Another off-topic topic

[sofadoc]

In talking with my 29 year old daughter, I discovered that she knows absolutely nothing about OJ Simpson. She doesn't know who he was, or what the trial was even about. She was 8 when the trial took place.

BUT......she knows every tawdry detail about Monica Lewinsky. Both events were circa '95.

If you have any kids in that age group, it might be a fun game to play. Ask them about newsworthy events from their childhood that probably wasn't covered in a textbook.

[SteveA]

My Daughter is 36 - a Mud Runner - go figure ?  - the other 3 are younger down to 31 -
The only thing that comes to mind two of them mentioned are the twin towers falling in 2001 -
SA

[Darren Henry]

If you have any kids in that age group, it might be a fun game to play. Ask them about.....

Never mind just the head lines. How many of them would recognize/have used;

>A rotary dial telephone.
> A party line. (The ones we used to share with our neighbours---not a dating sight)
>A typewriter.
>Rubix cube.
>Library card.
> A personal cheque.

Have any of them ever not had;

>A debit card.
>Cell phone.
> Home internet.

When Dad died I tried to call my sister to get timings for my return to her town to meet the funeral director at the time we agreed upon before I left the day before. No answer on her cell ( as requested I call) so I called my niece. Sheila was there but hadn't gotten the calls because the 3 year old had blocked my phone calls and was playing video games and taking selfies on Nan's phone. EXPERLATIVE!!! She and I weren't allowed to lift the receiver off the wall until we were able to write a coherent note for Dad/Mom. 

[gene]

I can tell my kids about how I grew up with rarely having any food in the house. No warm bed at night. I had to walk to school up hill, both ways. I had to wear my sisters hand me down clothes because that was all we had. Couldn't afford doctor or dentist visits. I once got a dog but we had to eat it just to stay alive.

And they will shrug.

But, if I want to get them to cry, genuinely cry and sob, I will tell them that when I was a little child we only had 3 TV stations and they were all in Black and White! (Insert picture here of the Home Alone Kid slapping his face with both hands.)

Re soFads comments: The Clintons have been in the news consistently since Billy worked his cigar in the oval orifice, I mean office.

OJ was out playing golf on his pension which his lost civil suit cannot touch. He made it into the news only when he went to jail for strong arm robbery.

My kids know all the songs from the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's because they have been in commercials or movies.

We like to play games like I KNOW and Trivial Pursuit. It is interesting how often I know what is to me a very obvious answer, and yet my kids draw a blank.

I had a talk with an elderly lady today and she suggested that I read the book, The Boys in the Boat. It's about guys training for rowing (crewing) in the 1930 something Olympics that were held in Germany. This was a time from her childhood.

gene

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

Funny how much stuff you guys brought up that took me back in time.  As far as headlines, we tend to remember things of great importance in our lives.  For example, how many of you remember where you were when JFK's shooting was announced.  That's my first headline I remember.  Where were you when the Challenger exploded, when it was announced that Pres. Reagan had been shot.

The whole OJ trial has always had great importance to me.  I was summoned for Jury Duty the same day as jurors for OJ's murder trial reported.  We went through vour dour (misspelled I know), testimony and returned a guilty verdict in 5 days.  I'm not sure if any jurors had been selected for OJ's trial.  Both trials had a black man accused of killing a white man; however, our trial was not a celebrity nor was our trial being televised on the brand spankin' new "Court TV".  We also were schooled about DNA evidence as part of our trial.  We returned a verdict of second degree murder (should have been first degree murder but we had one ignorant juror who did not understand what premeditation meant).

For the record, I believe that OJ killed Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson; however, if I had been a jurist I would have cast a not-guilty vote because of the way that blood evidence was mishandled.  There was absolutely mis-handling of the blood by LAPD and the DA should have been fired for letting OJ try on those gloves with rubber gloves on underneath -- there was no way they were going to fit.  I told my FIL that OJ should walk because of what LAPD did and he was floored so I explained it to him as thus:  "If they could do the things to OJ's evidence that they did with his money and notoriety, had they gotten by with it then imagine what they can do to John or Jane Doe with no name and no money to their name.  If the police corrupt a trial or evidence than the person should walk.  I still feel that way and at least OJ is now behind bars; though I understand that he will probably be paroled sometime next year.  I wasn't sure he'd live as long as he has in prison.  He's put on so much weight and just looks horrible.

Virginia

[SteveA]

No one looked more surprised in that court room when the verdict was read than OJ.  Beside blood evidence race and celebrity helped him walk away;

SA

[gene]

Steve: What is a mud runner?

The OJ trial was allowed to be racially charged. The black jurors had to go back to their homes in black neighborhoods after the trial was over. I think it would have been very dangerous for them to have found OJ guilty.

