Seriousness It was 53 years ago today...

issybird · 11-22-2016, 07:13 PM

...that John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Even though it was 1963, the sixties, as we remember/imagine them, hadn't really started yet. Not until the following year: the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, Freedom Summer, and, for the first time, the Surgeon General said that cigarette smoking was hazardous to your health.

I don't regret the racist, misogynistic, commie-fearing 50s, but there's also no denying that JFK's death marked the end of an era. You'd have to be 60 or older to have a clear memory of that day, now.

Barbara1955 · 11-22-2016, 07:48 PM

I was 8 years old....

poohbear_nc · 11-22-2016, 08:15 PM

I was in second grade ... all the students were herded into the gymnasium to watch Walter Cronkite's broadcast on a B&W TV ... it was the first (and only) time I ever saw the teachers cry ... we were so scared, even though we didn't understand what had happened

I also remember seeing Jack Ruby shoot Oswald live on the news ....

We really haven't come very far, have we?

issybird · 11-22-2016, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I was in second grade ... all the students were herded into the gymnasium to watch Walter Cronkite's broadcast on a B&W TV ... it was the first (and only) time I ever saw the teachers cry ... we were so scared, even though we didn't understand what had happened

I also remember seeing Jack Ruby shoot Oswald live on the news ....

We really haven't come very far, have we?

For all the things I don't mourn, there's been a loss of hope, of the expectation of better things to come, that I don't think we ever got back. Cynicism rules. And despondency.

tubemonkey · 11-22-2016, 08:38 PM

I was in the 6th grade living in So Cal. I was in school when it happened, just before lunch. That's about all I remember about it, but I did see Ruby gun down Oswald on TV a few days later. Pretty heavy stuff for pre-net times.

I remember more about the Beatles' arrival in the US a couple months later. I was more into entertainment, not news back in the day.

poohbear_nc · 11-22-2016, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

For all the things I don't mourn, there's been a loss of hope, of the expectation of better things to come, that I don't think we ever got back. Cynicism rules. And despondency.

I don't remember who coined the phrase ... but it truly was Camelot ... for a brief moment ...

issybird · 11-22-2016, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I don't remember who coined the phrase ... but it truly was Camelot ... for a brief moment ...

The story I've heard says it was Jackie Kennedy. In her interviews with William Manchester after the assassination for his book The Death of a President , she talked about how JFK would play the LP from the Broadway show and it grew from that.

Catlady · 11-22-2016, 10:31 PM

I remember being in school, and the Mother Superior came dashing into the classroom saying "The President's been shot. Say a prayer quickly," and then rushing out to the next classroom to deliver the news. We all started to pray the rosary.

I remember watching all the coverage on TV later, when then casket was lying in state in the Capitol rotunda. I remember the funeral cortege and I remember seeing Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald, live.

MickeyC · 11-23-2016, 05:08 AM

I had just returned to my college dorm from class in Connecticut when one of my school mates rushed up to me with the shocking news.

We were so affected, several of us got in a car and drove to Washington in time to attend the funeral. To this day, I vividly remember watching the casket being carried from the church followed by Prince Phillip and Charles de Gaulle among others

badgoodDeb · 11-23-2016, 01:27 PM

I was 6. I remember (i think) being sent home early from school, tho I don't know what grade that would have been. I vividly remember John-John's salute.

JKenP · 11-23-2016, 02:02 PM

I think I was student Sq. Commander at that point. I was in the ANG for training. I was walking back from lunch when an Airman ran out of the Squadron Office shouting that Kennedy had been shot. My first thought was it was a bad joke. Obviously, it wasn't.

This was Sheppard AFB and we shared it with a Bomber (Heavy) wing. About an hour later the B-52s lifted almost nose to tail and full out. Black smoke pored from them unlike normal takeoff. If you've not seen that you missed something very scary. An hour or so after we were all moved into the student building to sit in inside corridors. It wasn't a day to repeat.

Later that night, the bombers returned.

badgoodDeb · 11-23-2016, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JKenP

I think I was student Sq. Commander at that point. I was in the ANG for training. I was walking back from lunch when an Airman ran out of the Squadron Office shouting that Kennedy had been shot. My first thought was it was a bad joke. Obviously, it wasn't.

This was Sheppard AFB and we shared it with a Bomber (Heavy) wing. About an hour later the B-52s lifted almost nose to tail and full out. Black smoke pored from them unlike normal takeoff. If you've not seen that you missed something very scary. An hour or so after we were all moved into the student building to sit in inside corridors. It wasn't a day to repeat.

