“All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days, nor in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this administration. Nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.” ~ JFK
I simply can't take in the magnitude of the grief Jackie must have been experiencing. She had already had a miscarriage in 1955, a premature stillborn daughter, Arabella, in 1956, and their premature son, Patrick, lived only 2 days and had died just that August. John, Jr. was also a premie, but survived. Caroline was their only full term baby. Having just come through the death of Patrick, and just as her two surviving children were to have birthdays, her husband, the President of the United States, sitting beside her, was shot, collapsed in her arms and died a half hour later. It's all so impossibly harsh. Yet she showed such grace.
Aw, nordy, that is so harsh to experience at 12. I was 8…in school in Boston. We were sent home right after lunch because of the shooting, and while a bunch of us were walking home someone ran over and told us the president had died. We spent days watching the news.
I was 27, at my grad student desk just off the main lab. My first reaction was, "This can't be happening. Assassinations are [a 19th-century thing]. But then I ran into the next room where someone had turned on the radio, and it was true.
The governor was taken into the EF before Kennedy. The news suggested this might mean Kennedy was less seriously injured. But I had been an army medic; I understood triage. Those unlikely to survive are last.
we were taking our quarter final english exam in 12th grade when our math teacher motioned our english teacher out into the hallway; we were told the president had been shot but his conditio wasnt clear. I figure it must have been equivalent to our parents hearing about pearl harbor. with modern communications there may never be another such event. i later saw the live broadcast of the second airplane hitting the tower in nyc (mind not working well--dont recall its name). math final was postponed alan.
I had stayed home from school that Friday and watched it all unfold on television. The funeral, too -- I remember the marching, the dirge. Most of all I remember those drums. -- nordy
Friends, I deeply appreciated reading all your stories and remembrances from that fateful day we all shared with every human on the planet who was in touch with news. So jarring...yes, like Pearl Harbor and like the airplanes hitting the towers. We are truly all in this together and are interconnected. I'm grateful to know you, each and all.
As I was walking to my haircut this afternoon I saw huge numbers of yellow leaves on the sidewalk. More still fialling in the breeze. Leaves sttill on the hedges, but we[ll probably lose them in Wednesday's hard freeze.
JFK was shot 62 years ago today
ReplyDelete“All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days, nor in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this administration. Nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.” ~ JFK
The story behind John John's salute
ReplyDeleteI simply can't take in the magnitude of the grief Jackie must have been experiencing. She had already had a miscarriage in 1955, a premature stillborn daughter, Arabella, in 1956, and their premature son, Patrick, lived only 2 days and had died just that August. John, Jr. was also a premie, but survived. Caroline was their only full term baby. Having just come through the death of Patrick, and just as her two surviving children were to have birthdays, her husband, the President of the United States, sitting beside her, was shot, collapsed in her arms and died a half hour later. It's all so impossibly harsh. Yet she showed such grace.
ReplyDeleteI was 12 years old when it happened. I had a terrible time dealing with it. -- nordy
ReplyDeleteAw, nordy, that is so harsh to experience at 12. I was 8…in school in Boston. We were sent home right after lunch because of the shooting, and while a bunch of us were walking home someone ran over and told us the president had died. We spent days watching the news.
DeleteI was 27, at my grad student desk just off the main lab. My first reaction was, "This can't be happening. Assassinations are [a 19th-century thing]. But then I ran into the next room where someone had turned on the radio, and it was true.
Delete
DeleteThe governor was taken into the EF before Kennedy. The news suggested this might mean Kennedy was less seriously injured. But I had been an army medic; I understood triage. Those unlikely to survive are last.
we were taking our quarter final english exam in 12th grade when our math teacher motioned our english teacher out into the hallway; we were told the president had been shot but his conditio wasnt clear. I figure it must have been equivalent to our parents hearing about pearl harbor. with modern communications there may never be another such event. i later saw the live broadcast of the second airplane hitting the tower in nyc (mind not working well--dont recall its name). math final was postponed
ReplyDeletealan.
we were told the president had been shot after oue english exam.
Deletealan
I had stayed home from school that Friday and watched it all unfold on television. The funeral, too -- I remember the marching, the dirge. Most of all I remember those drums. -- nordy
ReplyDeleteFriends, I deeply appreciated reading all your stories and remembrances from that fateful day we all shared with every human on the planet who was in touch with news. So jarring...yes, like Pearl Harbor and like the airplanes hitting the towers. We are truly all in this together and are interconnected. I'm grateful to know you, each and all.
ReplyDeleteAs I was walking to my haircut this afternoon I saw huge numbers of yellow leaves on the sidewalk. More still fialling in the breeze. Leaves sttill on the hedges, but we[ll probably lose them in Wednesday's hard freeze.
ReplyDelete