November 22, 1963

[bradygirl_12]

Wow! It's been 47 years since JFK was shot in Dallas.



It's almost been half a century!

The day suits the anniversary. It's cold and gray, with the leaves off the trees and everything brown and gray.

That day was a psychic shock. No matter what party you were, unless you were a die-hard Kennedy hater, the man leading your country had his head blown off on the streets of an American city and his widow ended up covered in his brains and blood.

All kinds of bizarre events surrounding that. Incredible incompetence and strange occurrences. Why was the Secret Service ordered off the running boards of the presidential limousine just before they left Love Field, Dallas' airport? Why did the Dallas Police allow Jack Ruby, a known associate of Chicago gangsters, free access to the police garage on November 24th to allow him to shoot Lee Harvery Oswald? America got to see its first murder on live TV.

I know the prevailing 'official' opinion is that conspiracy theorists are nuts and the Oswald was the lone gunman, but there's just so much that doesn't fit. Maybe it is a case of people trying to make sense out of a senseless act. Maybe disgruntled Lee Harvey Oswald took an Italian Mannlicher-Carcano rifle known for its unreliability and inaccuracy and made the luckiest shot in history.

It was a major shock in heavily Irish Catholic Massachusetts. The man who had evoked such great pride in the Irish-American tribe was gone. I was a very wee lass, but it was the first time I saw my mother cry.

Just some thoughts on a cold, gray, New England day.


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Comments

[irisbleufic.livejournal.com]

My thoughts are with my adoptive home state, and with the family.

[bradygirl_12]

It's always a sad anniversary. :(

[mistressmarilyn.livejournal.com]

I wrote a (sorta humorous) memoir a couple years ago called 'Bring Me the Brain of John F. Kennedy,' which basically said the assassination and the aftermath were a series of events that reeked of incompetence. It seems to me it takes a set of pretty thick blinders to believe the Warren Report.

Anyway, JFK's death was an American tragedy, basically stealing our national innocence, if there ever was such a thing. I was much more personally affected by Bobby's death (months of horror and depression), and I was sorta re-traumatized when JFK Jr's plane disappeared. That was a horrible summer for me.

When it comes to JFK, I'll never forget being at home and watching Oswald killed on live TV. Everyone else was at church, and I evidently was sick, sleeping in the hide-a-bed in the living room in front of the TV. And, as usual, nobody believed me when they got home, said I must have been dreaming.

The Kennedys have certainly had lifetimes of tragedy . . . whether people love or hate them, they should certainly admire their consistent public service. It's inspiring to me, and it always has been.

[bradygirl_12]

I wrote a (sorta humorous) memoir a couple years ago called 'Bring Me the Brain of John F. Kennedy,' which basically said the assassination and the aftermath were a series of events that reeked of incompetence. It seems to me it takes a set of pretty thick blinders to believe the Warren Report.

I've read sections of the Warren Report and some of the conspiracy theorists and even though some theorists are nutjobs, others really present a case. The Warren Report is the biggest mess ever foisted upon the American people.

Anyway, JFK's death was an American tragedy, basically stealing our national innocence, if there ever was such a thing. I was much more personally affected by Bobby's death (months of horror and depression), and I was sorta re-traumatized when JFK Jr's plane disappeared. That was a horrible summer for me.

I remember Bobby's death and how it was like, "They've killed another Kennedy!" 1968 might have been the most depressing year in American history when you examine all the events of that year and its cumulative effect.

When it comes to JFK, I'll never forget being at home and watching Oswald killed on live TV. Everyone else was at church, and I evidently was sick, sleeping in the hide-a-bed in the living room in front of the TV. And, as usual, nobody believed me when they got home, said I must have been dreaming.

I was with my dad in the living room watching TV when it happened, and we called my mother, who was in the kitchen preparing Sunday dinner. My sister was just a baby and was in her playpen. I was too young to understand the import of everything, though I knew that weekend was different. I've seen the documentary about the funeral, but I have some personal memories of the sound of those drums and the clip-clop of Black Jack's hooves on the street.

The Kennedys have certainly had lifetimes of tragedy . . . whether people love or hate them, they should certainly admire their consistent public service. It's inspiring to me, and it always has been.

They lost Joe, Jr., during a mission in World War II, Kathleen in a plane crash in '48, and then Jack and Bobby to assassins' bullets. They have been a family touched by tragedy and they were the politicians that drew me into politics in the first place.

[(Anonymous)]

I've just rewatched Oswald's Ghost (as they replayed it) I recommend you see it. Also I've just seen for the first time two documentaries that just played the footage and audio of the time with no voice-overs or narrators. Except the news reports and other stuff from the era. As I'll admit I didn't exist at the time and was born in the next decade i.e. seventies. They are called The Lost JFK Tapes: The Assassination and JFK: 3 Shots That Changed America (I've only seen part 1 as part 2 is next week).

It made me experience it as people of the time might have experienced it (condensed). Except I knew some of the twists. That said it did make me feel like I was there to some extent.

I've said before but will reiterate I no longer believe in the conspiracy stuff. I once drank that poison. No longer. I need real evidence and not vague they did it accusations. Name real names and provide real and credible evidence others were involved then you're talking possibilities. Otherwise it's just paranoia.

As for firing a gun or rifle. I'll tell you what I have no expertise there. But I use to be a goal shooter for netball. The only way you can be good at something is to practice it. Over and over again. That's what I used to do. Why couldn't he (it was his rifle)?

Seeing one of the documentaries the one shock was especially: as it's been awhile since I've seen stuff on it. Was a journalist of the time told a story where he talked to President Kennedy (or Senator). The President mentioned that the Secret Service really did have a hard job. Because anyone with a rifle and a will to use it was likely to succeed.

I'm thinking about those poor families too.

Lastly Doctor Who first aired 23 November 1963. Not kidding. I'll admit because of this and especially as I've loved Doctor Who most of my life. I often think of them both. Together. Even though they are separate. Except the year and month plus a day. Because of a twist of fate and a fatal decision(s) made at the time. Something that should not be.

Angeloz

[bradygirl_12]

In three years we're going to be deluged with specials and tributes and retrospectives, but I like the idea of bringing you into the reports of the time and letting you absorb it without commentary.

It was a wild weekend. Speculations and rumors were rampant mixed in with numbed shock. People were afraid that it was a first strike by the Soviet Union or that a coup was taking place (and a coup just might have been pulled off that day). All the phones in Washington, D.C. went dead, and people were scared of what it all meant. LBJ insisted on taking the oath of office in the back of Air Force One with Jackie beside him in her bloodstained suit and the coffin of her husband nearby to try and quell fears.

I really don't think there's a rock-solid case for the lone gunman theory anymore than there's clear evidence of conspiracy, though the Nix and Moorman photos are pretty telling. People claim that those involved couldn't have kept quiet. Not forever, but how many secret things have been pulled off and the truth only emerges decades later? We're coming up to the 50th anniversary, so don't be surprised if new evidence emerges.

JFK did say that any nut with a rifle could pick him off. He tried to live life without worrying constantly about such things and pretty much succeeded.