It was about lunch time, I was in the Army as an EM. We first heard the news on the radio, when we did, it seemed most of us worried more about not getting the weekend off as leaves would probably be cancelled. The Cuban Crisis was still fresh and the SAC bombers at Homestead AFB were still loaded and ready to go. Funny how politics at the age of early 20’s just didn’t come into play like it does today. My question at the time was; “How the hell did he manage to do it with a Carcano Carbine?” I had one too, it cost $15-$20 at the time at a retail store.
I think you’re right about politics then and politics now combined with the fact that our lives were so different when we were in our 20’s and young people in their 20’s now. My now ex-husband and I were having Thanksgiving dinner with my parents and our two children, ages 1 month and 18 months. My parents only had a 12 inch black and white TV and while I remember feeling sad and wondering how such a thing could have happened, it was really just a blip on the screen of our lives at that time.