it, apparently. n/t

[Forkboy]

8. Conveniently enough, looking for David Hasselhoff.

:)

[valerief]

9. Asleep in bed. nt

[tularetom]

10. Listening to the bullshit on the evening news about how Raygun single handedly

Was responsible for the destruction of that fucking wall.

And thinking to myself what bullshit it was.

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose"

[Raine]

11. Watching it on the news

and thinking it was a day I would never see.

[murielm99]

13. Exactly.

I said that to so many people - I never thought I would see the day THAT happened.

In some ways, I don't think there was enough celebration over it. At least there was not in my community. I saw people going about their daily business without giving it a second thought.

I was working in the library then. During the hours I was at the circulation desk, I mentioned it to everyone I had time to talk with (I live in a small town). One lady told me she thought everyone should be out in the streets dancing. She was one of the few.

They put the wall up when I was in junior high. I remember the helpless feelings people had.

I spoke to my own children about it. I told them the history, and why this was important. I made it clear that St. Ronnie was not the hero of the story, no matter what they heard at school. (We live only a few miles from Ronnie's home town. People here think he is a god).

I guess we need to keep facing our challenges and chipping away at the wrongs. Maybe if we do that with health care, we will come to a better system in the long run. And that is the only observation I am going to make about that bitter debate. However, I will keep after my legislators in the real world.

[InternalDialogue]

12. Looking for my friend on TV.

She had graduated from college a year ahead of me and was taking time in Europe that fall. She called to say she and her brother were heading to Berlin when things started picking up, and she said she arrived the night the great images of sledgehammers and revelers were on TV. She and her brother spent the next couple of days collecting fragments of concrete. They put them in memento boxes for their friends. I still have my little spray-painted shards in that box on a bookshelf.

[eilen]

14. We celebrated.

The following day my mother started making plans to visit her father for the first time since she was a toddler. She took my sister and they had a magical time.

My grandfather lived in East Berlin. He was nervous worried that his currency was about to be worthless once again. He spoke only German, my mother only English. That was the best "reunification" ever.

Years ago, he had written her and parts of the letter were blacked out. A dark car started following my Mom. The cold war sucked.