Flashback 2004

Enormous tsunami devastates Asia; 200,000 killed (Dec. 26).

Gay marriages begin in Massachusetts, the first state in the country to legalize such unions (May 17).

Florida hit by hurricanes Bonnie (Aug. 12) and Charley (Aug. 13).

George W. Bush is reelected president, defeats John Kerry (Nov. 2).

Martha Stewart, diva of domesticity, was sentenced to five months in prison in July after being found guilty on four counts of obstruction of justice and lying to federal investigators. She began serving her sentence in October. She was also fined $30,000. The charges stem from her December 2001 sale of 3,928 shares of the biotech stock ImClone. She made the trade the day before the FDA announced it had declined to review ImClone's new cancer drug-news that sent shares tumbling.

Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake created an enormous scandal when Timberlake ripped the bodice of Jackson's costume during the halftime show of February's Super Bowl XXXVIII, exposing her right breast, which was pierced and adorned with a brooch. Timberlake promptly apologized for the "wardrobe malfunction." The Federal Communications Commission fined CBS, which broadcast the Super Bowl, $550,000 for the incident.

American Idol remained one of the top-rated shows on television. Judging by the number of reality shows up and down the dial, viewers still want their entertainment to be "real."

Movies

• The Aviator
• Collateral
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• Friday Night Lights
• The Incredibles
• Kinsey
• Maria Full of Grace
• Million Dollar Baby
• Sideways
• Spider-Man 2

~Flashback 2003~

Economics

Federal spending: $2,158 billion
Federal debt: $6,783 billion
Consumer Price Index: 184
Unemployment: 6.0 %
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.37

Saddam Hussein is captured by American troops (Dec. 13).

Space shuttle Columbia explodes, killing all 7 astronauts (Feb. 1).

John A. Muhammad, convicted in the 2002 Washington, DC, area shootings, receives death sentence (Nov. 24).

Entertainment

The Recording Industry Association of America cracked down on people who illegally swapped more than 1,000 songs over the Internet, filing lawsuits against hundreds of people, including a 12-year-old girl. Apple Computer, however, made downloading both affordable and easy with its iTune Music Store. It allows fans to download tunes for 99 cents each.

The Pixar team released another animated treasure with Finding Nemo, a fish-out-of-water tale about pair of clown fish who brave dark waters and menacing aquatic creatures to be reunited. The film grossed more than $340 million.

Movies

• Lost in Translation
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  
• Finding Nemo
• Mystic River
• Cold Mountain
• Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
• Freaky Friday
  
• House of Sand and Fog
• Seabiscuit

~Flashback 2002~

Economics

Federal spending: $2,011 billion
Federal debt: $6,228 billion
Consumer Price Index: 179.9
Unemployment: 5.8 %
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.37


Kenneth L. Lay, chairman of bankrupt energy trader Enron, resigns; company under federal investigation for hiding debt and misrepresenting earnings (Jan. 24). Background: 2002 News of the Nation

Pennsylvania miners rescued after spending 77 hours in a dark, flooded mine shaft (July 28).

Snipers prey upon DC suburbs, killing ten and wounding others (Oct. 2–24). Police arrest two sniper suspects, John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo (Oct. 24).

The movie Spider-Man was the year's box-office blockbuster, grossing more than $406 million. In all, Americans spent $9.3 billion on about 1.6 billion movie tickets in 2002—a 10% increase over 2001 figures (Dec. 31).

Movies

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• About Schmidt
• Far From Heaven
• Adaptation
• The Hours
• Chicago
• Gangs of New York

Books

• Atonement, Ian McEwan
• Emperor of Ocean Park, Stephen L. Carter
• The Crimson Petal and the White, Michael Faber
• Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
• The Nanny Diaries, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

What were YOU doing in 2002?

Flashback - The Year 2001

Economics

Federal spending: $1,864 billion
Federal debt: $5,807 billion
Consumer Price Index: 177.1
Unemployment: 4.8 %
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.34

Terrorists attack United States. Hijackers ram jetliners into twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A fourth hijacked plane crashes 80 mi outside of Pittsburgh (Sept. 11). Toll of dead and injured in thousands. Within days, Islamic militant Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist network are identified as the parties behind the attacks.

George W. Bush is sworn in as 43rd president (Jan. 20).

