Beyond The Obvious – Why These Top Stories Of 2009 Resonate For Me
Posted on Sunday, January 10th, 2010
When people ring out the old year and ring in the new, we normally do so by reflecting on what the old year has meant to us and what the new year has in store for us. We will pour over all the headlines, the top stories of the year, and give pause, sometimes wondering how we got through it all. What with the bank collapse, the auto industry collapse, unemployment, health care debate, scandal, death, destruction, chaos… there’s a lot to digest when we read the Top Stories of 2009.
I go through all the same paces as everyone else. I watch all the specials, read all the magazines, newspapers, and websites, to rehash the past year. There are certainly a lot of momentous events to consider during the last year, and, of course, during the last decade. So, which stories from 2009 really resonated with me personally, and why?
Two stories struck me as very powerful, but maybe not for reasons you may agree with, or feel. I think my age may have something to do with why these stories spoke to me personally. So, I’ll share my own Top Stories of 2009 here for you and maybe you’ll see what I mean.
The Inauguration Of President Obama
This story is obvious, right? Our first African-American President, or in the vernacular of my generation, our first Black President, is inaugurated. But, Barack Obama’s story, to me, isn’t just about being Black; it’s about being raised by his grandparents and about the loss of his grandmother.
My heart just broke the day before the election when his beloved grandmother died. I wept knowing that she would never see her grandson become President. When the election results were announced, my first thought wasn’t “wow, we have our first Black President” it was that his grandmother wasn’t there to see it happen. She didn’t get to celebrate that glorious moment that she had been such a crucial part of.
Do I, like so many, consider the election of a Black President to be a monumental, historical event in this country? Yes. Is that why this story resonates with me? No. It is the story of a child of mixed race, black and white, being raised by his white mother and grandparents; a child who loved his grandmother intensely; a man who had to bury his grandmother instead of celebrate his election to the highest office of our land with her. That personal story is the one that touches me and makes it worthy of one of the top stories of 2009 for me.
The Death of Walter Cronkite
This event doesn’t even make some of the top stories lists. Granted, when a 92 year old man dies it is not necessarily newsworthy enough to stay in the headlines for long. What makes Walter Cronkite’s death a story that touches me and makes it one of my top stories in 2009? Most of my readers will probably guess the reason as he probably has the same effect of them. As a person of a certain age, my memories have a voice. That voice is Walter Cronkite’s.
My life, like everyone’s, is divided into events. We, our age group, remember where we were on November 22, 1963. This moment in history is often used by us older folk to ascertain a person’s maturity, as in “they don’t even remember where they were the day Kennedy was shot.” This moment was a tipping point in our development as a nation, and as individuals. We saw the world through a different lens after that date.
We sat in front of the television watching the events unfold with Walter Cronkite leading us. We heard his voice crack, he removed his glasses, then continued with his smooth countenance giving us straightforward detail of what transpired that horrible day.
We continued to sit in front of the television that day and for many days after, with the voice of Walter Cronkite assuring us with his tone, his words, that the world would go on. We mourned the passing of our President in silence, then listened to the voice once again of Walter Cronkite bringing us the story as it continued to unfold for weeks and months.
That voice, the voice that we knew so well, is the voice I hear in my head when I think about that tragic day. I was just a kid then, and that voice still resonates with me. It’s attached to my own memories. And, with the passing of that voice, goes the passing of so many other memories I can still hear. The sound of my Mom and Dad watching the news. The sound of my Dad’s rocking chair. The sound of my Mom in the kitchen with the news in the background. All those sounds that surrounded me on those days are a part of my memory. And, in the center of all of it, the sound of Walter Cronkite’s voice. That’s why this story is worthy to be one of the top stories of 2009 for me.
There are many noteworthy stories of 2009. I’m not saying any of the other big stories aren’t important, I’m just saying these two events touched my heart, for personal reasons.
Now that we’re in a new year, and a new decade, I hope we can all take time to enjoy the moments we have together to make some wonderfully remarkable memories. Happy New Year.
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