They force JFK down the throat of a generation that doesn't give a rats anus about him.
He was a second or third rate president who got shot and died. Look at all the people who have gotten shot and died that are doing their jobs better than JFK did his and you couldn't get Petered out Jennings to do a special for them, unless they died trying to ban guns or socialize health care maybe.
"Ask not what you country can do for you," what a blithering idiot JFK was. I guess if you look good enough and can read speeches all the tv anchors of the world consider you one of their own.
I was at my part-time job at Kroger's (grocery store), standing at my cash register. I was stopped in my tracks--combination of disbelief and sadness. I went to my college classes that night, and my most distinguished, most reserved professor was crying as he told us classes were canceled.
You're right, Kit. The "mood" of our country was very much like it was on 9/11/2001.
quote: He was a second or third rate president who got shot and died. Look at all the people who have gotten shot and died that are doing their jobs better than JFK did his and you couldn't get Petered out Jennings to do a special for them, unless they died trying to ban guns or socialize health care maybe.
"Ask not what you country can do for you," what a blithering idiot JFK was. I guess if you look good enough and can read speeches all the tv anchors of the world consider you one of their own.
It is a piece of our history. It's part of what shapes us today. If we don't remember these past events, they are likely to be repeated.
It was a time when it was refreshing to have young children in the White House. Many women so admired Jackie and her sense of fashion that we tried to copy her looks. Pill-box hats were the rage.
A Presiential assination is a very big deal to those who lived through it. I hope you never have to do that. No matter the politics of the person...the assination of a President is a very terrible thing - - it rocks you to your core - - it robs your sense of security. The grief is not only for the life lost, you know. It made so many of us feel so vulnerable.
I, too, was in 4th grade and the broadcast over the PA said that JFK had been shot. Then nothing. We had recess and as we were coming back in school one 6th grade teacher had a very serious look on her face.
Then they played a second broadcast which said JFK was dead. A lot of the kids cried, but my own father had died exactly one month earlier, so I did not cry. This was surely the first direct encounter with the reality of death for most of those kids. I think this was different than 9/11, though.
Separating the two events from their historical contexts, one would have to conclude that 9/11 was worse. This attack was not just on one individual, but on thousands, and bore the real possibility of being repeated at any time. JFK was just one high profile guy.
But in 1963, there were only 3 TV networks: everybody saw the same shows, including news, depending on their interests. There was no cable TV, no internet...even radio stations were more restricted in what they could air. Literally, everybody felt the same pain simultaneously. The whole world was in shock for a week, seemed like.
During the aftermath of 9/11 yes, many were glued to their TVs for a couple of weeks to a month, but many (like me) weren't. My daily routine was hardly affected and I don't live near NYC so to me it was/is barely more that a distant headline. Because of cable TV and the internet, I didn't HAVE to watch non stop coverage of 9/11 so I didn't. I'm not sure yet which of the two events changed everyday life more, probably 9/11, but it's hard to say.
Another thing occurs to me about the JFK assassination. It was the fourth time a US president had been killed, but part of it is still unsolved.
Lincoln was clearly killed by a man who believed he was avenging the south. Garfield was killed by a spurned political wannabe. McKinley was also killed by a wacked out political activist, but why exactly was Kennedy killed? We still don't know for sure. Even IF Oswald was the lone killer, WHY? and for whom?
Also, interestingly, the other three assassinated presidents were Republicans. JFK was the first dem.
I was 8 years old and in third grade at St. Leander's Catholic School, San Leandro, Calif.
Sister Berchman, my teacher, came out to the playground where we were at recess, looking very sad and shaken up to tell us the news that our president had just been shot. I don't know that we really understood the depth of her words, but I will never forget the look on her face.
Interestingly, in the same week, the pastor of our parish, Monsignor O'Reilly died suddenly - - and the two deaths occuring within one week, really shook up all the families we knew.
Within a very short time (can't remember now if it was days or weeks) one of the older nuns who had taught at the school for decades, died of old age. Those 3 deaths in such a short time made a very lasting impression on me as an 8 year old child.
6th grade -recess. We were called back into class, and after the news were told to put our heads on our desks.
My school job was raising the flag ,and I took it down that day. I don't recall if I raised it half mast then or when we got back to school the next week.
Maybe it's hard for people like Early 2it to understand how deeply it cut into our lives and psyches. Perhaps we're all so jaded these days to be cynical about everything and everyone. Nothing seems to shock or move anymore. Even the horrors of 9/11 seem like an old movie by now.
I was home from school that day, I had spent the previous cool November weekend out playing football in the mud as 8 year olds like to do, I had a pretty good cold and my mother made me stay in bed until about 11:30 or so---no cartoons or going out since I was home from school. My mother was vacuuming and had "As The World Turns" on when it was interrupted by a "Special News Bulletin", I think it was Frank McGee, who announced the president had been shot in Dallas, it wasnt long after that that they confirmed the President was dead.
