Where Were You?

So, we are 4 days into the Obama Presidency. Everyone is talking about the Inaguration. I think this is going to be another "where were you?" things. Where were you when MLK/JFK were shot? Where were you when the Challenger exploded? Where were you when Obama was sworn in? though I guess we have to ask "which time?" to this now. The thing is, I didn't watch it. Before you start flaming me, assuming anyone actualy reads this blog anymore, let me explain. This was the largest and most expensive inaguration in history. They kept adding things, which cost money. Now, I know that a lot of the stuff was paid for by private donation, but not all of it, and none of the security. The bigger it got, the more things that were added, the more security was needed. I find that horribly irrisponcible. We have a national debt that is in the trillions. Does anyone even know what a trillion is? It's a made up number! It's so huge that we can not logicaly conceive of it. People try to explain it by saying how high a stack of $20 bills are. I have heard to the moon and back. That is huge!!! We spend something like a billion dollars a DAY in Iraq. We are still in Afghanistan remember that place?. We are still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina. The country is bankrupt. Yesterday on the news they said that the state of Arizona is $4 billion in debt!!! They want to cut the education budget by 40%. Sidenote: um...lawmakers, just FYI, cutting the education budget is no way to help with the deficite. Less education means fewer people can get jobs, which means more unemployment and welfare, which means more depbt.
So with all this, how can we as a nation seriously be ok with spending that much on the inaguarion? So I did not watch it. I did not feel pride that we had elected our first African American president. I felt shame that the Democratic Party, which I have supported all my life, would be this fiscaly irrisponcible.
So, where was I when Obama was sworn in? No clue. Proboby at home. Probobly knitting. Probobly doing what I do every day. And in a year, I won't remember it at all.

But there are other "tv moments" I will remember. So I am curious, what do you think is your most memorable tv moment? I ask for "tv moments" rather than any memorable moment because tv is something we share as a culture. You're most memorable moment could be when your oldest child first said "mama", but that is for you. Something like when Mr. Cooper died on Seseme Streetit affected generations. I remember watching Big Bird trying to find out what happened, and my dad sitting next to me, trying to help me understand is something we all can remember and share together.

So, my most memorable moment: the 2000 election coverage. My history class had cable, and we were all in there just watching, amazed. We fought and argued and stared at the tv. I think things were thrown at the tv, and we had to be dragged from the classroom. Can you immagine it? A bunch of teenagers, who mostly don't care about politics, mesmerised by the political process, discussing the electoral college and teh constitution and the candidates. A bunch of high schoolers not wanting class to be over, and later in the day not wanting school to be over. I think our reaction to it is what makes it stick in my head so much.

How about you?