[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Earliest Memories of the World Outside

[Beth]

Elkins:
 >>I always wondered this myself -- why I have absolutely no memories
of the Vietnam War.  Finally I thought to ask my parents about it.
Turns out that until the war was over, they made it their practice
never to turn on the television until after I'd gone to bed.  They'd
only watch the 11:00 news.  They didn't want to risk my seeing
footage of people being shot, or of ear necklaces, or of anything
horrid and gruesome like that.

bel:
I have those memories. I remember not knowing until I was about 12 years 
old that you could have a newscast without combat footage and casualty counts.

I still haven't decided if it was a good thing for me to see those things 
or not. It definitely makes me conscious of exactly what "going to war" can 
mean, both to individual lives and on a massive scale. I can see how, for 
some people, it could create a lack of sensitivity to violence, but I don't 
believe that it did that to me (in fact, I can't watch horror films), and I 
don't believe it does it in most cases.

On another note, I have two very strong early memories, both from TV. I 
grew up in Dallas and was 5 when President Kennedy was killed. I was home 
from school, and saw the shooting on TV. Mom and Dad were at work, but 
Grandma was home. As luck would have it, she wasn't watching because the 
washer had just overflowed in the kitchen and she was mopping. I ran in and 
told her that the President had just been shot, and almost got sent to my 
room for lying. I finally convinced her to turn on the radio so she would 
believe me.

And I remember the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. I'm 
not sure whether it's because I liked the music, or because when they first 
started to play they surprised me so much that I dumped a plate of cottage 
cheese upside down on my mother's braided rug. She was not happy. <grin>

bel