Tuesday, November 22, 2011
[1819 - George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), novelist,
born at South Farm, Arbury, England]
[1890 - Charles De Gaulle, Military Leader, President of France, born in Lille, France]
[1898 - Wiley Post, aviator, born in Van Zandt County, Texas]
[1899 - Hoagy (Hoagland Howard) Carmichael, songwriter, composer, born in Bloomington, Indiana]
[1921 - Rodney Dangerfield (Jacob Cohen), comedian, actor, born in Babylon, New York]
[1924 - Geraldine Page, Academy Award-
winning actress, born in Kirksville, Missouri]
[1963 - President John F. Kennedy is shot in a motorcade on the streets of Dallas, Texas]
[1965 - Man of La Mancha opens in New York, runs for 2,328 performances]
One is frequently exposed to the above picture of the JFK Dallas motorcade. In spite of that exposure and regardless of the 48 years that have passed since that fateful day, I still cannot look upon that scene without tears coming to my eyes. A vibrant Jack Kennedy with that famous smile, so alive and vital; the captivating first lady at his side; a police cordon surrounds them in apparent safety. A moment later, everything is changed.
How can I still feel such a deep sense of personal loss? Why do I continue to experience such overwhelming shame? Is it just that this should not have happened in my country?
All I know is that the emotional content of that event has not faded in my consciousness the way it is supposed to.
William's Whimsical Words:
Johnny, we hardly knew ye.
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