Twenty Years Ago

The Emmetsburg High School Class of 1992 is planning their 20-year class reunion for this summer. The weekend of July 6-7, has been earmarked for the gathering. When you stop and think about it, 20 years is a long time. For me, this 20-year span is a bit of a contradiction. In some ways, it seems like high school was a short time ago, because I still feel like a bit of a kid inside—still seeking answers, still wanting to explore, and still eager to learn. In other ways, my high school days feel like a lifetime ago. So much has transpired over the last two decades—college, career, marriages, births, and deaths--and I feel vastly different than I did as an 18-year old high school graduate. So much has happened in the lives of my classmates, as well, and it’s interesting to take a look back to see how far we’ve come since graduation. With that in mind I Googled the year “1992” and found via Wikipedia that 20 years ago: • The Bosnian War began. • Boris Yeltsin announced that Russia would stop targeting U.S. cities and our allies with nuclear weapons, and George H.W. Bush announced that the U.S. and our allies would stop targeting Russia and the remaining communist states with nuclear weapons. • White South Africans voted in favor of political reforms to begin to end apartheid and create a power-sharing multi-racial government. • President George H.W. Bush was televised vomiting into the lap of the Japanese Prime Minister during a state dinner in Japan, then fainting. • Albertville, France hosted the 1992 Winter Olympics, and Barcelona, Spain hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics. • A court in Milwaukee, WI sentenced serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to life in prison. • A Miami, FL jury convicted former Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega of assisting Colombia's cocaine cartel. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations. • Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escaped from his luxury prison, fearing extradition to the U.S. • After performing a song protesting alleged child abuse by the Catholic Church, Sinéad O'Connor ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II on “Saturday Night Live.” • Pope John Paul II issued an apology and lifted the edict of the Inquisition against astronomer Galileo Galilei. • The Church of England voted to allow women to become priests. • Queen Elizabeth II described 1992 as an Annus Horribilis (horrible year), due to various scandals damaging the image of the Royal Family, and Prince Charles and Princess Diana publicly announced their separation. • The Euro Disney Resort officially opened Euro Disneyland, which became known as Disneyland Paris. • The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was televised live to over 1 billion people and raised millions of dollars for AIDS research. • Four police officers in the Rodney King beating trial are acquitted, triggering massive rioting in Los Angeles. The riots lasted for six days and resulted in 53 deaths and over $1 billion in damages. • The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was adopted. • Space Shuttle Endeavour landed safely after her maiden voyage. • Hurricane Andrew hit south Florida; 23 were killed. • Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd President of the United States. And just to put those 20 years in perspective for the Class of 1992, did you know that Olympic gold medalist and gymnast Shawn Johnson, actor Taylor Lautner (who plays Jacob in the “Twilight” series), and actress/singer Miley Cyrus (of “Hannah Montana”?fame)?were all born the year we accepted our high school diplomas. Feel old yet? Hopefully, the majority of our classmates can make it to our 20-year reunion and we can catch up. It will be interesting to learn about the different paths our lives have taken since our graduation day.