Anthrax scare rivets nation, as anthrax-laced letters are sent to various media and government officials. Several postal workers die after handling the letters (throughout October).

Events

• Gladiator takes five Oscars, including those for Best Picture and Best Actor (Russell Crowe). Julia Roberts finally wins her gold statue for her performance in Erin Brockovich. Double nominee Steven Soderbergh defies expectations with his Best Director win for Traffic; many had expected his nominations for Traffic and Erin Brockovich to cancel each other out. For a full list of winners see Academy Awards (March 25).

Movies

• A.I. Artificial Intelligence
• Ali
• A Beautiful Mind
• Bridget Jones's Diary
• The Fellowship of the Ring
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
• The Majestic
• Monsters, Inc.
• Ocean's 11
• Pearl Harbor
• Shrek
• Vanilla Sky

Let's Go Back To The Eighties Today!

~Flashback - The Year 2000~

Economics

Federal spending: $1,788.83 billion
Federal debt: $5,674.2 billion
Consumer Price Index: 172.2
Unemployment: 4.0%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.34

U.S. Events

U.S. Statistics

President: William J. Clinton
Vice President: Albert Gore, Jr
Population: 281,421,906

More U.S. Statistics...

• Wary investors bring stock plunge; beginning of the end of the Internet stock boom (Feb. 25).
  
  
• Cuban boy Elián González, 6, at center of international dispute, reunited with his father after federal raid of Miami relatives' home (April 22).
  
  
• U.S. presidential election closest in decades; Bush's slim lead in Florida leads to automatic recount in that state (Nov. 7-8). Republicans file federal suit to block manual recount of Florida presidential election ballots sought by Democrats (Nov. 11). Florida Supreme Court rules election hand count may continue (Nov. 21). U.S. Supreme Court orders halt to manual recount of Florida votes (Dec. 9). Supreme Court seals Bush victory by 5-4; rules there can be no further recounting (Dec. 12). See 2000 election chronology.

Entertainment

Charles Schulz, the cartoonist who created the "Peanuts" comic strip, dies in his sleep after a battle with colon cancer. In a career that spanned nearly 50 years, Schulz drew more than 18,250 "Peanuts" comic strips, which expressed a droll philosophy through the precocious children. The "Peanuts" debuted in 1950 and went on to be the most widely read comic strip in the world, with an audience of 355 million in 75 countries. It ran in 2,600 newspapers and was published in 21 languages, including Serbo-Croatian, Chinese, and Tlingit (Feb. 12).

Richard Hatch, the overweight "Island Machiavelli," outwits and outlasts the other Survivor cast members and walks off the island in the South China Sea with $1 million. Rounding out the final four were river guide Kelly Wigelsworth, former U.S. Navy SEAL Rudy Boesch, and truck driver Susan Hawk. An estimated 51 million viewers tune into the final episode of the summer phenomenon (Aug. 23).

Oprah Winfrey debuts O magazine. The Queen of All Media graces the cover and plans to be front and center on all issues "for the foreseeable future." Winfrey labels her latest endeavor "a personal growth guide" that's targeted to the 25-to-49 demographic (April 19).

Movies

• Chocolat
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Erin Brockovich
• Gladiator
• Traffic

~Flashback 1998~

Economics

Federal spending: $1675.88 billion
Federal debt: $5750.4 billion
Consumer Price Index: 163
Unemployment: 4.5%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.32

Events

• Titanic becomes the highest-grossing film of all time, raking in more than $580 million domestically.
• An estimated 76 million viewers watch the last episode of Seinfeld.
• Legendary crooner Frank Sinatra dies of a heart attack at age 82.
• NBC agrees to fork over $13 million an episode for the next three years for broadcast rights to the top-rated series ER. The total dollar figure, $850 million, eclipses any price ever paid for a television show.
• Titanic captures a record-tying 11 Academy Awards, including those for Best Picture and Best Director (James Cameron).
• The American Film Institute announces its list of the top 100 films of all time. Citizen Kane tops the list.

