Monkey Business

50/50 4/10 - Tear Down That Wall

Read it in the Sunday Papers - Write about the first major news story you remember from your childhood.

When I was a kid, the Cold War was in full swing. It was us against the USSR (or Russians, as we liked to link them all together). It was a time of rushing to see which country would make the next milestone in the Space Race and spies and espionage. Russia kicked ass in many different games in the Olympics more often than not and there was always a feeling of pride when our athletes out-performed theirs. It was the time of Mary Lou Retton, Wayne Gretzky, and Roger Clemens. It was the Reagan Era in the grand old U.S of A. Sports dominated the news alongside the goings on of the Cold War.

The first major news story I remember vividly was when I was 13 years old, November 1989, the Berlin Wall finally fell. The news continued to show the clips from June 1987 when Ronald Reagan was quoted saying, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." Then-President Ronald Reagan stood before hundreds of cameras in West Berlin and called for Mikhail Gorbachev to open the Berlin Wall, which had separated West and East Berlin since 1961. I remember images of the wall, covered in graffiti, being pulled down and the people cheering wildly.

I honestly don't think that before that, I cared much for the news. Heck, I still don't today.