"Old times there are not forgotten"
President Theodore Roosevelt was posthumously awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for his service during the Spanish American War. NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt was killed in a crash during the running of the Daytona 500. Foot in mouth disease created a crisis in the food chain of the United Kingdom. The Russian space station Mir reentered the Earth's atmosphere, crashing into the Pacific Ocean near Fiji. The Netherlands, opened marriage to same-sex couples. Police shooting of a black American teen in Cincinnati, Ohio led to days of rioting there. American Dennis Tito became the first space tourist when he purchased a flight on the Russian Soyuz TM-32 spacecraft. Homemaker Andrea Yates drowned her five children in a Texas bathtub. The world's first self-contained artificial heart was successfully implanted. The New York Stock Exchange reopened and professional sports events returned to New York following the September 11th destruction. Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit home run number 72, a major league record. Letters containing anthrax were mailed from Princeton, New Jersey to news media providers and political leaders in Washington, D.C. SwissAir went bankrupt, as did SABINA Airlines. The Department of Homeland Security was created and the Patriot Act was passed into law. The United States invaded Afghanistan in retaliation for the September 11th attacks displacing, but not destroying the Taliban. Enron filed for Chapter 11-bankruptcy, largest of its time. The United States withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Microsoft terminated support for Windows 1.0, Windows 3x and Windows 95 operating systems.New book titles: From The Corner of His Eye, A Day Late and a Dollar Short, A Painted House, 1st to Die, Dreamcatcher, A Common Life, On the Street Where You Live, Chosen Prey, Leap of Faith, Valhalla Rising, The Corrections, Isle of Dogs, Midnight Bayou, The Kiss, Desecreation and Skipping Christmas.
At the movies: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Shrek, Monsters, Inc., Rush Hour, The Mummy Returns, Pearl Harbor, Ocean's Eleven (2001), Jurassic Park III and Planet of the Apes (2001).
On stage: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Blast, A Class Act, Design for Living, The Gathering, Invention of Love, King Hedley II, Macbeth, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Producers, Stones in His Pockets, 45 Seconds from Broadway, By Jeeves, Dance of Death, Major Barbara, Mamma Mia!, A Thousand Clowns, Thou Shalt Not and The Women.
Emmy Awards: Michael Chiklis for The Shield, Allison Janney for The West Wing, John Spencer for The West Wing, Stockard Channing for The West Wing and The West Wing for best drama series.
January 1
First day of the new millennium, the 21st Century.
March 13
Classmate Harold W. Yost died at his residence in Hagerstown, Maryland following a short illness. Following graduation, Harold moved to Maryland where he was employed as a professional floor mechanic. He left no descendants.
May 31
Classmate Edward I. Phipps died following a two-year cancer illness. Eddie was employed for 34 years as a machinist for two Maryland printing companies, but lived in Virginia. Eddie continued his love for restoring cars and trucks throughout his life. He was survived by his wife, two daughters and one son.
September 11
Act of War. Islamic terrorists operating out of Afghanistan hijacked four aircraft in the United States and flew two of them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and one into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth crashed in a field near Somerset, Pennsylvania; 2,813 fatalities in New York City, 189 fatalities at the Pentagon and 44 fatalities in Pennsylvania.
December 20
Marshall University defeated East Carolina by the score of 64-61 in the GMAC Bowl played in Mobile, Alabama.