# Nixon Resignation-What were you doing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 8, 2002, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037 "2002-08-08T22:12:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/21 "2002-08-09T17:26:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by musicguy \* > \*\*I was 8 years old, living in NY and vacationing with my parents in California. The day he resigned, I was at my Uncle’s house. Him and my Aunt had me sit in front of the tv and watch it, explaining that this was something that was important and rare and I should watch. Although I really didn’t grasp what was going on, later in life I still think it was a nice gesture. They wanted me to witness history and I did. \*\* I too was 8 in 1974 and I was living in California. My brothers and I knew the announcement would be historic and we stuck our cassette tape recorder next to the TV and recorded the speech that night. We all watched Ford get sworn in the next day. My family was addicted to the Watergate hearings. It was all quite odd. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/22 "2002-08-09T17:38:22Z")
My second oldest brother had been hit by a car the day before, and a hippie girl from up the street was watching us while my parents stood vigil at the hospital (He died a few times while they were operating. But he survived, his spleen didn’t). Since the hippie was told she couldn’t tell us what was happening to my brother (I was 7 at the time) she went into great detail on her opinions of Nixon and what a great day it was. My father was none too pleased when I later parroted said opinions. I received a tongue lashing on the respect and loyalty our President demands, and I should never waver in my loyalty. I later learned that those rules only held true to Republican administrations. Little did she know, but that hippie girl from up the street was intrigal in forming my political views on how government should be open, honest, and always questioned. ---
**Author:** ![crazy4chaucer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@crazy4chaucer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazy4chaucer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/23 "2002-08-09T17:38:27Z")
I was 10 then, and my parents called me in (I’d been playing outside) and made me watch it on TV. I didn’t understand the implications at the time, but in retrospect, I am glad that I saw it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/24 "2002-08-09T17:38:54Z")
I was 22, and hitch-hiking and bussing around Australia after graduating college. At the time, I had been stuck in Alice Springs in the middle of the outback for a week by a bus strike. I was so elated by the news, I dragged a couple of Canadians I had been hanging out with (there weren’t any other Americans around) to a pub and bought a round of beers to celebrate. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/25 "2002-08-09T18:03:16Z")
I’m guessing I was an atom of some sort at the time…I wasn’t born until 1978. Though I hear my older brother(s)and sister(s) were all killed countless times in the 4 years before I was born. Something about birth control…I dunno… It must have had some impact on me though, as I had a picture Nixon on my wall growing up. ---
**Author:** ![partly\_warmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@partly\_warmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/partly_warmer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/26 "2002-08-09T18:04:36Z")
I was thanking God. No kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/27 "2002-08-09T18:51:33Z")
I was sitting on the lawn across the street from the White House with my family, watching Nixon’s resignation speech on a tiny portable TV. I was 10 at the time. My parents, who hated Nixon with a passion, had stopped in DC for part of our vacation just so we could be there to see it happen. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/28 "2002-08-09T18:55:37Z")
I remember watching _Star Trek_ (a rerun)at the time when the station cut in to broadcast the speech. I was rather indignant at the time, but my mom was all “This is history – you should remember this!” Well, I did remember it, but I also remember the episode: “The Omega Glory.” The climax was Shatner’s reading of the preamble of the Constitution (“WEEE…the PEE-pull!”). Made for an interesting juxtaposition, no? ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/29 "2002-08-09T18:59:05Z")
I was 14 and hopefully awaiting the revolution. Alas…twas not to be. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/30 "2002-08-09T19:24:52Z")
The whole family was gathered 'round the TV set to watch. That year I had a history professor who was so chagrined at having voted for Nixon that he turned that whole year into a Watergate course. We had to watch the hearings on TV, read the papers, bring in newsclips and discuss every aspect of it—so I was all Watergated out by the time Nixon resigned. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/31 "2002-08-09T19:42:30Z")
I don’t remember it at all. I do know my parents had the entire set of hearings as published by Congress (a whole slew of dusty thick green paperback books) but I don’t remember watching it on TV or anything. Of course I was only 4 at the time so I’m sure _Sesame Street_ had a much bigger impact on my life than Nixon bowing out. ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/32 "2002-08-09T19:45:32Z")
I was 7, so I was probably out in the yard screwing around as usual. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/33 "2002-08-09T20:12:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Colibri \* > \*\*I dragged a couple of Canadians I had been hanging out with (there weren’t any other Americans around) to a pub and bought a round of beers to celebrate. \*\* Really, that’s legal there, aye? Kind of a dangerous precedent to set if you ask me.😃 ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/34 "2002-08-09T23:01:33Z")
I was 4 and admit to remembering nothing specific, though I know my Dad was a Nixon supporter (he was one of two presidents my dad shook hands with in his life). ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/35 "2002-08-09T23:42:02Z")
I was four months old. According to my parents, I was crying - in fact continued to cry for another two months or so, when I suddenly became a really pleasant baby. My mother is convinced that something was bothering me. Perhaps it was Nixon and it just took me a very long time to realize he was really gone. ---
**Author:** ![constantine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@constantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constantine)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/36 "2002-08-09T23:48:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by musicguy \* > \*\*I was 8 years old, living in NY and vacationing with my parents in California. The day he resigned, I was at my Uncle’s house. Him and my Aunt had me sit in front of the tv and watch it, explaining that this was something that was important and rare and I should watch. Although I really didn’t grasp what was going on, later in life I still think it was a nice gesture. They wanted me to witness history and I did. \*\* My experience was pretty similar. I was 7 years old, vacationing with my parents and another family on the Oregon coast. The TV reception at the coast was pretty bad in those pre-cable days, and we did not really watch any TV during that vacation, so I was surprised when I saw all the adults gathered near the TV, and my mom brought me over and said it was important that I watch. I asked her what was happening (to a seven year old it was pretty boring to watch a speech on television). She said that the President was leaving his job, and we were going to have a new President, and that this was an important moment in history. She also said that even if I didn’t understand right then, someday I would look back and realize that I had been watching something very important. She was absolutely right. Like musicguy, I was of course too young to really grasp what was going on, but I look back on it now and I am very happy my parents had me watch. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/37 "2002-08-10T02:09:47Z")
I was prepping for Kindergarden hell week. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/38 "2002-08-10T04:27:06Z")
I was 15, just about to eenter my Jr. year in HS. I was a Watergate addict, and could indulge since itwas still summer break. I’d say my whole political outlook was shaped by the Nixon administration, and Nixon’s betrayal and contempt for the American people and the political process. I rejoiced when he resigned. At the time, I thought Jerry Ford should have been impeached for pardoning him, though I no longer think that. I was incensed when Nixon was given a state funeral. I would have dumped him in an unmarked hole in the ground. I _still_ have issues related to Nixon. He’s the man I love to hate. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/39 "2002-08-10T04:37:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Genseric \* > \*\*Let’s see, early August 1974? > > I had grown all of my internal organs, and really just settled in for a few solid months of growth. I still had to more than triple my size, and grow hair and get my eyes to open and get in the habit of moving around a lot. I still had plenty of room, but it got really cramped after a little while. In short, I was pretty busy and didn’t have much of an idea what was going on in the world. \*\* Why, that’s right about where I was. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037/40 "2002-08-10T06:13:11Z")
Bowling with some friends. We paused long enough to watch the TV when he said, “I quit” and then went on with our bowling. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-resignation-what-were-you-doing/123037.md?page=3)