Do You Remember?

I do. I was only 6 years old but portions of that fateful day were seared into my young brain forever, like the days my daughters were born, the moon landing & 9/11.

I was sitting at my desk in my first grade classroom. My teacher, Mrs. Lajoy had just reentered. I turned in her direction & sensed immediately that something was terribly wrong. I saw my teacher struggling to keep her composure & failing miserably. Between sobs, she informed the class that our President had died. She offered no other details, probably because of our tender ages. She quietly told us that we were being dismissed early.

The ride home on the bus was subdued, not the usual boisterous noise found on a typical grade school bus. A few of the girls in the upper grades cried softly.

Swinging my lunchbox, I walked the short distance home. On a normal day I would usually find my mother in the kitchen & she would inevitably have the radio turned on to a rock station but on that momentous Friday afternoon, I found my mother sitting on the living room sofa with the tv on. My stoic mother had tears running down her cheeks. She hugged me tightly to her.

For the next couple of days, we & everyone we knew were glued to our black & white sets. Periodically we’d hear or view something  that would once again reduce us to tears anew. It was the end of Camelot.

Here it is 50 years later & we Americans are still inspired by the words of JFK, fascinated by his life, & filled with remorse at the loss of one so young & full of promise.

Indiana Bound

We left the Suite Pea in Alabama early yesterday morning to make the 13 plus hours trip back to Indiana in our rental car. We will be spending the next 10 days enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday with family. We also have doctor & dental appointments scheduled. Our days most certainly will be full.

Here’s lookin’ at you kid……………….