For those who remember... 45 years ago... Where were you? [View All]

[DrZeeLit]

I was in Los Angeles.
Henry Clay Junior High.
I was in the 7th grade, eager to finish school for the day, because we were having a dance that night.
I remember staring at the speaker -- those little wooden boxy ones they used to have in each classroom and in the lunch areas.

I never seem to capture the feeling of that day when I tell my students.
They cannot imagine a time when t.v. didn't go 24/7.
They really cannot imagine the entire nation stopping. Just stopping in our tracks.
Mourning.
Even people who didn't vote for him mourned.
The air was thick with sadness. My little brother didn't sleep for months -- fitfully waking in the middle of the night, hearing those muffled drums and the clip-clop of horses' hooves on that pavement.

When the media starts playing film from that day -- smiling Jack and Jackie, waving from the car, sparkling in the Dallas sun -- I want to yell DON'T GO, STOP! And I always spend a few moments wondering what it would be like if he had not died that day -- if he had been the boy who lived. And then, I return to whatever I was doing, but I return with a bit of sadness and regret.


I was looking for a quote to use in class today, and found JFK's remarks to the steel industry which are very interesting in light of history (note Viet-Nam) and today's issues with the economy and the Auto Moguls.
What do you think?

JFK addressed this to the Executives In Steel Industry

In this serious hour in our Nation's history, when
we are confronted with grave crises in Berlin and
Southeast Asia, when we are devoting our energies
to economic recovery and stability, when we are
asking reservists to leave their homes and families
for months on end and servicemen to risk their lives--
and four were killed in the last 2 days in Viet-Nam
and asking union members to hold down their wage
requests at a time when restraint and sacrifice
are being asked of every citizen, the American
people will find it hard, as I do, to accept
a situation in which a tiny handful of steel
executives whose pursuit of private power and
profit exceeds their sense of public responsibility
can show such utter contempt for the interests
of 185 million Americans.

Yes.... a tiny handful of auto executives????

If you can remember... where were you that day -- 45 years ago... November 22, 1963?