I do not blame the jurors. I blame the prosecutors.

And so it goes: http://theunredacted.com/oj-simpson-a-killer-in-the-family/

gene

[sofadoc]

No one looked more surprised in that court room when the verdict was read than OJ.  Beside blood evidence race and celebrity helped him walk away

It got so silly with the defense attorneys and the prosecutor Marsha Clark and even Judge Lance Ito all pandering for the camera. They even argued over Clark's new hairdo, and her day care schedule for her kids.

With all the petty bickering going on, I think OJ could've just got up and sneaked out of the court room. And nobody would've even missed him for at least a couple of weeks.

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

I was so interested in the trial since it had some similar components to the trial I served on.  Court TV was new and "big".  I was traveling for my job, taking classes to learn the new software I needed to be proficient on, so I had many, many nights in motels.  Thankfully all of them had Court TV so I was up the better part of the nights watching the previous day's testimony. 

I wanted to hang him, up until they got to the blood evidence.  Pictures of the carpet in OJ's bedroom the night of the murders nearly pristine.  The next day, a vial of blood mysteriously disappeared and the new pictures of his carpet had, I'm shocked, blood evidence on it.  That was so bush league.  I could not believe that LAPD did that.  Then the stunt with the gloves.  The correct move would have been to purchase twp identical pair of gloves, soak one pair in blood and leave one pair as is.  Then have OJ try one the pristine pair and then the blood soaked pair.  That way, their evidence would not have been corrupted for any future appeals and it would probably have been very obvious to everyone that the gloves did indeed fit before they were soaked in blood.

Yes, the trial was a mockery of how our judicial system is supposed to work and I do blame Court TV.  Don't even know if that channel still exists.  No longer have a desire for any such stuff at this point in my life but it was extremely interesting back in the day.

I was taking a class in KC, KS when they were trying Rodney King.  It was the first day of the class and I got miserably lost.  I drove around for about 15 minutes trying to find my interstate approach.  Finally, I found some police officers and flagged them down.  They could not get me on the interstate quickly enough as the verdict had just been returned and they expected major riots in KC.  They felt that a reasonably attractive young white woman driving around lost was a sitting duck.  One of the officers got on his motorcycle and had me follow him to the interstate.  They also admonished me to keep my windows rolled up and doors locked until I got home and to NOT stop for anything.  Man I was scared spitless.  There were a few windows broken and cars vandalized but nothing widespread in KC but they also were very proactive and had a huge police presence in the neighborhoods they were worried about.

I would love to live long enough to see an end to all of the racial crap but I'm not hopeful.

Virginia

[sofadoc]

I was taking a class in KC, KS when they were trying Rodney King.

Actually, Mr. King was not the one being tried.

Just messin' with you. I knew what you meant.

[SteveA]

Never heard of mud running - it's our youth performing a sophisticated kind of running competition through mud with skimpy clothing.  No further comments.
Actually Rodney was tried - found guilty and punished by corrupt law enforcement.  Terrible to even think in this Country law enforcement would do this to a citizen - it's unthinkable ! 

SA

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

I was taking a class in KC, KS when they were trying Rodney King.

Actually, Mr. King was not the one being tried.

Just messin' with you. I knew what you meant.

I wasn't sure that was right, but hey, I'm still on pain meds so I have an excuse.  It was the guys who beat the crap out of the white dude and I can't think of his name either so I appear to be batting zero today.  LOL  Rodney King is famous for saying "Can't we just all get along."  But he was involved in that whole thing somehow or another.  Too many years and too much other stuff crammed in my brain at this point.

Virginia

[Corjen1]

Hmmm...interesting off topic...My kids are much younger than mentioned so far. 13, 10 and 7. They know nothing of walkmans, cassettes/8 tracks, no cable TV, Atari 2600, listening to the radio in anticipation of you favorite song, on the ready to push play/record button at the same time!! (I am a 70/80's kid)

Me, that stand out the most... Mt St Hellenes eruption, President Ronald Reagen being shot, Challenger explosion, Timothy McVay and the Oklahoma City bombing.. 9/11

Cordell

[MinUph]

I guess the thing that sticks out for me in world affairs is the day JFK was shot. I remember it was unbelievable. Same with 911 but Kennedy was when i was younger. Some things are big and some have become everyday. I was never blessed with children so I can't speak much about that part of this conversation.

[sofadoc]

Hmmm...interesting off topic...My kids are much younger than mentioned so far. 13, 10 and 7. They know nothing of walkmans, cassettes/8 tracks, no cable TV............

Just think. Some day parents are going to be telling their kids how tough they had it:

"When I was your age, I didn't get an I-phone until I was 10 years old!!"

OR:

"We only had 200 channels to choose from!!"