MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Tell us about that day 50 years ago today

poohbear_nc · 11-22-2013, 07:53 AM

I was in second grade in Ohio .... all the grades (K-6) were suddenly taken out of class into the gym and told to sit down and watch the only TV the school owned - where we saw Walter Cronkite announce President Kennedy's death and take his glasses off to wipe his eyes .... we were stunned and turned to our teachers ... it was the first and only time I have ever seen a teacher 'on duty' openly cry .... that image of my 2nd grade teacher crying has stayed with me all my life - along with the iconic image of Cronkite removing his glasses on air ...

School was then closed and we were sent home .... to find our parents also watching TV, stunned, and in tears. I was scared and didn't know why.

I was too young to fully understand what was going on, but the profound horror, shock, and sorrow from that day can still bring tears to my eyes today.

11-22-2013, 07:53 AM	#3
poohbear_nc Bah! Humbug! Posts: 63,630 Karma: 135239851 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	I was in second grade in Ohio .... all the grades (K-6) were suddenly taken out of class into the gym and told to sit down and watch the only TV the school owned - where we saw Walter Cronkite announce President Kennedy's death and take his glasses off to wipe his eyes .... we were stunned and turned to our teachers ... it was the first and only time I have ever seen a teacher 'on duty' openly cry .... that image of my 2nd grade teacher crying has stayed with me all my life - along with the iconic image of Cronkite removing his glasses on air ... School was then closed and we were sent home .... to find our parents also watching TV, stunned, and in tears. I was scared and didn't know why. I was too young to fully understand what was going on, but the profound horror, shock, and sorrow from that day can still bring tears to my eyes today. Last edited by poohbear_nc; 11-22-2013 at 07:58 AM.