Dearest Stowe1,
On November 22, 1963 I was sitting in my 10th grade English class and the announcement came over the intercom that President Kennedy had been shot. I attended a Catholic High School and JFK was the first Catholic elected to be President. We did not know whether he was still alive or not at the time of the announcement. We ALL immediately began praying for him, praying desperately that the injury was not too severe. We had no idea what exactly had taken place in Dallas. Back then, the President was almost considered as a part of one's family, like a father-figure to be respected and because of his relative young age, our relating to him as a father-figure seemed that much more real. Things have changed considerably since that ill-fated day in 1963. Finally, by the end of the day, we were told that JFK had died from his gunshot wounds and LBJ would soon be sworn in as President. This bond my generation had formed with JFK was stretched almost to the breaking point with the mere idea of LBJ taking his place.
Unless you lived in this era, you cannot possibly imagine the degree of loss that was perceived not only here in the US but internationally as well by JFK's assassination. There was no such thing as the 24hr news cycle or CNN or the internet to check on the latest developments. I remember it was a universal truth that most Americans were in a state of shock that evening. People everywhere and in all households were affixed to their TV's, much like I imagine when FDR during WWII would give his "Fireside chats". Everybody was in a national sense of unity, the likes of which I have never witnessed before nor since, until the attach of 9/11. We were all asking how this could have possibly happened here in America?
No one could ever forget watching the iconic Walter Cronkite in his most iconic moment reporting of this event on TV throughout the day. He had to pause for a moment to gather his composure as the news camera continued to film as he wiped his glasses resulting from his grief as he announced Kennedy's death. Everybody, regardless of party affiliation, felt a great deal of vulnerability and loss as the "Cold War" and the "Cuban Missile Crisis" were not so far back that nuclear consequences from an attack by our Communist Enemies was not so far removed from becoming a plausible reality.
Yet, the assassinations of both Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King were horrible at first hearing about the event, but I no longer seemed so inconceivable to imagine. To this very day while I am certainly not death obsessed, but seeing the footage of the Presidential motorcade for just a few seconds, with Kennedy sitting in the back seat, just causes me to suddenly shift back to 1963 and my tears begin to flow again. Younger generations understandably cannot imagine having such a youthful and positive President in office. A little of the nostalgia was initially momentarily reassigned to the O'Bama administration. But JFK's 1000 day term of office, referred to as "Camelot" with his beautiful and glamorous First Lady "Jackie" alongside him represents a unique moment in history for America, that ended abruptly with his death. Sadly, it seems never to return to America again.
It was a time for renewed cultural/ethical/scientific/constitutional advances for our nation in the true spirit of a modern day multifaceted renaissance and rededication to the "best of whatever America had to offer its people and their aspirations". The energy JFK's administration amassed came from the optimistic view that all areas needing improvement could be approached all at once and from all angles with the hope for a brighter and better future as its driving force. Then, in the blink of an eye, this sense of euphoria came to an abrupt halt on November 22, 1963 as Kennedy died from his bullet wounds.
I feel nothing throughout our nation's history has so effectively derailed our national progress and our aspirations that, emerging merely as a consequence to this tragic event, has so robbed all future American generations of the great dynamic nation that we once were in 1963 and the depth of our dreams we, once upon a time, aspired to in Camelot. The two assassinations that followed, namely Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King, only added more nails in our national coffin and the former glory and vitality of our aspirations.
Forty-eight years later, we still don't know exactly if this was some type of "coup d'état" with J Edgar Hoover joining forces with the mob to get rid of the "threatening to the status quo " atmosphere currently thriving in Washington, supporting positive changes in America for the better. Or might it have been merely the actions of some crazed lunatic(Oswald) operating on his own, thinking all the while his misguided actions would result in him becoming some "national hero" for his ignoble efforts!
Sincerely,
Stimpy
You know who you are and are now eligible for a double helping with all the Thanksgiving treats and only half of the indigestion. You have earned it! 
