…that today is the 49th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy.
You’ll find previous posts of mine on the subject here, here, here, here, and here.
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I am reminded… — 6 Comments
I was in college. The day was overcast. It became so much more so.
I was in grammar school; I remember I was walking up some steps heading towards the cafeteria for lunch when someone said “The President’s been shot!”.
Weird how you can remember exactly where you were and what you were doing; I think I could show you exactly where I was on that stair case…
First semester my freshman year in college. The President had addressed our school and our Tacoma crosstown rivals, The U. of Puget Sound, less than 2-months before(Sept.27th)…This lifelong So.Cal. boy was acutely homesick and thought the Prez looked like he was from LA that day. Tan, very tan.
My God, 1-year short of half-a-century. Mr.President, if you landed in the USA now, you’d grieve over the disappearance of your old party and you’d be introduced to the term, ‘Neoconservative’, which you would be.
God Rest You, Sir.
I was in a music class in the 8th grade. The teacher got a phone call and left for a few minutes. When he came back he said to the class, “I heard a rumor – I hope it’s only a rumor – that President Kennedy has been shot”. By the time the class ended it was no longer a rumor. The entire school went to the cafeteria and after his death was announced we were all dismissed. My mother, who had voted for Nixon, picked me up. She was crying.
I guess we can start gearing up for next year’s 50th “anniversary” of the assassination, it should be quite a media show. One thing to remember is that the significance, both real and symbolic, of Kennedy’s assassination greatly transcends the legacy of his administration which now looks somewhat dubious particularly in regard to Vietnam. Another is that today’s issues and alignments don’t always match up perfectly with those from a couple of generations ago. Kennedy implemented a significant tax cut, very Reaganesque, even Tea Party-ish. He also was, I believe, the first President to recognize public employee unions – quite the opposite.
I am 51, and the assassination is my earliest memory. I remember sitting on a couch with my Mom, and something real, real, bad had happened. So it was something that effected even 2 year olds. Let us hope it never happens again.
It is also the day that Aldous Huxley and C. S. Lewis died. (Same day and same year! Three losses on one day.)
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I was in college. The day was overcast. It became so much more so.
I was in grammar school; I remember I was walking up some steps heading towards the cafeteria for lunch when someone said “The President’s been shot!”.
Weird how you can remember exactly where you were and what you were doing; I think I could show you exactly where I was on that stair case…
First semester my freshman year in college. The President had addressed our school and our Tacoma crosstown rivals, The U. of Puget Sound, less than 2-months before(Sept.27th)…This lifelong So.Cal. boy was acutely homesick and thought the Prez looked like he was from LA that day. Tan, very tan.
My God, 1-year short of half-a-century. Mr.President, if you landed in the USA now, you’d grieve over the disappearance of your old party and you’d be introduced to the term, ‘Neoconservative’, which you would be.
God Rest You, Sir.
I was in a music class in the 8th grade. The teacher got a phone call and left for a few minutes. When he came back he said to the class, “I heard a rumor – I hope it’s only a rumor – that President Kennedy has been shot”. By the time the class ended it was no longer a rumor. The entire school went to the cafeteria and after his death was announced we were all dismissed. My mother, who had voted for Nixon, picked me up. She was crying.
I guess we can start gearing up for next year’s 50th “anniversary” of the assassination, it should be quite a media show. One thing to remember is that the significance, both real and symbolic, of Kennedy’s assassination greatly transcends the legacy of his administration which now looks somewhat dubious particularly in regard to Vietnam. Another is that today’s issues and alignments don’t always match up perfectly with those from a couple of generations ago. Kennedy implemented a significant tax cut, very Reaganesque, even Tea Party-ish. He also was, I believe, the first President to recognize public employee unions – quite the opposite.
I am 51, and the assassination is my earliest memory. I remember sitting on a couch with my Mom, and something real, real, bad had happened. So it was something that effected even 2 year olds. Let us hope it never happens again.
It is also the day that Aldous Huxley and C. S. Lewis died. (Same day and same year! Three losses on one day.)