Readers Remember

One night, as the 20th century was about to begin its final decade, I watched incredulously through the night and into the morning as ordinary people tore down the Berlin Wall with their bare hands.

To this baby boomer, born in 1960, the Berlin Wall had always been an immutable symbol of an injustice so deeply entrenched that people like me could never affect it. And yet one night a handful of people were a little more daring, some guards a little less accepting of their distasteful duty, a city a little less patient with injustice. And suddenly, without a movement or an organization or a summit, ordinary Berliners--people much like me--were clambering upon the wall and tearing it down with tools from their own homes.

I try to do what I can to make the world a better place. I have marched on Washington with 1 million other gay men and lesbians for equal rights. I have protested in the streets of my city, volunteered for various causes. Yet perhaps until that night I never really believed I could change anything.

When I remember that night, when my world changed a little, I think that perhaps I can make a difference, and that if we are all just a little more fed up, a little less patient with injustice, a little more daring, together we can tear down some walls ourselves.

ERIC STOLTZ

Los Angeles

What do you recall most about the 20th century? In 200 words or less, send us your memories, comments or eyewitness accounts. We will publish as many as we can on this page until the end of the year. Write to Century, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, or e-mail century@latimes.com. We regret we cannot acknowledge individual submissions. Letters may be edited for space.