Reminiscing About 1988

I was reminiscing with some friends last week who are about 20-30 years older than me. They told stories about things they remember from 1988. Although they all noted that they often have "senior moments", they were able to recite sports scores and news events from 23 years ago without any hesitation.

The conversation was about 1988 because I told them that I would be celebrating my 23rd anniversary of purchasing The Bottom Line this week. Frankly, I don't remember much about what happened in October, 1988, even though I was reading the news aloud five days a week as the radio station anchor and writing business stories for this newsletter. Yet, here were three guys from the older generation who could rattle off statistics and facts about local and national news and sports without any assistance.

I do recollect some of the songs that were popular in 1988. One of my side jobs as I began my entrepreneurial venture as a publisher was as a disc jockey. I performed at wedding receptions and private gatherings and I distinctly recall tunes by Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses and music from the "Dirty Dancing" sountrack.

Otherwise, as I attempted to recall news and sports events that occurred in October, 1988, I was forced to access the Internet to help me remember. Once I did the research, I started to identify things that happened 23 years ago.

For instance, George Bush and Michael Dukakis had their second presidential debate at this time in 1988; the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea were coming to a close; and Mikhail Gorbachev became the president of the Soviet Union 23 years ago.

Some of the most popular movies in the fall of 1988 included "Rain Man", "Big" and "Die Hard ". But I never would have known that had I not looked it up on the computer. And, even though I know that memory fades with age, I was frustrated that I could not remember as much as my older acquaintenances.

As I begin my 24th year as the editor and publisher of The Bottom Line, I take solace in the fact that I don't have too many "senior moments" - yet. And in those instances when I can't remember an important historical fact or figure, I am thankful for the Internet.

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