One of the biggest news stories of our time — the fall of the Berlin Wall — happened 20 years ago today.
It was one of those moments that you remember exactly where you were when it happened. And, yes, I do remember what I was doing when the Berlin Wall fell.
I just had no idea that it was happening.
That still bugs me, even after 20 years. Probably always will.
Nov. 9. 1989, was a Thursday. I might have been on vacation. I’d spent the previous weekend with my pals Hose and Tone, watching the Packers beat the Bears at Lambeau Field. We had another big weekend coming up. Road trip. The three of us were meeting in Milwaukee, then driving to Detroit to watch the Packers play the Lions and then returning to Milwaukee to watch the Bucks play the Spurs.
We did all that, downing plenty of beer along the way. But not that much beer. Not when there’s so much driving to be done.
I remember plenty about that weekend, but I still have no idea how I missed hearing that the Berlin Wall had fallen. We must have read the paper. We must have watched some TV. But it wasn’t until we got home that I got caught up on the big news story about a …
“Hole in the Wall,” the Bar-Kays, from “Soul Finger,” 1967.
It’s a funky little instrumental that could have been part of the soundtrack to that road trip.
And, yes, it’s the tune originally done by a group called the Packers.
1 Comment
November 9, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Wow, even I knew when the Berlin Wall fell, and I was 5 years old!
That being said, it’s interesting (and slightly worrisome) how easy it can be to lose track of what’s going on outside our own little bubbles.