Our little black and white stayed on all weekend,going between Huntley-Brinkley and Walter Cronkite-- I too saw Oswald shot on live TV, watched as his body lay in state, and I can still hear the somber drum rhythm that seemed to last for hours during the final procession to Arlington Cemetary.
However the whole thing was eclipsed by the death of my mother who had been battling cancer for five years.
I didn't think about the event emotionally. I only thought about it as history and thought about the man according to his deeds. His deeds don't impress me.
He played chicken with the soviets over the missle crisis and won, but he escalated our involvement in Vietnam from advisor to player and after training, arming and supporting the patriots who tryed to regain freedom for Cuba he pulled all their support after they were engaged in combat at the bay of pigs.
And after his death, men used it as an excuse to pass the '1968 Gun Control Act'; one of the most opressive pieces of legislation I can think of.
He did get men on the moon though. Quite an acomplishment.
I was in the second grade. Our teacher told us that our president had just been killed. A lot of the girls in my class cried. Our TV was on nonstop right after that. I remember John-John saluting his dad's casket. I also remember seeing Oswald getting shot in a crowded hallway.
I was too little to remember much as well. But I do remember being at my grandparents house, and everyone was gathered around the tv when Oswald got shot. Grandpa was a policeman and was very animated when it happened. That's about all I remember.
I was in class at St Mary's in Pawtucket. The principal came over the loudspeaker and said that the president had been shot. She then hooked a radio to the intercom so that we could hear the news as it was happening.
She got back on the loudspeaker a few minutes later and called me to the office. I was stunned. What did I have to do with the president's shooting? We didn't have too many details, where he was shot, or things like that. Was he in the area? Did someone in my family have something to do with it? So much for a young mind to figure out (paranoia hits so young)
I went down to the office expecting police or some authorities (I loved Dragnet) When I entered the principal's office, there standing in the middle of the room was my kid sister. She was crying. I hated when she did that and now it looked like I was being called in to help.
The principal looked sternly at me and said, "your mother is in the hospital and your cousin is at your house with your other brother and sister. You need to get home with your sister and try to help out with your family."
I wasn't hearing anything that she was saying. My sister was making that noise when they stop crying but are trying to gain composure. When was the bombshell of what my family had to do with the shooting of the president going to come to light?
I held my sister by the arm until we got out of sight of the principal and the school. Then I made her walk 10 paces in front of me so that it didn't look like she was with me. (Ah the young mind and definitions of cool)
I got home and was riveted to the news. He had died sometime on the walk home. My cousin made dinner and later that night my father came home.
"You should have a new baby brother in the next few hours" he said. I breathed a sigh of relief.
Yesterday my brother celebrated his 40th birthday.
I was a freshman in college ( which tells you what an old fart I am,) in a physics class, which I was flunking with enthusiasm. The guy from the college radio station raced into our class room, which was huge, and yelled out an announcement that three shots had been fired at the president's motorcade in Dallas and he was thought to be mortally wounded. The professor just kind of looked at him and went on writing some meaningless formula no one paid attention to. The guy next to me asked "Did they get Bobby too?"
Come to think of it, no one at the time believed the "lone angry nut theory," did they? Did THEY get Bobby too? Even Jackie wore her blood caked suit until the next day, saying "I want THEM to see what THEY have done to Jack."
That whole weekend we crowded into the dorm rec room, staring at the TV. It was terribly sad, seemed like a tragic play. We were all very quiet.
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krys
I was a junior in college at SUNY Stony Brook fishing in the bottom of my dorm room closet for my lab sneakers on my way to work there.
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2life
seventh grade civics class--- announcement came over the PA system. Akron Ohio.
I went home and told my mom and neighbor-- lots of tears.
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TheInvisibleDan
I don't recall hearing anything, - in fact, I must have been completely oblivious to everything in the news, being only 3 years old at the time.
JFK -who? I imagine I only wanted to watch cartoons while pooping my pants.
But my older brother still recalls seeing Oswald get shot on live TV.
Danny
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early2it
Why can't the media just let the man die already?
They force JFK down the throat of a generation that doesn't give a rats anus about him.
He was a second or third rate president who got shot and died. Look at all the people who have gotten shot and died that are doing their jobs better than JFK did his and you couldn't get Petered out Jennings to do a special for them, unless they died trying to ban guns or socialize health care maybe.
"Ask not what you country can do for you," what a blithering idiot JFK was. I guess if you look good enough and can read speeches all the tv anchors of the world consider you one of their own.
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Danny
Early i guess u didn't like him?
I was i think 3rd grade. This is great now we can put ages on posters im 48. Who cares if they know.
The death of anyone is a sad day.
