German tabloid: Dennis K.
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I have one of those you’ll always remember where you were stories when you hear about a significant event happening. For many older people, it was the Kennedy assassination (1963); others the Space Shuttle Challenger (1986), or more recently the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001. I can see the gears turning in many people’s minds as I bring those events up. Does anyone remember where they were on March 30, 1981; almost 35 years ago?

I was on a high school trip and we were in West Berlin, Germany, surrounded by the then communist country of East Germany and we just heard that our president had been shot. It was evening for us and we didn’t know any details. When we got up the next morning we searched for details. I got a paper from a newsstand and imagine my surprise when I saw a picture of Jodie Foster on the front page. I’d never seen Taxi Driver and didn’t know what she had to do with. The photo of her they used wasn’t even from Taxi Driver it was from a more recent film of the time Carny. It turned out I had picked up one of West Berlin’s tabloid newspapers, so its coverage was naturally sensationalized. I picked up more respectable papers later that had more information and I was able to find out more information. And, of course, some of my fellow student travelers had seen Taxi Driver and explained the connection.

This belongs in the Museum of Memories of Doing This, When That Happened.