Posted on 11/22/2013 10:10:12 AM PST by Kaslin
Tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas.
Anyone over the age of 55 will be asking everyone else over the age of 55: "Where were you when you heard the news?" We all know exactly where we were.
Here's my story.
I was a senior at West Orange Mountain High School in West Orange, New Jersey.
I was in drama class in the auditorium and the teacher, Miss Levin, asked me to go backstage to get some piece of business that she needed to demonstrate a point.
While back there, I spotted a radio and I turned it on. I don't remember what station I tuned it to, but it was probably WABC-AM radio because they played a lot of Beatle's tunes.
The first reports from Dallas were just coming in. Those reports indicated that both President Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon Johnson had been shot.
They were in error. The second person shot was Texas Governor John Connelly - about whom, more later.
I had just read - remember I was 16 at the time - I had just read the thriller "Seven Days in May" which has to do with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff plotting a coup against the President.
I said aloud "Oh, my God. It's coming true," even though I was alone.
I ran out to the stage and told Miss Levin what I had heard. She instructed me to go to the Central Office and tell them.
I was such a pest in high school that I had a reserved seat on the naughty bench in the central office where I would sit until the Assistant Principal could get to me, patiently explain to me how I was ruining my life, bringing shame and dishonor to my family, and then mete out an appropriate punishment for whatever horror I had committed.
I stopped off at the classroom of my Social Studies teacher, Mr. Vince Mirandi (who was also the school soccer coach) to tell him what had happened.
Someone in the back of the class, knowing about my reserved spot in the central office shouted, "Let's wait until we hear something official over the loudspeaker."
I can't remember who that was, but it would not surprise me to find out he is a high ranking official at the NSA today.
As soon as the officials could get the buses organized, school was dismissed. I got a ride home from someone and as I remember it my mom had gone out to collect my younger brother and sister from their schools. My older brother was at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and out of her range.
She took us to our Synagogue where others had already gathered
The Rabbi was at the front of the Temple speaking to people and, at some point he began (I think this right) an impromptu Yiskor service which is the memorial service for those Jews in the community who have lost a loved one.
My mom - who was not particularly political - had told us en route to the Synagogue: "We're going to pray for our President."
Years later, when I was the communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee we had a fund raiser on the ranch of former Governor (as a Democrat) and former Treasury Secretary (as a Republican under Richard Nixon) John Connelly.
It came to pass that the Chairman of the NRCC, Rep. Guy Vander Jagt (R-Mi) needed to get to the airport and I was elected to drive him. Governor Connelly said he would come along and, as the higher ranking person, sat in the passenger seat next to me.
I drove the quarter mile from the ranch house to the Farm to Market Road leading to the airport and hit the gas.
Governor Connelly was talking with Rep. Vander Jagt, stopped in mid-sentence and said to me, "Speed on up, son. If you want me to drive pull over."
I said that I was doing about 70.
He said, "You can drive as fast as this thing will go. You ain't gonna get no speeding ticket while ah'm in this car."
Years after that, I was appointed by the Mayor of Dallas, Steve Bartlett, to bid for the Special Olympics to be held in that city. Bartlett, as a conservative, Republican, Member of Congress from Dallas was a big supporter of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Special Olympics Committee was impressed with our commitment to making the Games a success and to being able to raise the funds necessary to accomplish that goal.
The Special Olympics were conceived by, and under the control of, the Kennedy family.
Things were going apace until Senator Ted Kennedy found out about it. He instructed the Special Olympics committee to cease, immediately, negotiating with Dallas and the Games went elsewhere.
I was at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport when the Executive Director of the Special Olympics called to tell me he had to pull the plug.
I remember exactly where I was.
Their beloved womanizing President. Wow.
Glad you made it back!
Yeah...he was a Dem and personally, a scumbag. But he had some Conservative principles at heart.
I was in US Navy boot camp - San Diego.
I was never musically gifted either, though I wasn’t around then.
The radio he turned on was not playing a lot of Beatles music. They didn’t hit until Feb of 1964. Maybe the author also watched the Zapruder film that afternoon, too. /s
I was only 5 years and 1 day old. All I remember from television back then was watching "Sky King" and "Supercar".
I never really liked JFK but I find this interesting. I was in the sorority house with the radio on, and the DJ interrupted and said we have a message from ABC. after the message , station went back to music I was puzzled.. like I couldn’t believe it. Turned on TV and regular programs were still running. The radio bulletin said the Pres. had been shot in the head. then the DJ realized that he should take off the music. That was the only time I heard he was shot in the head till he was announced dead.
Mr. Noble’s 5th grade class, at Fruitland elementary.
Didn’t know the word “assassination” at that moment.
That would change when they wheeled the TV cart into the room, after lunch.
Mr. Noble was emotional and upset, which was my first clue as to the severity of the situation. He was a 22 yr. old, newly minted teacher.
Just getting home from HS it was on the tube, as mom was normally watching her soaps at that hr.
“CAUSED”
Uh...that would be the guys moving the missiles to Cuba.
High school music class when the announcement and then the network radio feed came over the intercom. Pretty much the whole school was in the chapel within an hour of the event.
People complain about all the attention unjustly lavished on JFK, and they’re right that he was grossly over-glamorized. But he was a damn-sight better than the clowns the Dems have stuck us with lately, and I think they miss the larger point: that day in November was the end of the innocence of the fifties, which for most folks was a wonderful decade. The decadence of the sixties would begin in early February of 1964 when the Beatles landed in the US.
I’m not real sure what decade the two intervening months belonged to - we were all pretty much in a daze then.
” “children, what will happen now?” We all replied, “the Soviets will take over.””
It took about 50 years, but the children were right.
Well then: Thank you, sir.
I was just over 4 yrs old, living in North Richland Hills, just NW of Dallas. I don’t remember the day of the assassination but do clearly remember the day of the funeral and the very contrasted, silvery live images on the TV.
In response to Kennedy placing missiles in Turkey.
He reads today as a right winger.
This is the opportunity to use that historical reality.
So, great post.
Great point.
Good!
We need to do that again!
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