Friday, November 22, 2013
[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 more than half a century that has 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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