Later that night, the bombers returned.

Wow.

jswinden · 12-01-2016, 05:16 PM

I was just 5 and barely remember it. I remember mom screaming when she heard the news. I was at home because the small rural school district where I lived didn't offer a kindergarten grade. I really don't have many memories of JFK because I was so young. LBJ is another story as I grew up in central Texas where LBJ was widely known of course. Dallas has never been able to get past that dreadful day, even to this day.

11-22-2016, 07:13 PM	#1
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 21,108 Karma: 234185759 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	It was 53 years ago today... ...that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Even though it was 1963, the sixties, as we remember/imagine them, hadn't really started yet. Not until the following year: the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, Freedom Summer, and, for the first time, the Surgeon General said that cigarette smoking was hazardous to your health. I don't regret the racist, misogynistic, commie-fearing 50s, but there's also no denying that JFK's death marked the end of an era. You'd have to be 60 or older to have a clear memory of that day, now.

11-22-2016, 10:31 PM	#8
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,406 Karma: 52613881 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	I remember being in school, and the Mother Superior came dashing into the classroom saying "The President's been shot. Say a prayer quickly," and then rushing out to the next classroom to deliver the news. We all started to pray the rosary. I remember watching all the coverage on TV later, when then casket was lying in state in the Capitol rotunda. I remember the funeral cortege and I remember seeing Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald, live. Last edited by Catlady; 11-22-2016 at 10:37 PM.

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11-22-2016, 07:48 PM	#2
Barbara1955 Non-Techy Posts: 4,455 Karma: 15499273 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: WV---USA Device: Samsung Cell Phone & Amazon Fires & Kobo eReaders	I was 8 years old....

11-22-2016, 08:15 PM	#3
poohbear_nc Bah! Humbug! Posts: 62,694 Karma: 135239851 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	I was in second grade ... all the students were herded into the gymnasium to watch Walter Cronkite's broadcast on a B&W TV ... it was the first (and only) time I ever saw the teachers cry ... we were so scared, even though we didn't understand what had happened I also remember seeing Jack Ruby shoot Oswald live on the news .... We really haven't come very far, have we?

11-22-2016, 08:38 PM	#5
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,743 Karma: 158575914 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	I was in the 6th grade living in So Cal. I was in school when it happened, just before lunch. That's about all I remember about it, but I did see Ruby gun down Oswald on TV a few days later. Pretty heavy stuff for pre-net times. I remember more about the Beatles' arrival in the US a couple months later. I was more into entertainment, not news back in the day.

11-23-2016, 05:08 AM	#9
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,731 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	I had just returned to my college dorm from class in Connecticut when one of my school mates rushed up to me with the shocking news. We were so affected, several of us got in a car and drove to Washington in time to attend the funeral. To this day, I vividly remember watching the casket being carried from the church followed by Prince Phillip and Charles de Gaulle among others

11-23-2016, 01:27 PM	#10
badgoodDeb Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,538 Karma: 64201357 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Harrisburg outskirts Device: Palms, K1-4s, iPads, iPhones, KV, KO1	I was 6. I remember (i think) being sent home early from school, tho I don't know what grade that would have been. I vividly remember John-John's salute.

11-23-2016, 02:02 PM	#11
JKenP Connoisseur Posts: 91 Karma: 504384 Join Date: May 2011 Location: NW Indiana Device: Sony Kobo iPhone Kindle 8 HD	I think I was student Sq. Commander at that point. I was in the ANG for training. I was walking back from lunch when an Airman ran out of the Squadron Office shouting that Kennedy had been shot. My first thought was it was a bad joke. Obviously, it wasn't. This was Sheppard AFB and we shared it with a Bomber (Heavy) wing. About an hour later the B-52s lifted almost nose to tail and full out. Black smoke pored from them unlike normal takeoff. If you've not seen that you missed something very scary. An hour or so after we were all moved into the student building to sit in inside corridors. It wasn't a day to repeat. Later that night, the bombers returned.

12-01-2016, 05:16 PM	#13
jswinden Nameless Being	I was just 5 and barely remember it. I remember mom screaming when she heard the news. I was at home because the small rural school district where I lived didn't offer a kindergarten grade. I really don't have many memories of JFK because I was so young. LBJ is another story as I grew up in central Texas where LBJ was widely known of course. Dallas has never been able to get past that dreadful day, even to this day.