Where were you when...

Tonight, I am thinking about monumental moments that I've witnessed during my life thus far. Unfortunately, this means thinking about the negative things and the impact those events left. There are many moments to choose from, so I've narrowed it down to the ones in which I can clearly remember what I was doing and where I was.

Where were you when...

9/11 - I had just moved to Manhattan in August 2001 to start business school. That September morning, I was getting ready for my 10AM class when my brother came home from Grand Jury duty and announced that two planes had crashed into the WTC. I was temporarily living with him at 33rd Street and 5th Ave, and I could see the giant clouds of smoke by looking down 5th Ave.

Space Shuttle Challenger disaster - I was in 6th grade math class in 1986 when our teacher Mrs. Clarke told us. I grew up in Plymouth, MA and the NH teacher Christa McAuliffe was a hero in New England.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana marry- In the days before youtube video and Hulu replays, I woke up early that morning in July 1981 to watch the grand nuptials. For an American, I was really into the Royals.

Princess Diana dies- When Diana died in 1997, I was in Germany in the middle of a Euro-tour with my parents. A few days later, we arrived in Paris and saw for ourselves the hundreds of flower bouquets placed at the tunnel where her car crashed. Two days after that, we arrived in London and saw the thousands of bouquets in front of Buckingham Palace. It was incredible to be in London at the time. I remember Elton John's remake of Candle in the Wind being released while I was still in England.

Hurricane Katrina hits - I had just started my job at ESPN in NYC on August 8, 2005. Katrina hit at the end of the month. The video footage kept getting worse and worse.

San Francisco World Series earthquake - I was in high school in 1989 and watching the game on TV. I was an A's fan and it's hard to remember that they won the title after play resumed. It's funny, I said that's why I could never live in SF and then eight years later I moved there. I felt one earthquake in the four years that I lived there.

Michael Jackson dies - I was at home in NYC today playing with my son and read the breaking news on tmz.com. He was such a large part of my memory from my early years. I was a huge fan in the 4th grade, still a fan in middle school, and then disillusioned in the later high school years.