Like just about everyone else my age, I remember where I was when I first heard the news that President Kennedy had been shot. I was in the halls on my way to history class, the last period of the day. I remember sitting in the classroom and waiting, in silence, for news about his condition. There were no TVs in classrooms back then. We knew he had died when we looked across the street and saw the flag at the high school being lowered to half-mast. I remember walking home in a light jacket. I remember that my Father was outside washing the car and listening to the news on a transistor radio. I remember walking through the door to see my Mother glued to the TV. She had been crying. I even remember that we had pork chops for dinner that night. I remember picking at them and not having much of an appetite.
The 1960 election was the first one I paid any attention to. At nine years of age, I supported Kennedy, but more because my parents supported him than because of my own political convictions. When our fourth grade teacher assigned us a composition on whom we would vote for if we were old enough and why, I must have had some help from my parents. The teacher suggested I send the composition to the President-elect, and I did. I got a letter from him, written on United States Senate stationery, in which he thanked me for my support. The closing was "With every good wish, I remain..." All the adults in my life were as excited as I was by the letter. They were convinced that he actually signed it. The signature didn't look as if it had been rubber stamped. It was certainly the most exciting thing that had happened to me in my young life.
After his death, I read and collected everything I could about him. My bedroom walls were covered with pictures of President Kennedy. One day, I saw an advertisement for the book, "Four Days," in Life Magazine. I think it cost $2.00. It is an account in photographs and commentary of those terrible four days in November, from November 22 when President Kennedy was assassinated until November 25 when he was laid to rest. Many of the photos are iconic. You have no doubt often seen them before, especially during the last week. Others are less well known, and they might be of interest. Robert Kennedy is comforted by his children on the grounds of their Virginia home. A sailor weeps, his face buried in his hands, as he watches the funeral procession. The President's famous rocking chair is unceremoniously removed on a dolly. The world's leaders, kings, queens, chancellors and presidents, proceed behind the Kennedy family in the marche funèbre. London with flags at half-mast. A Parisian family gathered, just like millions of Americans, around the TV set watches the coverage. Berliners hold a torchlight parade and rename Rudolph-Wilde-Platz (Square) John-F-Kennedy-Platz. Soviets read the news in Pravda.
I don't have very many things left that I owned in 1964. Somehow through all the moves and changes in my life, this book remained. I'm glad that I managed to hold onto it.
(17 photos)The 1960 election was the first one I paid any attention to. At nine years of age, I supported Kennedy, but more because my parents supported him than because of my own political convictions. When our fourth grade teacher assigned us a composition on whom we would vote for if we were old enough and why, I must have had some help from my parents. The teacher suggested I send the composition to the President-elect, and I did. I got a letter from him, written on United States Senate stationery, in which he thanked me for my support. The closing was "With every good wish, I remain..." All the adults in my life were as excited as I was by the letter. They were convinced that he actually signed it. The signature didn't look as if it had been rubber stamped. It was certainly the most exciting thing that had happened to me in my young life.
After his death, I read and collected everything I could about him. My bedroom walls were covered with pictures of President Kennedy. One day, I saw an advertisement for the book, "Four Days," in Life Magazine. I think it cost $2.00. It is an account in photographs and commentary of those terrible four days in November, from November 22 when President Kennedy was assassinated until November 25 when he was laid to rest. Many of the photos are iconic. You have no doubt often seen them before, especially during the last week. Others are less well known, and they might be of interest. Robert Kennedy is comforted by his children on the grounds of their Virginia home. A sailor weeps, his face buried in his hands, as he watches the funeral procession. The President's famous rocking chair is unceremoniously removed on a dolly. The world's leaders, kings, queens, chancellors and presidents, proceed behind the Kennedy family in the marche funèbre. London with flags at half-mast. A Parisian family gathered, just like millions of Americans, around the TV set watches the coverage. Berliners hold a torchlight parade and rename Rudolph-Wilde-Platz (Square) John-F-Kennedy-Platz. Soviets read the news in Pravda.
I don't have very many things left that I owned in 1964. Somehow through all the moves and changes in my life, this book remained. I'm glad that I managed to hold onto it.
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