It Was 48 Years Ago, Today

Where were you when President Kennedy was assassinated? I was working in Fayetteville, Arkansas, while my hubby attended law school. He and another student and one of their Law Professors had gone to Little Rock to do some research. It was my habit to walk to work at the Court House, as we only lived about 3 blocks away. On this day, I decided to home for lunch.

With the changing leaves, the Fayetteville square was beautiful, and I was enjoying the walk back, when I noiced something very unusual. A few of the businesses had placed television sets in their windows, facing outward. Pausing for a few moments to watch, I could tell something momentous was happening, but, not wanting to be late, I hurried on.

My desk in the Court House was at the end of the hall, just outside the Clerk's Office. As I passed by, a women in on of the offices called out to me, "Did you hear what happened to Kennedy?" For some reason, the question sounded like the beginning of a joke.  I stopped to hear the punch line, and couldn't believe my ears when she said, "He's been shot."

A few minutes later, we heard that the President was dead. The Clerk came out and to my desk and said my boss wanted me to go to the office, the Abstract Company, which was just next door. When I got there, he said the office would be closed until after the funeral.

I practically ran back to the apartment, wishing my husband hadn't gone to Little Rock. He told me later that when they heard the news, his professor said, "Pack up. We're going home. Now."  When he arrived, he found me glued to the television, and that's where we stayed, hardly sleeping or eating, until Tuesday, the day after the funeral.

What a horrible weekend that was! It had started out bad and just kept getting worse. We saw Lyndon Johnson sworn in on Air Force One, flanked by Mrs. Johnson and a blood-splattered Jackie Kennedy. We watched as heads of state from all over the world arrived in Washington, and heard messages of condolence from our eleced officials, all of them appearing a bit shell-shocked. We watched and listened as details of the funeral arrangements trickled out, all directed by Jackie Kennedy, herself. We watched, horrified, as Lee Harvey Oswald was gunned down by Jack Ruby at the Dallas police headquarters.

We watched the funeral procession, culminating with little John-John saluting his father's casked as it passed, a gesture that brought America to its knees.

And, through it all ran the underlying fear that the country might be under attack. Still, we remained glued to our television sets, trying to understand what had happened. In the ensuing months, we waited to hear if Oswald had acted alone, or if he was one of a more complex plot. Hardly anyone was satisfied with the outcome of the Warren Commission appointed by President Johnson, to determine exactly what had happened.  By the time the commission issued its final report, everyone had already formed an opinion or a theory.  To this day, we don't really know, for sure.

What do you think?

When Will They Ever Learn?

When I was a senior at Little Rock Central High School back in 1958, I was exposed, for the first time in my young life, to the ugly faces of hatred and bigotry. I looked at those faces every morning and afternoon outside the school, where, inside, we were trying to keep nine frightened black students safe from the crowds that had been bused in to keep the federally mandated integration from going forward.

Then, throughout the '60s, I saw those same hateful expressions on faces in the news and watched in horror as President Kennedy, his brother, Bobby, and Rev. Martin Luther King all were assassinated.

In the past few days, those same twisted, angry faces have surfaced once again, encouraged by Senator John McCain and his running-mate Governor Sarah Palin. In their latest political rallies, Sarah Palin has suggested that Senator Barack Obama "pals around with domestic terrorists", and John McCain has told people in his crowds that Obama is a liar, and doesn't have the judgment or integrity to be President, and they have allowed people in their rallies to scream such imprecations as, "kill him! " "treason!" and "bomb Obama!". Both candidates have just smiled and nodded when these things have occurred.

What McCain and Palin are doing was, at one time, labeled "inciting to riot", and I believe it used to be against the law. Whether it is criminal or not, it has certainly lowered the level of discourse, and without doubt, placed Obama and possibly his family and the family of Joe Biden in mortal danger.

In his defense, John McCain finally, FINALLY, took the microphone away from one of his backers when, in all ignorance, she said she was afraid of Obama because he is an Arab. McCain tried to correct her, very gently, and called for his backers to disagree with Obama, but with respect. In this and other rallies yesterday and today, he has tried to tamp down some of the vitriol, and has been booed for his efforts. Too little, too late? Perhaps. Apparently, Sarah Palin didn't get the hint, because she was still spewing her mean-spirited message at her rallies.

History has shown us that once the forces of hatred are unleashed, it is all but impossible to rein them in. It may be too late, now, but I hope not. If John McCain and Sarah Palin are not able or willing to change their rhetoric, we all need to cross our fingers and hope and pray that nothing unthinkable happens. In the meantime, we can only hope that the Secret Service protection will be beefed up around Barack Obama and Joe Biden and their families.

And, if the worst should happen, well, we'll at least know where to point the finger of blame.