Teddog Hijacks Writer's Block
Dec. 8th, 2008 07:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
teddog[Error: unknown template qotd]
This one caught my eye. I don't really remember celebrity deaths. The whole celebrity thing is a mire of cultural contexts. The only one I remember clearly was Princess Di. That has less to do with Di herself but the events in my life surrounding it. In fact, I can use the date of her death to timeline out the rest of the events.
28 August 1997
We went to the CNE that day and brought along Chris, my friend at the time. This was one of the first years, if not the very first year that the "pay one price admission" became very popular and so the crowds were massive. we went on a few rides, Chris got sick in the food building, and poked around in general. Towards the evening, the crowds were so bad that we crossed over to Ontario Place and hit up the rides and maze there. For some reason, my mind clings deeply to what Ontario Place was like on this day. It was probably when the park's quality started to nosedive, but I'll be damned if I think of it like that.
29 August 1997
We left for a caving trip in Pennsylvania. Generally a boring day. Almost ended up in a massive accident because my mother was driving up a mountainside and these punks in the back of a pickup truck threw beer cans at us. It's one of the few times in my life where I've been truly scared.
30 August 1997
Went caving. It was with a tour guide, but we got to go off of the beaten trail. Another massive impact on my life, but this was for the better. I can't describe how amazing it is to be deep under the earth, lost in a series of tunnels, just realizing how far you are from the real world. You could drop dead and no one would discover you, ever. It would be like you never existed. And yet, it's the guide's job to make sure that doesn't happen. It's intense.
It also helped that the guys I went caving with were all Stickin' Around fans... and so was the guide. He was, like, FOURTY SOMETHING. Mind you, my dad was a fan too, so it's not that much of a stretch.
It was late on this day that we heard about the crash. Because we were traveling home, we heard over the radio rather than over the TV. I think this is why the event stands out. Almost every other time, I've heard of some massive news story over the TV or the internet. The only other time I didn't was on 9/11. To sum up that quickly, I was in physics class when it started and out on a spare when it was announced to the school. I didn't know until I came home and my mother told me and by then the south tower was already gone.
ANYWAY. When we first heard about the crash, Di was still being reported as alive. I also remember Que Sera, Sera being played on the radio but I don't think the two were related.
31 August 1997
I woke up and there was a discussion on the TV about Di's body. I could put two and two together.
I also remember the funeral, because at the time I was a paper carrier and normally no one is up that early. The funeral was broadcast live, so it was about 4am or 5am when it was on TV here.
So, as strange as it was, it wasn't Di's death was had a massive emotional impact, it's the events around it and that I heard it over a radio. I also started high school that fall, so it's all mixed in with that "taking another step to adulthood" crap. :P
This one caught my eye. I don't really remember celebrity deaths. The whole celebrity thing is a mire of cultural contexts. The only one I remember clearly was Princess Di. That has less to do with Di herself but the events in my life surrounding it. In fact, I can use the date of her death to timeline out the rest of the events.
28 August 1997
We went to the CNE that day and brought along Chris, my friend at the time. This was one of the first years, if not the very first year that the "pay one price admission" became very popular and so the crowds were massive. we went on a few rides, Chris got sick in the food building, and poked around in general. Towards the evening, the crowds were so bad that we crossed over to Ontario Place and hit up the rides and maze there. For some reason, my mind clings deeply to what Ontario Place was like on this day. It was probably when the park's quality started to nosedive, but I'll be damned if I think of it like that.
29 August 1997
We left for a caving trip in Pennsylvania. Generally a boring day. Almost ended up in a massive accident because my mother was driving up a mountainside and these punks in the back of a pickup truck threw beer cans at us. It's one of the few times in my life where I've been truly scared.
30 August 1997
Went caving. It was with a tour guide, but we got to go off of the beaten trail. Another massive impact on my life, but this was for the better. I can't describe how amazing it is to be deep under the earth, lost in a series of tunnels, just realizing how far you are from the real world. You could drop dead and no one would discover you, ever. It would be like you never existed. And yet, it's the guide's job to make sure that doesn't happen. It's intense.
It also helped that the guys I went caving with were all Stickin' Around fans... and so was the guide. He was, like, FOURTY SOMETHING. Mind you, my dad was a fan too, so it's not that much of a stretch.
It was late on this day that we heard about the crash. Because we were traveling home, we heard over the radio rather than over the TV. I think this is why the event stands out. Almost every other time, I've heard of some massive news story over the TV or the internet. The only other time I didn't was on 9/11. To sum up that quickly, I was in physics class when it started and out on a spare when it was announced to the school. I didn't know until I came home and my mother told me and by then the south tower was already gone.
ANYWAY. When we first heard about the crash, Di was still being reported as alive. I also remember Que Sera, Sera being played on the radio but I don't think the two were related.
31 August 1997
I woke up and there was a discussion on the TV about Di's body. I could put two and two together.
I also remember the funeral, because at the time I was a paper carrier and normally no one is up that early. The funeral was broadcast live, so it was about 4am or 5am when it was on TV here.
So, as strange as it was, it wasn't Di's death was had a massive emotional impact, it's the events around it and that I heard it over a radio. I also started high school that fall, so it's all mixed in with that "taking another step to adulthood" crap. :P
