Where were you when…

There are always days that stand out in history but less so that stand out in the collective consciousness of a culture or a generation.  For my generation, it seems the question of, “Where were you when the space shuttle blew up?” is one that every seems to already have the answer to.  For my parents, it was always, “Where were you when JFK was shot?”.  Most recently it is the question of, “Where were you on 9/11?”  Still  I wonder if it is the tragedy of the day or the fact that so many people were effected by the moment.  I’ve been reading alot about the 20 year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.  Just yesterday a friend of mine was visiting in town who is German and grew up in Germany during the days of the Berlin Wall.  I just so happened to remember this event when I saw him and asked where he was on November 9, 1989?  Not surprisingly, he was able to rattle off exactly where he was (Hamburg) and what he was doing (thinking of driving to Berlin) when he heard the news.  I guess that the funny thing is that I really can’t remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard about the fall of the Berlin wall.  I remember Ronald Reagan saying, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!!” a few years earlier and I do have some hazy recollections of seeing the news that the iron curtain had fallen.  But it just doesn’t fit into my generations collective consciousness.  And it is this fact that makes me think.  Am I so wrapped up in my own culture that I don’t respond to earth-shaking events in history unless they have some personal component that I would attach myself to?  Why is it that there are things going on that are changing our lives, times, history, culture, governments, economies, etc. that I’m not getting in tune with?  I wonder what is holding me back?  What is holding you back?