"Our deep spiritual confidence that this nation will survive the perils of today - which may well be with us for decades to come - compels us to invest in our nation's future, to consider and meet our obligations to our children and the numberless generations that will follow." --Special message to the Congress on Conservation (69), March 1, 1962, Public Papers of the Presidents: John F. Kennedy, 1962.
From
Linda Lee Greene, Author & Artist
Today, Monday,
November 22, 2021, is a freezing-cold and bright day, littered on every surface
with fallen leaves rather than drenched in rain or blanketed by snow, but still
it is a day fit only for polar bears here in Central Ohio, USA. The deep chill has
mirrored my mood from the moment of my rising from my bed ‘til now. “If only it had been a frigid day in Dallas
fifty-eight years ago!” the nagging voice has whirled like dervishes
unchecked in my brain. “If only it had
rained or snowed in Dealey Plaza that morning, and President John F. Kennedy
had been in a closed car rather than the open one…his beautiful head would have
been shielded from Lee Harvey Oswald’s killer bullet.”
In
my many years, I have lived through an oversized share of epochal periods of
history, both in my personal and communal life, not the least is the loss of
three of my closest friends in the last fifteen months—but no hours loom as
starkly in my memory as those that opened at mid-day of Friday, November 22,
1963, the day my fellow Americans and I were struck dumb by the news that John
F. Kennedy, our president, had been assassinated.
Basking
in the unseasonably bright and warm day in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, my
co-worker and I strolled leisurely from our lunch at a nearby café to our work place
in the credit department located on an upper floor of the towering Uni-Card
building. We approached the crowd of loitering co-workers on the broad sidewalk
fronting the building and then joined in the pitter-patter and joking so
typical of New Yorkers at their ease. The lively drumbeat of chatter stopped
abruptly when a man rushed out of the broad entrance of the building, his hand
clutching a long white ribbon of tickertape that trailed in his wake, and his
voice shouting, “THE PRESIDENT WAS SHOT! THE PRESIDENT WAS SHOT!” In the blink
of an eye, a second man ran from the building. It was his duty to tell us that
the president was dead—that the city was closing down as was the case across
the country, and that we were dismissed to get to our homes as quickly and as
efficiently as possible.
The
one detail missing from my memory is the means by which I made it to the
one-bedroom apartment in Flushing, Queens, New York, in which my bridegroom and
I had taken up residence only three months before. Perched on the floor of our
living room, our noses only inches from our small black and white television,
my husband and I watched nearly motionless, other than bathroom and kitchen
breaks, the unfolding drama of the several days comprising JFK’s assassination:
the tragic motorcade, the chaotic manhunt, Oswald’s frenzied apprehension, and
then, the man in the scruffy fedora crashing through the mad crowd, raising his
gun-yielding arm and shooting Oswald dead…right there on the TV screen…right
before our stunned eyes! And then the blood-smeared pink suit, the
vice-president’s swearing in, the flag-draped casket, the funeral procession
with the riderless horse, the little son stepping forward and saluting his dead
father.©
***
Multi-award-winning
author, Linda Lee Greene announces the release of her new book, GARDEN OF THE
SPIRITS OF THE POTS: A Spiritual Odyssey. In this novella, ex-pat American Nicholas
Plato relocates to Sydney, Australia to escape devastating losses. Strange encounters
in Australia’s outback with an indigenous potter reveal to Nicholas his true
purpose in life. It is available in eBook and/or paperback. Just click the
following blue link and it will take you straight to the page on Amazon on
which readers can purchase the book. https://www.amazon.com/GARDEN-SPIRITS-POTS-SPIRITUAL-ODYSSEY-ebook/dp/B09JM7YL6F/
#11/22/1963, #JohnFKennedy,
#JFK, #POTUS, #assassination, #LeeHarveyOswald, #bloodstainedpinksuit, #Dallas,
#DealeyPlaza, #GardenoftheSpiritsofthePots,
#LindaLeeGreene
Even though not American, I can still remember how the earth stood still at that moment. Couldn't believe it.
ReplyDeleteIt was an event that reverberated across the cosmos and has had a lasting impact. Thanks so much for responding to my post, Vonnie. Stay well.
DeleteI was only ten and in England but I remember it well! The good ones always get assassinated.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comment so much, Carol. It was an event that was felt all across the planet.
DeleteMy parents were glued to the TV set then too. We lived in Illinois at the time. It was one of those global events you always remember.
ReplyDeleteIt is an event that needs to be remembered throughout time. Thank you so much for commenting, Sharon.
DeleteI was I gym class in junior high when the announcement came over the PA. Girls started wailing at the news. I was not one of the wailers but it was a shocking and horrible event that I clearly recall decades later.
ReplyDeleteTears flowed like rivers that day and throughout the following days. Thanks so much for responding to my post, Catherine.
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