Movies

• Affliction, American History X, Elizabeth, Shakespeare in Love, There's Something about Mary

Books

• Edward Ball, Slaves in the Family
• Russell Banks, Cloudsplitter
• Michael Cunningham, The Hours
• Donald Hall, Without
• Alice McDermott, Charming Billy

Flashback 1997

Economics

US GDP (1998 dollars): $8,110.90 billion

Federal spending: $1635.33 billion

Federal debt: $5498.9 billion

Median Household Income(current dollars): $37,005

Consumer Price Index: 160.5

Unemployment: 4.9%

Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.32

US shuttle joins Russian space station (Jan. 17).
O. J. Simpson found liable in civil suit (Feb. 5).
Heaven's Gate cult members commit mass suicide in California (March 27).
US Appeals Court upholds California ban on affirmative action (April 8).
Clinton exercises new line-item veto (Aug. 11).
Timothy J. McVeigh sentenced to death for Oklahoma City bombing (Aug. 14).
Two convicted in New York Trade Center bombing (Nov. 12).

Events
The controversial television ratings system debuts on cable stations and broadcast networks. The ratings, TV-Y, TV-G, TV-Y7, TV-PG, TV-14 and TV-M, appear for 15 seconds in the upper left-hand corner of the screen at the beginning of each show, except news and sports programs, which are not rated.
Titanic crashes into theaters. It is the most expensive film of all time, costing between $250 and $300 million to produce and market.
Ellen DeGeneres outs herself. She becomes the first openly gay woman to have her own sitcom.
The Prince of Pop is born to Michael Jackson and wife Debbie Rowe. The child's name is Prince Michael Junior.
J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone is published in the U.K. It comes to U.S. in 1998 as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Movies
As Good as It Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, The Ice Storm, L.A. Confidential, Titanic

Books
Don DeLillo, Underworld
Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain
Rick Moody, Purple America
Philip Roth, American Pastoral
Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things
Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

~More 1996~

1996 was a year for BIG changes.

Mark accepted the Program Director job at the radio station on Cape Cod. He left Florida in January to begin work, and to find a place for us to live. In the meantime, I had decided to make a career change from office work to pet grooming. I began training with a pet groomer who had a shop close to our house. I still worked at Sun Paging Monday-Friday, then trained for grooming every Saturday. I began my training in September 1995, and finished in February 1996. Mark was coming to get me, our pets and our furniture in March for the big move.

It's been said that moving is as stressful as experiencing a death in your family, and I wholeheartedly agree. It took us 3 days to get from Fort Myers to Hyannis. I was so stressed out it was unbelievable. The first day on the road, we drove 13 hours straight, and made it to Hampstead, NC to spend the night with Mark's father. That day was stressful enough to make me beg and plead with Mark to see if we could stay with his Dad a few days. The next day, we drove again almost 13 hours to spend the night at Mark's sister's home in New Jersey. During that days drive, Mark and I got separated at a toll booth at the beginning of the New Jersey Turnpike. Mark was driving the Ryder truck. I was following in my car. We chose separate lanes to go through, and then I lost sight of him. I got over on the side of the road and tried to reach him on the walkie talkie's that we had. No luck. I got off the next exit, and all that there was was a convenience store with black iron bars over the doors and windows. I had to actually be buzzed in. I was crying and hysterical. The guy working there was nice, gave me a map of how to get back on the turnpike and told me I'd find my husband, not to worry. I get back in my car, my 3 cats are crying, I'm crying. I finally make it to the right exit, then go the wrong way AGAIN and end up in Perth Amboy NJ which was a scary looking place at night. I called his sister, and she came and got me. We were leaving our dog, Snoopy, with her until we could move into our house up there.

The next day, we drove to New York, to stay with my dad for a night. I would be leaving my cats with him to care for. I remember we left my Dad's and got on I95. We stopped right over the CT border to get some gas. I got out of my car and told Mark that I was going any further. "Just leave me here," I begged. "At this gas station?" he asked. I cried, moaned, shook. I couldnt' go another mile. Except, I did. Off we went, making the 4 hour trek to The Cape. For those of you who are not familiar with I95, it is an audobon. People MOVE. And if you don't get out of their way, they will flash their lights at you, honk their horn. Finally, at 11:00pm we were in Hyannis. The radio station was putting us up at a motel until we closed on our house. We had stayed at this motel the previous summer, and I had liked it. I fell into bed exhausted.
The next morning the first thing I did was open the curtains in the room. When I did, there was a brick wall staring me in the face. Nice. Also, the room did not have a kitchenette. It would be a MONTH before we closed on our house. How were we going to eat? We couldn't afford to eat every meal out. I felt myself sinking into a deeper and deeper depression.

