Remembering JFK
50 years ago today I was 8 years old.
As I walked home from school I learned that the President had been shot.
We all crowded around the television that day and evening, stunned.
After that, the world did not feel as safe.
Official Presidential Portrait by Aaron Shikler
The last thing President Kennedy did in the Oval Office before heading to Dallas
was to respond to Gov. Phil Hoff's request for drought assistance for Vermont.
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, former VT Gov. Phil Hoff, and former VT Gov. Howard Dean are always First!
ReplyDeleteDid you know that President Kennedy was killed just three days before John, Jr.'s 3rd birthday, 5 days before Caroline's 6th birthday, and less than 4 months after son Patrick was born and died? It's hard to take in the level of grieving that First Lady Jackie had to go through; yet she did it with such grace.
ReplyDeleteAnalog rejected "World Enough and Time." Trever wrote a very brief note, but it struck me as kind. So, I'm not as crushed as I might have been. Maybe I'll try Asimob's.
ReplyDeleteGood luck and keep trying!
DeleteBTW, was that Asimob's deliberate? Interesting thought.
Na, just my bad spelling and bad typing.
DeleteBTW today is also the fiftieth anniversary of C.S. Lewis' death. Kind of a hard day all around.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder, Catreona. I didn't know who he was when I was 8 years old. But I was glad to encounter his works when I grew up.
ReplyDeleteStucco work got started today. Or at least they put up the scaffolds and patched some areas around the base of the house where presumably the mice get in. It will be too cold to work over the weekend but they expect to be back Monday.
ReplyDeleteWe also got the final estimate and other information for the roof we expect to get. If we had to pay everything right now it would essentially drain our bank account, but the final payment won't be due until after I get my next monthly "paycheck" -- counting on our retirement income to cover everything else, especially with Penny starting her IRA annuity next month. And I get the annual minimum distribution from my 403(b) the end of December, which should put us back on track.
We're very pleased with what we're getting. It's a plastic shingle that looks like slate. Great appearance. Made from 100% recycled material. Resists winds up to 170 mph and expected to last a full 50 years or more. And the Materials Safety Data Sheet reassures us there's no toxic products that could potentially leak into the water that, once it is collected in rain barrels, will be used to water the garden. We expect to sign the contract and make the down payment Tuesday.
Sounding good!
DeleteNice, Bill!
DeleteWould you mind sharing the shingle brand? We've been thinking of a metal roof, but want to explore. The benefit if a metal roof for us is that the snow slides off easily itself, so we don't have to use a snow rake.
The brand is Da Vinci. They have styles that mimic either slate or wood shake. Don't know about snow, except that the manufacturer's rep said we'd need snow guards to keep it off the walkways. Except there are no walkways along the side of the house.
DeleteHere's a tough one (at least, I think it's tough, and I know the answer!)
ReplyDeleteTo what song is this the bridge?
"If you want atmosphere
For inspiration, dear
Just one kiss should make it clear
That tonight's the night
And bright moonlight might
Interfeer"
Can't find the most recent, i.e. finished version of "World Enough and Time." Maybe I gave it some clever and memorable file name that, of course, I now can't remember. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteFound it! Yeah, I had given it a clever and memorable name. Not so clever or memorable.
DeleteAw Cat, I liked the way you said that. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI, too, like the way Cat said it. Reminds me of how both Penny and I put things where they will be easy to find. And then, of course, can't find them.
DeleteThanks, Listener.
ReplyDeleteHad formatting problems, and all in all it took all evening. But, "World Enough and Time" is now in the Asimov's online submission system. Response time is approx. five weeks, though it may be longer this time of the year.
I second listener's request for information about the plastic shingles, Bill. And mental fingers crossed, Cat. (Actual fingers would surely get cramped in five weeks...)
ReplyDelete--Alan
That day in 1963 I was in my 12th-grade English class, taking a test. Another teacher came to the door and signaled to our teacher; they stood close, heads close together, talking very quietly and looking worried. After the test was finished our teacher told that the President had been shot, and they didn't know much more at the time.
ReplyDeleteWe had a Trigonometry test scheduled that afternoon; our teacher, Mr. Newton pointed out at the beginning of the year that he might cancel a test in case of a severe earthquake or something comparable; and he thought this was something comparable (I paraphrase).
JFK's principal achievement was, in my opinion, beginning nuclear disarmament. He started some other things that did not end well, but maybe they would have happened anyway.
Maybe I will read up on the Warren Commission findings; I never have, feeling that it would simply be abusing my emotions. But I can understand Fidel Castro's skepticism; after all, he had experience with weapons such as Oswald's rifle, and I can accept his statement that once one fires, one loses sight of the target and must find it again; with the target moving, it becomes even harder. But one can't rule out the possibility of a "lucky" shot rather than a well aimed one. Dang--after all these years, it hurts me to write this. I collected newspapers for about a week afterward, and also made some recordings from the radio; they disappeared a long time ago.
--Alan