Every thing stopped. The announcement came over the intercom right after lunch, we were immediately sent home from school - we left class, went to our lockers, and walked home in what I recall as nearly complete silence. Television and radio programming concentrated entirely on every aspect, every detail of the tragedy and subsequent events. The most comparable experience I can think of would be the 9/11 attack in NYC. Every thing stopped.
The assassination changed every one who experienced it. It is often referred to as a loss of innocence, although I'd call it a loss of naivete. No matter what we have learned since, especially about the private lives of the Kennedys, what turned out to be a series of assassinations (JFK, RFK, MLK) completely disrupted and coarsened the culture.
We cannot forget because we suffered its trauma.
It is good to remember the dead.
You described my memories as well... Principal announced that our President was assasinated, walking home in silence. My mother was sitting in the livingroom weeping when I got home, news on the TV. My dad had campaigned for Kennedy. Of course later, he cut out the time Magazine cover with JFK, framed it and put it on the wall next to Pope John XIII, thereby canonizing him, in our house at least. Yes, the following years were a loss of innocence (or naivete). Yep, like 911.
ReplyDeleteI was a baby still, THE baby, it turns out, just a few months old, but I'm sure it influenced our Irish-Catholic household of nine. I remember a commemorative plate with JFK's image that hung in our house.
ReplyDeleteI wish you had a like button on your posts. I don't want to comment on every little thing, but you have no idea what a touchstone your blog is for me every day. Oh so many Catholic blogs, and I come tromping over here.
There was pretty much silence on the post about your dad hitting up the priest for money. Want to know why? It was hallowed. Sublime. I don't know about anyone else, but those are times when you just stay hushed.
I would like to message you briefly about two things. I saw you leave your address the other day, but now I can't remember on which post it was. May I be so bold as to ask for your address?
Ann - you meant email, right?
ReplyDeletetjdotnelsonathotmaildotcom