Word: grounded
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...down and my mouth muttering. Near the Yard's exit, I was cut off by a group of French-speaking tourists. I tried to make my way through the crowd without so much as lifting my head. One boy, however, managed to see my eyes peeking up from the ground. Probably 15-years-old, he mustered up the courage to try out his English with a real-life American. "Hi!" he exclaimed. Quickly shifting my glance down again, I mumbled a quick "hey" under my breath...
...French beyond bonjour and aurevoir. Would I have used exaggerated hand gestures and have spoken in a really loud voice, trying to say, "HI! MY NAME IS WILL! WHAT'S YOURS?" Would I have mentioned Jerry Lewis or World Cup soccer in a vain attempt to find some common ground...
Authorities have only themselves to blame for that transformation. Determined to prevent any disruption of the parliamentary session, military brass turned Jakarta into an armed camp. Troops blocked off key intersections as well as the Parliament building--ground zero for the protests that helped topple Suharto in May. Warships and even a submarine prowled inexplicably in the harbor. More ominously, an additional 125,000 civilian "volunteers"--thugs hired mostly from Indonesia's fiery Muslim youth groups--fanned out across the city to intimidate the opposition...
...like the Olympic torch," he says. "It never drops to the ground...
Back then, Harvard was still reveling in its recent Rose Bowl victory, football players were legends and spectators rushed the field after The Game and tore the goalposts from the ground...