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Kit Sober
I was at my first job (and maybe my nicest).
Santa Claus' helper (taking the pictures of children).
The world seemed to stop. I was stunned.
It was the end of thinking things could be ok.
9/11/01 was similar in effect.
President Kennedy's death was a blow to the soul of the American people.
Very sad.
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Linda Z
I was at my part-time job at Kroger's (grocery store), standing at my cash register. I was stopped in my tracks--combination of disbelief and sadness. I went to my college classes that night, and my most distinguished, most reserved professor was crying as he told us classes were canceled.
You're right, Kit. The "mood" of our country was very much like it was on 9/11/2001.
Linda
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krys
It is a piece of our history. It's part of what shapes us today. If we don't remember these past events, they are likely to be repeated.
It was a time when it was refreshing to have young children in the White House. Many women so admired Jackie and her sense of fashion that we tried to copy her looks. Pill-box hats were the rage.
A Presiential assination is a very big deal to those who lived through it. I hope you never have to do that. No matter the politics of the person...the assination of a President is a very terrible thing - - it rocks you to your core - - it robs your sense of security. The grief is not only for the life lost, you know. It made so many of us feel so vulnerable.
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johniam
I, too, was in 4th grade and the broadcast over the PA said that JFK had been shot. Then nothing. We had recess and as we were coming back in school one 6th grade teacher had a very serious look on her face.
Then they played a second broadcast which said JFK was dead. A lot of the kids cried, but my own father had died exactly one month earlier, so I did not cry. This was surely the first direct encounter with the reality of death for most of those kids. I think this was different than 9/11, though.
Separating the two events from their historical contexts, one would have to conclude that 9/11 was worse. This attack was not just on one individual, but on thousands, and bore the real possibility of being repeated at any time. JFK was just one high profile guy.
But in 1963, there were only 3 TV networks: everybody saw the same shows, including news, depending on their interests. There was no cable TV, no internet...even radio stations were more restricted in what they could air. Literally, everybody felt the same pain simultaneously. The whole world was in shock for a week, seemed like.
During the aftermath of 9/11 yes, many were glued to their TVs for a couple of weeks to a month, but many (like me) weren't. My daily routine was hardly affected and I don't live near NYC so to me it was/is barely more that a distant headline. Because of cable TV and the internet, I didn't HAVE to watch non stop coverage of 9/11 so I didn't. I'm not sure yet which of the two events changed everyday life more, probably 9/11, but it's hard to say.
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johniam
Another thing occurs to me about the JFK assassination. It was the fourth time a US president had been killed, but part of it is still unsolved.
Lincoln was clearly killed by a man who believed he was avenging the south. Garfield was killed by a spurned political wannabe. McKinley was also killed by a wacked out political activist, but why exactly was Kennedy killed? We still don't know for sure. Even IF Oswald was the lone killer, WHY? and for whom?
Also, interestingly, the other three assassinated presidents were Republicans. JFK was the first dem.
All of this adds to the JFK fascination.
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Trefor Heywood
Kennedy stopped the Russians being able to point missile at the USA from Cuba.
Kennedy inspired a generation of people all over the world and gave hope to those behind the Iron Curtain.
Kennedy helped civil rights for blacks in the USA to start to become a reality.
Not such a bad record as early2it implies.
Trefor Heywood
"Cymru Am Byth!"
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Rocky
Kyrsilis answered twit well.
For the purpose of remembering the 40th anniv, it doesn't matter what Kennedy's record was, it was an event that hit to the core of America's soul.
However, thank you Trefor for your insight.
btw, the 2hr television show that had been on ABC was running on A & E yesterday...
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chwester
Getting on the school bus to go home from third grade.
Proud to be an American
www.northpoint.org
www.anncoulter.org
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jardinero
I was 8 years old and in third grade at St. Leander's Catholic School, San Leandro, Calif.
Sister Berchman, my teacher, came out to the playground where we were at recess, looking very sad and shaken up to tell us the news that our president had just been shot. I don't know that we really understood the depth of her words, but I will never forget the look on her face.
Interestingly, in the same week, the pastor of our parish, Monsignor O'Reilly died suddenly - - and the two deaths occuring within one week, really shook up all the families we knew.
Within a very short time (can't remember now if it was days or weeks) one of the older nuns who had taught at the school for decades, died of old age. Those 3 deaths in such a short time made a very lasting impression on me as an 8 year old child.
Jardinero
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hiway29
6th grade -recess. We were called back into class, and after the news were told to put our heads on our desks.
My school job was raising the flag ,and I took it down that day. I don't recall if I raised it half mast then or when we got back to school the next week.
Maybe it's hard for people like Early 2it to understand how deeply it cut into our lives and psyches. Perhaps we're all so jaded these days to be cynical about everything and everyone. Nothing seems to shock or move anymore. Even the horrors of 9/11 seem like an old movie by now.
