Where Were You?

The title says it all. I'd like to take the time to reflect on 3 major events that took place during my lifetime that have resulted in being in history books, novels, movies, and abundantly in television. I shall start with the oldest first and work my way up.

Where were you when Selena died?

I was coming home from school. I attended Norwood Elementary. When I got home my parents were both there watching television. My mom said "Someone killed Selena." At first I didn't really understand what she had said. "Someone killed who?" I thought. Also the idea that "Someone killed Celia," who is my sister, did cross my mind but was immediately scratched out when I heard the uneventful tone in her voice. Had something happened to my sister it would have been full blown emotion, not just my parents sitting around and watching TV. So when I asked my mom for a second delivery, I finally understood what she meant. The singer of "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" had passed away because her fan club rep had shot her. And yes, I remember sitting around the television as well joining my parents on the edge of my seat wondering what Yolanda was going to do in that car with the police surrounding her. It was like a thriller movie, intense!

Where were you on the events of September 11, 2001 (aka 9/11)?

It was my seventeenth birthday, but that didn't void me from going to school. In fact, I really wanted to go to school. It was my senior year of high school and birthdays had become a big deal within my circle of friends that year. They included pinatas, going out for movies, and having one friend burn her hair because we rigged her birthday cake with trick candles.
Well I woke up that morning with a little pep in my step because I wanted to see what school would be like on my birthday. In the midst of getting ready my father said, "Someone attacked the World Trade Center." Those words. I was like "....Ok, well that's not good." The words he chose to tell me are what triggered that mundane expression. If you recall sometime before someone had walked into the Twin Towers with a gun but was immediately stopped. So when my father said, "someone attacked," I figured someone walked in with a gun, pocketknife, or some pointy object that could be considered a weapon, that is all.
I got to school only to find that with every classroom I walked by the TV was on and that all the students were glued to it like it was a Magic Eye game. I thought it was perculiar but I still didn't think anything of it and figured that I would find out about what they're watching when I get to class. I got to first period, which was US Government, and long behold, one of the towers had been attacked and it was up in smoke! Crazy! After reading the headlines and overhearing what my classmates were saying, I was all caught up.
I was watching these huge monuments just fall into pieces. I got to second period with a quickness because I didn't want to miss what was happening. This is the class I had with all my friends, Mr. Odegaard's AP English class. It was my birthday for a whomping 5 minutes. It was all "Happy Birthday Oscar! Here are your presents, now back to TV!" I was fine with it though. I got it. How could I possibly think about celebrating my birthday when massive amounts of people are dying because airplanes keep crashing in monumental buildings? One gift I remember getting was a sweater from Heidi and Lizzy which they went to pick out from Anchor Blue and had some guy who was of my same physical demeanor try it on to see how it would look on me, I still have it somewhere in my closet in LA. Anyways, I remember being glued to the TV and watching those towers fall as if they nothing, just a couple of Lego buildings some four year-old was knocking down.
The whole day was like that though. It was just me walking around with my gifts from period to period trying to get my eyes to catch every moment of what was going on. It was AP Calculus and we had a substitute teacher. And yes, my memory about this day is just that detailed. The PA system over the whole campus had announced to the Fremont teachers that the events on the TV were too violent and suggested they'd be turned off. Well our sub didn't give a flying fuck about what the PA said and kept it on as his argument was that we were witnessing history unfold before our very eyes. He was right! Once the events subsided it was Tennis class, but by that time everyone was still getting over that initial shock of what transpired that morning. There was no Tennis class, I went home, had dinner with the family, all the while still being attached to TV like a siamese twin.

Where were you when Michael Jackson died?

It was grad school time and I decided to head to the Starbucks at the Barnes & Nobles near the CSULB campus to get some studying done (the one on 2nd street next to the AMC). I found a table all to myself and as soon as I logged on I noticed that some headlines read about Michael Jackson being in a serious condition. I then raced to Facebook to see if any of my friends had posted anything and about three of them had posted that MJ had died. I was in complete shock. But because I hadn't read anything official from news sites I didn't know whether to find any truth in those status updates. I then decide to go to the website that may very well be the fall of the human race, TMZ. Even though I don't support the paparazzi movement, they seem to know things a lot quicker than CNN and KTLA 5. Sure enough, they had reported that Michael Jackson had died. Still in awe, I hit refresh on those news sites and the headline went from "Critical Condition" to "Passed Away." At that very moment I yelled out for all of Starbucks, its cutomers and employees to hear, "Oh my God, Michael Jackson just died!"
The Baristas then turn to me and one of them said, "Really? He did? I've been getting text messages from friends not knowing if he had died or not." I confirmed to her the information I had gotten from my sources. Then about five minutes later I get a call from my mother (as I was expecting) where she told me she was sad and we then briefly spoke about his passing.

I have a picture from the wall that was made for his memorial service at the Staples Center that now stands in the Nokia Theater in LA. It was signed by those fans who attended the memorial. In utter jelousy that I could not go, I am glad to be next to a piece of musical history.