Have You Ever Been a Part of History?

[Puma]

Have you ever in some way been a part of history? Not necessarily the 6 o'clock news kind of history; but an event that in some way changed the way things might have been and was of significance locally or to a group of people.

My off the top of my head claims to fame - I served as the assistant disaster chairman of Jefferson County, Indiana during the 1964 flood on the Ohio River (went to work after college classes every day), I volunteered to help keep our area running during the midwestern blizzard of 1978, and most significantly, I wrote and edited a 400 page history of my area for the 2003 Ohio bicentennial.

I'm sure most of you can top me. So bring it on. Puma

[rtilryarms]

I have been in the newspaper 14 times

Bull attacks. Miami

(2) UFO's (newspapers have no archives but I kept copies from 1967). Miami

Tornado in St Petersburg.

National placer in Ping-Pong. Cocoa Beach

Junior Government Senator and spokesperson for immigration reform. Bill I sponsored was edited and pushed through real legislature and passed in 1972(?), Signed by the Governor same year, Florida immigrant treatment laws follow the same procedures as stipulated in my bill. Tallahassee.

6 blurbs in bowling championships when I was 12 - 16.

That's excluding the engagement, marriage, obituary and birth announcements

[rekirts]

For the past two years I've played characters from my city's past in an historical tour. Does that count?

[Puma]

rtilryarms - talk about a tickler to make me want to say "more". Bull attacks, UFO's, tornado in St. Petersburg (are you allowed to say more about them on a historical fiction writer's forum?)

rekirts - of course that counts. What time period are your characters from? Puma

[rtilryarms]

Hey everyone, sorry for editing an old post over 5 years later but this link has been misinterpreted by people who do not understand the difference between fact-based fiction and gospel.

The events happened, but I assed much hyperbole in the WIP. So instead of explaining, I just eliminated the source.

People relying on memory do not have the documentation I have and now they never will. I scrapped this project a couple years ago.

[davidthompson]

Like Rekirts, my main interest outside of writing has been participating in living history events. That's both good and bad, because the impressions are so vivid they stick in your mind, thus the mistakes stick as well as the accurate details, since the various living history venues tend to have their own cliches, peer pressure, trends, etc.

I've read historical fiction where it's been obvious the writer has also watched or participated in living history, because the historic world they've created includes a lot of the cliches common only to modern living history.

On the other hand, I love being able to actually try out things, as close as you can with all the limitations of the modern world of course, and get a data-bank of first-hand memories and experiences.

[johnnysannie]

I'm a Baby Boomer.

I marched in a Calley Ralley in the late 1960's.

That the first two that come to mind. I imagine there are others.

[Gillhoughly]

Have you ever in some way been a part of history?


Every time I vote.

[Puma]

rtilryarms - thanks for expanding on your post - fascinating! Is The Crestview Conspiracy a WIP? If so, you'll have to keep us posted on how you're doing on it.

david - what period/type of living history events are you in?

johnnysannie - I don't remember the Calley Ralley even though I'm a pre-boomer - what/where was it?

Gillhougly - high five! Puma

[rtilryarms]

Thanks Puma. Yes it is a WIP. I am fond of conspiracy writing. (gets me in trouble).

[Melisande]

I was quoted on the first page of a leading newspaper in Sweden when the old King died 1973, and had my picture inside the same paper.

I sailed on tankers during the Iran-Iraq war in the eighties. Sort of being-there-but-not-being-able-to-change-anything kind of experience. A lot of my peers refused to enter the Persian Gulf during those years. But everyone needed the oil.

Was onboard a civil freighter in charter by the allies during Desert Storm, carrying equipment. Once again, did my (very) small part of helping history in the making as a volunteer to the warzone.

Don't know if any of that counts.

[Puma]

Holy Cow, Innkeeper - you have lead a very interesting life! That's quite an account you put on here. Was the italicized portion by any chance part of something else you've written up? I'm familiar with B&B's being pressed into service in emergencies - my sister and her husband had one on the Mass-NY line for many years.

Melisande - of course your experiences count. Supplies are essential. And besides that, you had your picture in the paper! Good going! Puma

[rekirts]

Wow! What fascinating lives some of you lead.
rekirts - of course that counts. What time period are your characters from? PumaLate 1800's, early 1900's. A friend is writing a one-woman play for me based on the life of Nelly McClung who was a Canadian suffragette, writer, and activist in the early 1900's. It's only in the beginning stages right now but we're both quite excited about it.

[arrowqueen]

Alas, in the great historical pageant of life, I am merely a dung-stained peasant.

[pdr]

Nonsense, Arrowqueen. It's just that, like me, your life has been too full of incident for you to choose one single episode!

Or perhaps you value your privacy and don't want to create a stir.

[rekirts]

Alas, in the great historical pageant of life, I am merely a dung-stained peasant.My sister is really into geneology so I have it on good authority that I come from a long line of dung-stained peasants.

[Laurie]

This all is fascinating.

The only thing I can claim is I was in second grade in the community next-door to Kent, OH when the riots happened. Our church was in Kent, many friends had ties in the community. We were sent home from school in the middle of the day because no one knew what would happen, if the rioting would come out to the KSU airport that was in our town. I just recently wrote a memoir about this for a short memoir contest. It was interesting to bring up the memories of an 8 year old child. They are much different than anything I've ever heard taught/said about those 4 days in May.

[Puma]

Genealogy - yes - I found out that a long gone grandmother was tried as a witch in Germany about 1620. She survived being dunked.

As Laurie said, this is an interesting thread. Puma

[Laurie]

Genealogy - yes - I found out that a long gone grandmother was tried as a witch in Germany about 1620. She survived being dunked.



