[Re-posted from Nov. 22, 2003}
47 years ago today I was a 13-year old 8th grader at Edgar Allen Poe Intermediate in Alexandria, Va. It was an ordinary school day until about 2:20 in the afternoon, when we were changing classrooms, and suddenly a rumor was flying that the President had been shot. That was confirmed about 10 minutes later, and we were sent home early. I got home to find my mother in shock (Dad was in Antarctica), and we spent the remainder of the weekend, as did so many other Americans, glued to the TV screen. We were in disbelief, of course; "this doesn't happen in America," we thought. Of course, it had happened before, as we all quickly learned. That weekend I learned more about McKinley, Garfield, Harrison and other Presidential deaths in office than I'd ever learned before. I was fortunate enough to wangle a ride to Arlington Cemetery on that Monday, the 25th, where I stood about 500-1000 yards from the gravesite, along with many many other people. Neither Mom nor I have any memory of who I got a ride with, why she felt it was OK for me to go, or any other details. I just remember standing there among all those people, trying to make sense of it.
Since then this country has had similar national tragedies, of course, from the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. through the Challenger explosion to September 11. In every instance it seemed to me that time just stopped for several days as we all sat in front of television screens trying to absorb what we were seeing. To me, the different thing about the JFK assassination is that it was a double shock; first the President's murder, followed two days later by the murder of the suspected killer (on national television, no less). I think the Oswald murder was the catalyst for all the subsequent conspiracy theories; to my knowledge nobody has ever seriously espoused similar theories about the RFK or MLK murders. The killing of the principal suspect by a nobody is a plot line we've all read in murder mysteries; Ruby had no known motive for shooting Oswald, so he must have been a pawn for a larger interest. I've never bought any of the theories; despite the fact that he had been living in Russia for a while, and he had suspicious contacts with Cuba, I think those were incidental. I think Oswald acted alone.
Who else has memories of that weekend?
Posted by Linkmeister at November 22, 2010 08:39 AM | TrackBackI remember that Friday very well. I, too, was in the 8th grade, Science class, third period, just before lunch. The principal came on the school intercom to tell us that the President had been shot. During 4th period, he then informed us that JFK had died. We were in shock. Many of the kids cried. The only one not in shock was our 5th period Spanish teacher who carried on with his planned Friday exam.
I'm not convinced that Oswald acted alone. But he certainly was involved.
Posted by: SeattleDan at November 22, 2010 03:45 PMI was in college, at U.C. Berkeley. It was my freshman year. I was sitting down to lunch in the cafeteria on campus, the dumpy one across from Sproul Hall. A girl who lived in my dorm walked up, set down her lunch tray, and said, "They just shot the President." Her name was Marsha; I can't remember her last name, but she was Jewish, and had curly black shoulder-length hair. I can still hear her saying it.
Posted by: hedera at November 22, 2010 05:45 PMOf course Oswald acted alone. If he hadn't been murdered, we'd all know it. We owe the conspiracy theories to Jack Ruby, who I am convinced was merely a nut. If a determined man, skilled with firearms, decided to kill you, there was very little you could do then to stop him; the bulletproof limos they use now are because of this.
Conspiracies require more organization and discipline than most groups of people are capable of. Ever work in a volunteer organization? Think about those people. Could they organize and execute a conspiracy to kill a President, or anybody, and never have anyone know?? Be real, folks.
Posted by: hedera at November 22, 2010 05:48 PMI was in the 8th grade as well. We were released early and my friend's brother walked by me cheering his good luck that Kennedy had been shot. His father was a die hard Republican and they took their politics seriously. I remember how shocked I was to see that sort of reaction. Marc was in the 4th grade and didn't know any better. He turn out to be an okay guy. I wonder how he remembers that day.
Posted by: Steve at November 22, 2010 06:23 PMI still remember the day we lost the Challenger. I was taking a drama course at Illinois Wesleyan, and we were in the middle of a lesson in dance when someone came into the classroom and said that the Challenger had blown up. After the course I ended up back at the dorm and watched some of the news.
I do not have memories of Kennedy as I was born in 1966.
Posted by: James H. at November 23, 2010 06:41 AMI well remember the day JFK was killed. I was sitting in algebra class (7th grade). The principal came on the PA system and told the school what had happened. A short time later, he came back on and said JFK had died and told us the school was closing early. I walked home as usual. I remember turning on my radio and laying down on my bed and crying, wondering what would happen now to the country. (Would the Soviet Union decide now was the right time to attack us?) A few days later, my sister provided us with a distraction as she gave birth to her first child.
Posted by: PurpleGirl at November 24, 2010 04:37 AMOMG, I should have reread my entry twice... it was just math class in 7th grade, not algebra. Mrs. Klein was the teacher and she spent an inordinate amount of time fussing with her charm bracelet to make sure the charms were laying flat and/or right side up. For many reasons it was wasted year for me.
Posted by: PurpleGirl at November 24, 2010 06:50 AM