[Elspode]

I was going over the thread about Silliness, and it kicked off some thinking in the other direction. What serious, hideous or other decidedly not-funny incident or series of events first made you realize that life could really, really suck?

I suppose the question for some could cause the dredging up of old and awful memories, and if so, please only share within your comfort zones. It just seems to me that, if we are going to discuss the light side, we should also flip the duct tape over and see what lie's on the inverse.

For me, the first really distinctive memory that things were not all sweetness and light in the world, the first that I really grasped at all, was the assassination of JFK. Although I was too young to have had much of an opinion about him myself, the effect on all the adults around me was very impactful. The images of the funereal procession on TV was also profound. The Saturday AM cartoons it wasn't.

Still, it wasn't until I reached adulthood, married and had a kid that I really learned just how fucked up things can get, but that's where I reach my limit of desire to share further, so let's boot the ball over to you all.