What else floats? - Churches!

Sorry.. kids too into Monty Python

[henriette]

i marched in the biggest anti-war protest in history- feb 15, 2003. 7 million people across the globe told bush what he pretended not to know: there are no WMD in iraq. it didn't stop the war, but there is something incredibly gratifying in being a part of something that big. even though i nearly got frostbite walking in sub-zero weather!

rekirts- nellie mcclung? cool! she's one of my heros!

[Evaine]

Mine is an opposite experience of being part of history - I was one of the few people in the British Isles who didn't see Princess Diana's wedding on TV - because I was in a field doing archaeology at the time. We had a tight schedule, so no days off, even for national events. Even my sister saw it, on holiday in Holland!

[byElizabeth]

About 1/2 of my family is still Amish...and I was Amish until I was 4. Not a historical event but the Amish are quite a historical sect of people. Great heritage to have! ;-)

*EBY
www.writerunscripted.blogspot.com

[the1dsquared]

Hi Elizabeth, yes you have a great heritage. And great hats too. I wear an Amish straw hat on the tractor all summer. No makes a cooler more comfortable hat!

[rtilryarms]

Mine is an opposite experience of being part of history - I was one of the few people in the British Isles who didn't see Princess Diana's wedding on TV - because I was in a field doing archaeology at the time. We had a tight schedule, so no days off, even for national events. Even my sister saw it, on holiday in Holland!

EGAD! The shame.

[Puma]

Elizabeth - I saw the EBY at the bottom of your post - is that by any chance a family name? Puma

[byElizabeth]

EBY are my initials of what I'd like to publish under...Elizabeth Byler Younts. Byler being my "Amish" maiden name and Younts is my married name. :-)

[dclary]

I was peripherally involved in one of the first credit-card-hacker stings in the nation, and came *this* close to being in a lot of trouble for it.

My dad ran for LA City Council once. That's almost like history -- and would have been if he'd won.

[Rolling Thunder]

My touch with history is a tad dark. I built an addition for Randi Trimble's grandmother and a house for her aunt. Met her briefly, she was a nice young lady. Her murder was made into the movie; Rough Cut.

Never met the husband and glad at that.

[dclary]

Youch. Those are the kind of brushes with history no one wants to be involved in.

[Alex Bravo]

I invented the Railgun Putter, well before the three ball and other large headed designs came out. Mine was the first, and not one golf manufacturer was interested in making it because it was too weird and ugly. So I made it myself and sold it on the internet. After seeing how well mine performed in tests, now every major manufacturer has something similar, so it influenced the entire industry. Also, some professionals and many golfers wrote to tell me how they won golf tournaments that they would not have otherwise. One pro became the leading money winner on the Pepsi tour. In fact, he didn't want to use my putter, but after winning four tournaments in a row, he changed his mind.

But now I write so I'm not too angry. I'd rather be known for writing a great novel than inventing a putter that changed the industry!

[Evaine]

Not me, but a work colleague a few years ago - he went to Ireland regularly on holiday, and got friendly with the chap in charge of the boatyard there, so that he often got a chance to help out with work on the boats that came in there. One of these was Lord Mountbatten's yacht (he was the Queen's uncle, I think - certainly a close relative). A month later, the yacht was blown up by the IRA, and Lord Mountbatten with it.

[Gillian]

The historian in me wants to say, "Yes, I am part of history. Records about my life are stored in all sorts of odd places and will one day put an historian to sleep when they stumble across them."

I was one of the team that founded Women's History Month in Australia. FWIW.

[Ol' Fashioned Girl]

I was in the May 3, 1999, Cat 5+ tornado in Oklahoma City... and before that, was around for Mr. Tim McVeigh's home-grown terrorist attack on the Murrah Building downtown.

[Puma]

Wow! Old Fashioned Girl, that's scary. How close were you to the Murrah Building?

We had a small (Cat 2) tornado come right through our place in 2000 - that was pretty scary but a Cat 5 - I can't imagine what that must have been like. Puma

[Ol' Fashioned Girl]

Close enough to hear the boom. ;) (Which was heard, IIRC, about 12 miles away that awful morning.)

The May 3rd tornado was - or would have been - a Cat 6, if they'd had that designation level at the time. They've since added one, just because of ours. The worst part of that night, however, was the 77 (that's a record for us, folks) tornados that touched down all over western and central Oklahoma that night.

By morning, I was insane. I actually shook my fist at the heavens and said, "Either quit playing with me or kill me, but do it NOW."

For our anniversary the next year, Ol' Boy bought me a safe room.

[BardSkye]

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is true love.

Though Calgary is actually in Tornado Alley, we've been awfully lucky. As to being part of history, well, I sang at the Canadian pavilion at the 1967 Montreal World's Fair. Does that count?

More recently, the oil refinery next door exploded a few years ago.

[army_grunt13]

I was in Iraq during the first free elections to ever take place in that country (actually I was there for three of them). The first was probably the most significant. I was in Baquba (the same place Zarquawi was killed) during the first elections in January 2005. Given that this had never happend before, plus God only knew what the rebels would try, it was pretty harrowing at times. I put one of my Sergeants in for the Bronze Star that day. Without going into detail, suffice it to say that his actions salvaged the election results of the entire Zambora area (part of the Dyala Province).

When it was all over, I was talking to some of my troops, and thought it fitting to quote Theodore Roosevelt. I told them, "Guys, though we may not realize it at this moment in time, we turned the page of history today."

[Ol' Fashioned Girl]

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is true love.

Actually, I think it was self-preservation. He was tired of my whining. ;)