A look back in history - 1987

Steve Martaindale is a self-syndicated columnist. Write him at penmanmail-steve@yahoo. com. I was talking with a fellow the other day - a guy about my age (50s) - about college classes he's been taking and the fact the classes are full of students who have little connection with relatively recent history.

Considering that the average college senior is probably no older than 21 or 22, I decided to grab a little perspective by looking back at 1987, the year many of them were born. There's a good chance you remember 1987, but keep in mind the following events preceded or roughly coincided with the births of today's typical college student.

At the top of the list, President Ronald Reagan challenged Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall and 18-month-old Baby Jessica was the center of the nation's attention during a 58-hour ordeal rescuing her from a well in Midland.

Other highlights from 1987:

Robert Bork was nominated to the Supreme Court and later rejected by the U.S. Senate; former Gestapo boss Klaus Barbie was sentenced to life in prison; Rudolf Hess, a deputy to Adolf Hitler, died in Spandau Prison; the computer programming language Perl was created; the first version of Photoshop was developed; the antidepressant Prozac made its U.S. debut;

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 2,000 for the first time, and then 2,500, before dropping 22.6 percent on Black Monday; Terry Waite was kidnapped in Lebanon; President Reagan acknowledged the existence of an arms-for-hostages deal in the Iran-Contra Affair; the second Unabomber bomb exploded in Salt Lake City; the Harmonic Convergence was observed around the world;

Televangelist Jim Bakker resigned after admitting an affair with church secretary Jessica Hahn; Sen. Gary Hart drops out of the presidential race amid allegations of an affair with Donna Rice; the first heart-lung transplant took place in Baltimore; the FCC rescinded the requirement that radio and television stations "fairly" present controversial issues;

Televangelist Pat Robertson announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination; the Rev. Jesse Jackson launched his second run for the Democratic presidential nomination; construction began on the "Chunnel" tunnel beneath the English Channel; the case of Hustler Magazine v. Falwell was argued before the Supreme Court, which unanimously supported the magazine's right to lampoon public figures;

The New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos 39-20 in Super Bowl XXI; the Minnesota Twins won the World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals; the Los Angeles Lakers claimed the NBA title over the Boston Celtics, 4-2; Al Unser Sr. enjoyed his fourth and final Indy 500 win; Dale Earnhardt won the NASCAR championship;

Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; rock band U2 released its first successful album, "The Joshua Tree"; the cartoon "The Simpsons" made its debut on "The Tracy Ullman Show"; and Guns N' Roses released their debut album, "Appetite for Destruction."

Finally, deaths in 1987 included "Wizard of Oz" scarecrow Ray Bolger, 83; novelist Alistair MacLean, 64; pianist Liberace, 67; artist Andy Warhol, 58; actor Randolph Scott, 89; actor Danny Kaye, 74; college football coach Woody Hayes, 74; Maria von Trapp, inspiration for "The Sound of Music," 82; drummer Buddy Rich, 69; Hugh Brannum, Mr. Greenjeans on "Captain Kangaroo," 77; CIA director William Casey, 74; actress Rita Hayworth, 68; actor/ dancer Fred Astaire, 88; comedian/actor Jackie Gleason, 71; movie director John Huston, 81; actor Lee Marvin, 63; "Bonanza" patriarch Lorne Greene, 72; and jazz musician Woody Herman, 74.

Yep, they've all been 21 years ago ... hard to believe, huh?