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mstar1
I was home from school that day, I had spent the previous cool November weekend out playing football in the mud as 8 year olds like to do, I had a pretty good cold and my mother made me stay in bed until about 11:30 or so---no cartoons or going out since I was home from school. My mother was vacuuming and had "As The World Turns" on when it was interrupted by a "Special News Bulletin", I think it was Frank McGee, who announced the president had been shot in Dallas, it wasnt long after that that they confirmed the President was dead.
Our little black and white stayed on all weekend,going between Huntley-Brinkley and Walter Cronkite-- I too saw Oswald shot on live TV, watched as his body lay in state, and I can still hear the somber drum rhythm that seemed to last for hours during the final procession to Arlington Cemetary.
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orientswife
I wasn't!!
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Ralph Snyder
I was eight years old.
I too saw Ruby shoot Oswald.
However the whole thing was eclipsed by the death of my mother who had been battling cancer for five years.
I didn't think about the event emotionally. I only thought about it as history and thought about the man according to his deeds. His deeds don't impress me.
He played chicken with the soviets over the missle crisis and won, but he escalated our involvement in Vietnam from advisor to player and after training, arming and supporting the patriots who tryed to regain freedom for Cuba he pulled all their support after they were engaged in combat at the bay of pigs.
And after his death, men used it as an excuse to pass the '1968 Gun Control Act'; one of the most opressive pieces of legislation I can think of.
He did get men on the moon though. Quite an acomplishment.
UT1
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moreyt
I was in the second grade. Our teacher told us that our president had just been killed. A lot of the girls in my class cried. Our TV was on nonstop right after that. I remember John-John saluting his dad's casket. I also remember seeing Oswald getting shot in a crowded hallway.
moreyt
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wyteduv58
I was at home watching a soap with my mom when it came on tv.
Our whole family saw Oswald get shot while we were eating dinner.
2it.....Did someone crawl up your shorts and bite you one the A$$? Don't you ever say anything nice about anyone or anything?
You would bring me down in a New York second if I had to spend 5 minutes with you, but you are intitled to your opinion too.
Dovey....proud owner of two low riders...Dovey's Doxies...... Dovey
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tcat5
I had just turned 4 so don't remember it much. I do remember my mom crying, and all the other big people being very upset.
If you throw a cat out of a moving car, does it become kitty-litter?
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ex10
I was too little to remember much as well. But I do remember being at my grandparents house, and everyone was gathered around the tv when Oswald got shot. Grandpa was a policeman and was very animated when it happened. That's about all I remember.
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pawtucket
I was in class at St Mary's in Pawtucket. The principal came over the loudspeaker and said that the president had been shot. She then hooked a radio to the intercom so that we could hear the news as it was happening.
She got back on the loudspeaker a few minutes later and called me to the office. I was stunned. What did I have to do with the president's shooting? We didn't have too many details, where he was shot, or things like that. Was he in the area? Did someone in my family have something to do with it? So much for a young mind to figure out (paranoia hits so young)
I went down to the office expecting police or some authorities (I loved Dragnet) When I entered the principal's office, there standing in the middle of the room was my kid sister. She was crying. I hated when she did that and now it looked like I was being called in to help.
The principal looked sternly at me and said, "your mother is in the hospital and your cousin is at your house with your other brother and sister. You need to get home with your sister and try to help out with your family."
I wasn't hearing anything that she was saying. My sister was making that noise when they stop crying but are trying to gain composure. When was the bombshell of what my family had to do with the shooting of the president going to come to light?
I held my sister by the arm until we got out of sight of the principal and the school. Then I made her walk 10 paces in front of me so that it didn't look like she was with me. (Ah the young mind and definitions of cool)
I got home and was riveted to the news. He had died sometime on the walk home. My cousin made dinner and later that night my father came home.
"You should have a new baby brother in the next few hours" he said. I breathed a sigh of relief.
Yesterday my brother celebrated his 40th birthday.
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Watered Garden
I was a freshman in college (
which tells you what an old fart I am,) in a physics class, which I was flunking with enthusiasm. The guy from the college radio station raced into our class room, which was huge, and yelled out an announcement that three shots had been fired at the president's motorcade in Dallas and he was thought to be mortally wounded. The professor just kind of looked at him and went on writing some meaningless formula no one paid attention to. The guy next to me asked "Did they get Bobby too?"
Come to think of it, no one at the time believed the "lone angry nut theory," did they? Did THEY get Bobby too? Even Jackie wore her blood caked suit until the next day, saying "I want THEM to see what THEY have done to Jack."
That whole weekend we crowded into the dorm rec room, staring at the TV. It was terribly sad, seemed like a tragic play. We were all very quiet.
WG
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