Remembering JFK's assassination is easier if you were alive then

The Union Leader, Manchester, NH ^ | 11/17/03 | JOSEPH W. McQUAID

[ChefKeith]

I was in My playpen and VIVIDLY remember My Mother freaking out, screaming/crying/ect as She was watching T.V.

Years later I saw the tape replay an realized what had happened.

Strange that a 2 1/2 year old would remember that

[Exit148]

In the car, on the way home. The radio was on. I had to stop at the store, first, and I rushed in and out. But I was amazed that people were slowly shopping, as tho nothing had happened. At home, I rushed in to put the radio on ---completely forgetting the television!!!

I thought the country was going to hell when he won the election, but I didn't fear him as a president. His "Ask not-----" statement at his inauguration had always impressed me, as well as when he said "he welcomed the challenge". I didn't realize then that he was one of the last Democrats --- not the Socialists that his party has become.

[South Texas Lady]

I was holding my new baby in my arms. We were in South Texas. My husband was deer hunting. My first thought was, well NOW LBJ can be president. I bet he did it. Many of us thought the same thing. We knew about LBJ..stealing votes, paying for votes. He was ruthless.

[jocon307]

"I remember...in 1968 when MLK was killed...by then I was 12 and starting to understand some things."

LOL, you are older than me by a bit, so it's OK that your understanding exceeded mine. I remember the assisination of MLK as giving rise to one of the more embarrasing moments of my life. I was 10, but well aware of what had happened, in an effort to impress my dad with my "keeping up with the news" as he always did I "casually" said to him "So, Martin Luther was killed, that's so sad". His quizzical look immediately clued me to the fact that I had made some major error!

Oh well, he explained it all to me, but I remain red-faced. This was the peril of growing up in NYC in the late 20th century, No Protestants, except for some extremely rich people in whose circles I did not travel!

[sarasmom]

In kindergarden.
Few mothers drove cars then, and the classes were gradually consolidated to one room in the "big building".
I did not understand why everyone was so upset, but I was happy that I was sent to be with both my older brothers on such a strange day, even in the "big building".
Teachers were crying, and a TV was wheeled in to the classroom, where all of us who waited for the bus were gathered.
I remember being very scared.I knew somebody very important had died.I remember everyone spoke in whispers, and nobody raised our voices for at least a week afterwards.
My Grandfather had died earlier that year, so I knew what grief looked and felt like.
This was different.
All the adults cried all the time.

[Joy Angela]

Dear JFK Jr.

He didn't have a chance.

Sometimes we think we can wait to
do what is destined for our lifes.

And then we wait too long.

If JFK Jr. had stopped playing and
moved on to serious politics just a few
years earlier, perhaps "Living History"
would be different today.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

Yes,

...perhaps JFK jr...

...would still be JFK jr today...

...despite HILLARY's cold threats.

[Vigilanteman]

We knew about LBJ..stealing votes, paying for votes. He was ruthless.

Did you catch the special on The History Channel? Of all the theories pronosticated, the theory that LBJ engineered it was, by far, the most beleivable. It was also amazingly simple and involved the fewest people-- as do most plots of this nature.

In 1963, Kennedy was seriously considering dropping LBJ from the ticket because the scandals of Billie Sol Estes and Bobby Baker were threatening to drag JFK down into the same muck which LBJ was then sinking into. The mantle of a martyred president literally saved LBJ politically-- and possibly from prison as well.