Inconvenient Historical Events

JL Wilson marks the 25th anniversary of the attempt on Ronald Reagan’s life: http://independentcountry.blogspot.com/2006/04/what-amazing-coincidence.html
I never knew until today that the Hinckleys were friends of GHW Bush.

I’ll never forget that day (actually, I probably will at some point when my mind goes completely). I was at the Circle Theatre on Pennsylvania Avenue watching a double bill of Woody Allen’s “Sleeper” and “Bananas”. During the assassination scene in “Bananas”, the film stopped, the house lights came up, and an usher informed the audience that Ronald Reagan had been shot. I think I could have waited until after the movie to learn about the event.

This was not the only inconvenience that day. After the movie, my friend couldn’t get his car because the streets around GW Hospital, just across from the theatre where he had parked, were closed off because Reagan was inside. What the heck was the point of closing the streets?

The only good thing to come out of the assassination attempt, for me personally, was the joke: “Why did Israel invade Lebanon? To impress Jodie Foster.” That one still slays me to this day.

I don’t think the event would have been as memorable if I had not personally been inconvenienced by it. Also, he didn’t actually die. A lot of people seem to remember where they were when John Kennedy was shot or Elvis died, but few remember the Reagan shooting.

Back in the early 80s, there was a hellish winter day when a plane crashed into one of the bridges across the Potomac and a subway derailed. It was snowing, and this had already practically paralyzed DC. I was down in Foggy Bottom and had to walk home to my Chevy Chase Circle neighborhood. My suffering was nothing to that of the poor people killed in the plane crash, of course, but the personal impact made it memorable. I worked at a movie theater, the Avalon, and I was the only worker to show up. I sold tickets, served as usher, made popcorn, sold popcorn, and started the projector for the 50 or so folks who came to the movies (I don’t remember what was playing). Luckily, the projectionist showed up late, since I had not clue one as to how to change reels.

September 11, 2001 was pretty memorable since I was slightly inconvenienced by it. I had been walking the dogs in the park in Yonkers and was blissfully unaware when my wife called from work in midtown and told me to turn on the news. I was just in time to see the second plane hit, and I remarked that it was long odds that two planes would accidentally crash into the same complex on the same day. I went to work, but my building, an office in Tarrytown, was in “lockdown”, for crying out loud, and I couldn’t get in without sneaking past the guard. The company closed early anyway. That afternoon, I watched from the heights by Palmer Road as the towers smoldered. My wife had a heckuva time getting home that day since Manhattan was shut down.

Douglas MacArthur’s funeral was also memorable because it preempted my favorite cartoons.