The JFK story...from another angle
Today is the 43rd anniversary of the JFK assassination. I was 10 when it happened just after lunchtime a few miles from the elementary school where I was in fourth grade. I remember teachers crying and that we were let out early on that cold autumn day and told to go home. We didn't go back to school until the following week (it happened on a Friday). That Sunday was when we saw Lee Harvey Oswald shot by Jack Ruby on live TV. Everyone stayed inside and watched the JFK funeral...and in black and white, if you're old enough to remember.
It's the event that changed the way we get our news. Before that, Americans reached for newspapers in the morning and afternoon to see what was happening. After the JFK assassination, it was TV.
One of my favorite writers of daily journalism, Jimmy Breslin, did something more reporters should do when writing about these big stories. He stepped to the back of the crowd. He found one person on the sidelines, out of the spotlight, who had a different and very poignant point of view of the whole thing. And this is what he wrote.
posted by writer @ 10:21 AM
4 Comments:
Nice story, especially the link to the Breslin article. But for the record, it was Friday, November 22, 1963, not Thursday.
That's really great. Thanks for sharing.
I sure liked that story. It reminded me of why I hate most interviews... the same old tired-ass questions, same old tired-ass answers. So boring. But this was great... something I wanted to read and something I couldn't predict the ending to.
I miss your classroom stories, prof! How's that book coming? Will you have your signing party at Borders on Preston and Royal?
Shelly
is that true? was it a thursday?? i remember the immediate sense of urgency, the sadness, the deep feeling that something had gone awry when the news hit my tv set. a plane description is not easy.
jfk's death marked the beginning of a new era too.
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