We Didn't Start the Fire!

Hey there. For those of you who may not have known about this TL, it was a Cold War era story project I've been working on, for some time now. It was originally called 'Together in Dreams of Hope And Change', but I have decided to fundamentally reboot the TL: no Perot in '88, no white supremacist hordes in America, etc.(that IS being saved for something else though) Billy Joel fans shouldn't have any trouble recognizing where the title came from, btw.

Story POD: July 10, 1981-A small group of college-age students from Columbia
University informally meet in a cafe in Bayonne, New Jersey, to discuss the
latest world events. There were a pair of students who decided that, due to
their increasing agitation, that they'd start a protest movement. After their
friends left, the two began to brainstorm. Though they soon realized that
instant recognition wasn't an option, the two didn't give up. Instead, they came
to the understanding that they would have to start small, and build from there.
One of these intrepid young men, John D., was a journalism major, and suggested
that they consider setting up and writing a student newspaper. His friend,
Benny G., a young upper-middle class Jewish kid from Long Island, agreed to this
proposition.

August, 1981: Benny borrows $2,500 from his parents while John brainstorms what
to call the paper, amongst other things. On the 22nd, both meet with Columbia
Press representatives to discuss the matter. In

September, 1981: At the start of the school year, John and Benny begin to publish
the first edition of their newspaper called the 'Columbia Observer'. It's a small
paper and nothing more but it does attract some attention. Most of the first issue
is dedicated to local & school events.

October, 1981: Anwar el-Sadat is assassinated in Egypt on the 6th of October(as per OTL).
This is the first major event to be covered by the Observer.

November 10, 1981: The first biweekly edition of the Observer comments on, amongst other things, Hungary's admission to the
World bank membership and the banning of slavery in Mauritania.

November 17, 1981: Funding for the Contras begins.

November 24, 1981: The Observer's second biweekly paper had the START Treaty as the main topic of the paper.

December 22, 1981: The last paper of 1981 is the most profitable to date. A local journalist visiting the school happens to get ahold of a
copy and requests an interview.

Jan. 29, 1982: John and Benny are interviewed by a journalist working with a local paper
in Brooklyn called the Canarsie Courier, about the Observer.

Feb. 25, 1982: In Brooklyn, dozens of people are laid off when several local businesses go
bankrupt; Benny, whose father is a Brooklyn native, takes the opprotunity to interview a
few locals who were laid off, including a friend of his family, to gather information for
the Observer's March 2nd issue.

Mar. 8, 1982: John and Benny find out that the businesses that were laid off were all doing
business with the same bank, a branch of Wells Fargo in Manhattan.

Mar. 14, 1982: While on Spring Break, John and Benny do a little investigating and they find
out from a fired employee that the bank ordered a cover-up of a significant loss suffered
in early Feb., and this man had tried to expose it.

Mar. 18, 1982: An official with the Reagan Administration accidentally blows the covers off of
a small part of the Contra deal in New York to a small-time journalist.

Mar. 31, - Apr. 1, 1982: Independent TV station WPIX begins to broadcast on the recent
controversy after being tipped off by a certain individual. They are unable to get an
interview with the unnamed official but he sends them some of the material.
However, though, the station suddenly decides not to continue the investigation after the
first segment, leaving late night viewers asking many questions.
But, being awake at 11 in the evening,John is able to record the show on a VCR he purchased
as an early Christmas present and presents it to Benny, half jokingly. Benny thinks it's
an April Fool's joke but when they watch the tape they realize something serious is going
on.

Apr. 2, 1982: An F5 tornado destroys Broken Bow, Okla. killing 9 people in the town.
During a visit to New York, President Reagan is asked by a local reporter
about the 'Somoza Problem'. Reagan seems to become embarrassed by this and asks the reporter
to 'kindly buzz off, please.'. The reporter insists on asking her question again, and
Reagan replies, 'Uh...I have no comment. Good bye', now red in the face. Later that night,
John D. and Benny G. are discussing the matter while eating at a cafe in Queens. John D.
tells Benny that his patience is wearing thin, and that they can't just sit by and watch.
Benny agrees and suggests starting a protest in response to this.

Apr. 3, 1982: John D. and Benny G. call up a few classmates and ask them to meet at a small
Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. A few decline, but most are happy to get out on a bright
Saturday afternoon. Benny suggests starting a fund-raising drive for this whole effort,
and John agrees to it. Most of their friends decide to chip in right away and John later
stores the money in an old shoebox.

Apr. 13, 1982: In the Columbia Observer, John D. and Benny G. co-author a story on the
'Somoza Problem' controversy, and the cover-up of a bank screw-up which lead to the
bankruptcy of several businesses in the area. The column ends with a call to action,
with an invitation to participate in a dawn-to-dusk protest in Central Park on the 29th,
and requests for donations to cover costs.

Apr. 27, 1982: Over 200 donations averaging $10 have been collected. John D. and Benny G.
learn that the President is touring New York along with the state's governor Hugh Carey.

Apr. 29, 1982: On this day, John D. and Benny G., and about 200 other Columbia U. students,
gather in Central Park. A friend of the two makes an impromptu speech at around noon, gathering
the attention of many passersby. By 3:00 over 1,000 additional people have gathered in the
square, and more people continue to stop by and watch. At 3:30, President Reagan's limousine
is spotted driving in the immediate vicinity, and John & Benny's friend yells, "There's
Reagan! Let's tell him a thing or two!" Dozens of the protesters begin to swarm towards
the crawling Lincoln, many yelling, 'Contras! Tell the truth! Tell the truth!', as they approach
the side of the street where the President is currently travelling. An ABC News
team covering Reagan's tour happens to see this and catches it all on video.
Later that day, the protest will be mentioned on World News Tonight, albeit briefly, along
with interviews done with a few of the protesters at Central Park.

--

This is all small stuff. But you see, I'm just getting started......Hey, if anybody wants to consider contributing, drop me a line and send me a Personal Message or two. :D
 
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I like your first post, but I can only assume from the title that you intend a dystopia :rolleyes:
 
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