As it turned out, a couple that my father knew lived in Brewster. They had a separate apartment in their basement, and kindly offered for us to stay there until our house was ready. In the meantime, I was offered a job at a veterinary clinic, in the kennel. I was promised that a grooming position would be coming open soon, but did I want to work at the kennel in the meantime....I accepted, and went to work for the most wonderful people; Pleasant Bay Animal Hospital in East Harwich. My kennel work lasted a month, then I moved into the grooming room. I loved it. I groomed so many different breeds of dogs. My employers were kind and thoughtful. I was happy.

Our house became available the second week of April. Mark's sister brought Snoopy up to his new home. We went to NY the next weekend and picked up the cats. Maybe....finally.....I was going to be able to have some peace in my life.

What about you? What were YOU doing in 1996?


Snoopy had NEVER seen snow before! Kate loved the fireplace!
He was one HAPPY Samoyed!

~Flashback 1996~

Economics

US GDP (1998 dollars): $7,661.60 billion
Federal spending: $1572.41 billion
Federal debt: $5207.3 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars): $35,492
Consumer Price Index: 156.9
Unemployment: 5.4%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.32

U.S. Events

F.B.I. arrests suspected Unabomber (April 3).

Valujet crashes in Everglades; all 110 aboard killed (May 11).

747 airliner crashes in Atlantic off Long Island, N.Y.; all 230 aboard perish (July 17).

US budget crisis in fourth month (Jan 3).

Entertainment

Jazz great Ella Fitzgerald dies.

Gangsta rapper Tupac Shakur is shot four times in a drive-by shooting. He dies six days later at age 25.

Movies

• The English Patient, Fargo, Jerry Maguire, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Shine, Sling Blade

What were YOU doing in 1996?

~More 1995~

The year 1995 brought with it some changes....some welcome....some unwelcome.

The radio station that Mark worked for was being sold. The general manager/owner also owned stations in Vero Beach, FL and Cape Cod, MA. Mark was offered positions at either station. We visited Vero Beach and I really liked it. It was a quaint little town by the ocean. I would have been happy there. Mark accepted some temporary work there. He would stay in Vero Beach for the week and come home on the weekends.

We went to New York that July to visit my father. While we were there, we took a two day trip up to Cape Cod, to visit the station there, and see the area. We stayed in Hyannis and it was so pretty! All of the shops and flowers and tree-lined streets, the Cape Cod style houses...we fell in love with it immediately. We returned to Florida, and planned our big move to Massachusetts.

In the meantime, my supervisor and dear friend at work, found out that she had breast cancer. She had had a baby in 1994, and had felt the lump soon after that. She thought that it might have been a clogged milk duct, and left it at that. She and her family were having trouble with their health insurance at the time, and I remember her telling me she didnt' want to go to the doctor to see about it. I begged and pleaded with her to go, as did her husband and her parents. When she finally did go...it was very bad news. Julye was 35 years old, married, with two small children. She was terrified. The day she went in for her biopsy, all was quiet at the office. Everyone was on pins and needles...none of us could concentrate. When her husband called to let us know the results, all of us cried....every single one of us. Todd told me that Julye wanted to see me, and bring her some work that she had. She was in shock, as we all were. Her daughter was jumping around playing, her son was just a tiny thing, crawling around on the floor. And there was Julye...sitting in a recliner with a huge bandage around her chest, talking to me a mile a minute....rocking in that recliner so fast, as if it would take her away. I took her the work, she hugged me and thanked me. Life at the office after that was sad. Julye was the type of person that was upbeat all of the time. She was funny, loved to kid around, and she loved everyone....and everyone loved her. She was the only supervisor that I have EVER had that would thank me at the end of each day. The first time she did it, it took me by surprise...I was leaving and she said "Thanks, Mis!" "What for?" I asked, perplexed. "For being here today and doing a great job.", she answered. She was the best supervisor anyone could EVER hope for.

She came into my office one morning, and shut the door....big tears rolling down her face. In her hand was a chunk of her hair. It had begun falling out. I cried with her. I was angry and sad....why did this have to happen to such a beautiful, wonderful person?

She told me once that when she went to get her chemo, that she was very very cold. Her chemo days were Fridays...she went, and came home and collapsed for the rest of the weekend. Fridays she came into work before her treatments, and always wore a t-shirt that us girls got her that said "No Hair Day"....she went without her wig on Fridays....she wore a soft terrycloth turban.

I wanted to do something special for her that Christmas, that involved everyone in the office. I bought a soft button down sweatshirt jacket, and all different colors of fabric paint. I had everyone in the office choose a color of paint, dip their hand in it, then place their handprint on the jacket and write their name underneath. When we presented it to her, I told her that all of us were praying for her, and helping her to stay warm. I can't describe that moment. I will always remember it.

Julye Rae Kagan lost her fight against breast cancer on June 7th, 1997. She left behind her loving husband Todd, and two children Jacqueline, age 7, and Justin, age 3. She left behind many people who loved her....she touched many lives so many different ways. I will never forget her. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of her.


What were YOU doing in 1995?

~Flashback 1995~

Economics

US GDP (1998 dollars): $7,269.60 billion
Federal spending: $1519.13 billion
Federal debt: $4921.0 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars): $34,076
Consumer Price Index: 152.4
Unemployment: 5.6%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.32 (as of 1/1/95)

EVENTS

• Criminal trial of O. J. Simpson opens in California (Jan. 24).
  
  
• Scores killed as terrorist's car bomb blows up block-long Oklahoma City federal building (April 19); Timothy McVeigh, 27, arrested as suspect (April 21); authorities seek second suspect, link right-wing paramilitary groups to bombing (April 22).
  
  
• Los Angeles jury finds O. J. Simpson not guilty of murder charges (Oct. 3).
  
  
• Pope John Paul II visits US on whirlwind tour (Oct. 4-8).
  
  
• Million Man March draws hundreds of thousands of black men to capital (Oct. 16).

• Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia dies.

Movies

• Babe, Braveheart, Leaving Las Vegas, The Usual Suspects, Dead Man Walking, Pocohontas
  

~More 1994~

Things were going well in 1994. I loved my job and the people that I worked with. Things were good between Mark and I...it was a great year.

My mom and her sister, my Aunt Jo, came down to visit for a week in August. We rented a condo at Ft. Myers Beach. It was a memorable vacation filled with laughter, shopping and good food.

I went with Mark to a couple of concerts that year....I met Kathy Mattea and Vince Gill...two very very nice down-to-earth people. Kathy Mattea is from West Virginia so she and I had something in common to talk about. I love her music, as well as Vince Gill's.

That year I felt wrapped in a sense of security. I loved my husband and my pets. I loved my home and my job. I loved my co-workers too. When I think back on 1994, it brings a warm fuzzy feeling to my heart. And for this, I am thankful.

What were YOU doing in 1994?

~Flashback 1994~

Economics

US GDP (1998 dollars): $6,947.00 billion
Federal spending: $1460.84 billion
Federal debt: $4643.7 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars): $32,264
Consumer Price Index: 148.2
Unemployment: 6.1%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.29

• Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan attacked (Jan. 6); three arrested in attack (Jan. 13).
  
  
• Aldrich Ames, high C.I.A. official, charged with spying for Soviets (Feb. 22).
  
  
• Four convicted in World Trade Center bombing (March 4).
  
  
• Clinton accused of sexual harassment while Governor of Arkansas (May 6).
  
  
• O. J. Simpson arrested in killings of wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and friend, Ronald Goldman (June 18).

Events

• Kurt Cobain kills himself. He was 27.
• Ninety-five million viewers watch O. J. Simpson and Al Cowlings drive along Los Angeles freeways in history's most exciting low-speed chase.
• Steven Spielberg wins his first directing Oscar for Schindler's List.
• Woodstock '94 commemorates the original weekend-long concert. Green Day and Nine Inch Nails join Bob Dylan and the Allman Brothers.
• For the first time in history, chain bookstores outsell independent stores, signaling what many fear to be the death of smaller booksellers at the hands of superstores.
• Tom Hanks wins his second consecutive Best Actor Oscar. He won in 1993 for his role in Philadelphia and in 1994 for Forrest Gump.
• ER and Friends debut on NBC, establishing NBC's dominance of the Thursday-night lineup.

Movies

• Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Quiz Show, Nobody's Fool