He served less than a thousand days.. a lifetime ago..and yet ( How I choose to remember JFK)

[SoCalDem]

Last edited Thu Nov 22, 2012, 10:10 PM - Edit history (1)

SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts)Thu Nov-22-07 09:21 PM

Original message



He served less than a thousand days.. a lifetime ago..and yet



People who never met him, and only learned of him by seeing a picture in Grandma's house, or in a book at school, and people all over the world, knew what he stood for, and admired him then, and still do.

He was young, by the standards of the day, and yes he may have been a "player", but he never embarrassed his country. He served 4 years in wartime, and acquitted himself admirably.

He was rich and could have partied his way through life, but he did not. The life he might have lost in wartime, he still lost in service to his country.

He met with "bad people".. He stared down our enemies, and they blinked. He erred with The Bay of Pigs fiasco, and like a man, he admitted it. He had courage and grace.

He was not petulant and secretive. No doubt he kept secrets, but he was not one to embarrass or belittle people .

He focused our hopes and aspirations, and looked to the future with fearless ambition...ambition to help the world and foster Peace..not to dominate and change regimes.

Millions of young people were inspired to put their lives on hold and venture to the four corners of the earth in the Peace Corps.

He "invented" the space program and within the 10-year goal he set, we had men on the moon..sent with computers with less power than your phone.

The world liked us then. We were the hope of the world. Foreign dignitaries came to the US and were treated with respect and decorum..not hotdogs on the grill at Mom & Dad's house.

Every president since him, has served longer, and yet his legacy is the strongest.

The sad thing is that when he died, hope died with him. His brother tried to regain it for us, but was killed for his efforts.

It's almost as if we are afraid to care too much again for a candidate..any candidate, lest we get our hearts broken again.

People of my age remember when hope was limitless.. we could do anything... and then we couldn't.


We've had presidents who were in office longer, but none of them have retained the interest or admiration of JFK. You can go to any country on earth and mention JFK, and they will nod, in silent understanding ..even if they do not speak English.

Presidents after him have come and gone, and most of the time, it's with a kick in the pants and a "Good Riddance". People can name every building in DC after Reagan, and JFK's administration will still shine brighter than any of those "Thousand points of Light" that Reagan/Bush loved to talk about..

Maybe those Thousand points of light were the days we had Kennedy..and the lights have long since gone out.

Maybe someday we will get another president who can inspire us.. I had one in my lifetime, and I wish the same for my children.

It could be that we just have not yet been introduced to that president.


edited to add.. Maybe we have had our "introduction"..only time will tell

[tblue]

1. Last month I visited the Kennedy Library

for the first time. JFK was freaking AMAZING! Too many examples to list here, but his press conferences in particular showed what an incredible individual he was--brilliant, witty, charming, gracious, and truly, truly majestic. I can't even think of the 'if onlys' without tearing up.

[coalition_unwilling]

2. I flashed on that mournful song, performed by the Byrds:

He Was a Friend of Mine

He was a friend of mine, he was a friend of mine
His killing had no purpose, no reason or rhyme
He was a friend of mine

He was in Dallas town, he was in Dallas town
From a sixth floor window a gunner shot him down
He was in Dallas town

He never knew my name, he never knew my name
Though I never met him I knew him just the same
Oh he was a friend of mine

Leader of a nation for such a precious time
He was a friend of mine

[SoCalDem]

3. Abraham, Martin & John always gets to me

[No Vested Interest]

4. Thanks so much, SoCalDem

The photo and the words put a lump in my throat.
Yes, I remember the feeling of grief and being bereft - that lasted through that long weekend of the funeral.
And, yes, for me too - the song Abraham, Martin, and John.

[hlthe2b]

5. Sniff...

Lovely SoCalDem...His tragic loss defined my early childhood, but I am grateful that what he stood for has not been forgotten.

[SoCalDem]

6. It's odd what rushes back after all these years.. for me, it's uneven brick sidewalks

and the cotton tassels on my Aunt's big old gray couch..

The sidewalks:

We were released early from school, and all walked home in silence..afraid because we did not know what would happen next.. (we were not that far from the Cuban Missile Crisis, and there were still Nuke shelter signs on buildings in my town)..

It was raining (actually sleet), and the 4 of us shuffled along those uneven brick sidewalks on the way home (9 blocks), each of us occasionally stumbling a bit since we were oblivious to everything except what had just happened, and then trying to wrap our 14 yr old brains around the enormity of it all.

The tassels:

Actually pom-pom-ish tassels that I absentmindedly fiddled with as we watched her TV. (We did not have a TV). I spent most of the next 3 days there, watching..and then we all watched live, as Oswald was shot dead on live tv.

I still hear her telling me to quit messing with the tassels..

[ailsagirl]

7. No assassin's bullet will ever eradicate his memory

Some years back, I went on a tour of the White House. It was when I stood in the East Room that I was most affected because I knew that was where he lay in a flag-covered casket until he was moved to the Rotunda for public viewing before the state funeral. And it gave me chills standing there and looking back into history and that somber occasion. It's something I've never forgotten.

[WillyT]

8. Great Piece SoCalDem !!! - K & R !!!

[colsohlibgal]

9. RIP JFK

!963 and 1968. JFK, MLK, RFK. All with convenient "throw aways". Forces terminated Camelot and the leadership of MLK with extreme prejudice.

Lone nutballs are the women who shot at Ford (didn't even hit him) and Ronnie (hit him but he survived). Not like with those 3 60's icons, those were pro hitters of extreme skill. They didn't miss.

I bought everything the government was telling me until the Warren report and the release of Zapruder film.

[allan01]

10. re:He served less than a thousand days.. a lifetime ago..and yet ( How I choose to remember him)

jfk. silent key. in memorium. i was barley old enough to remember . but remember reading about the shock, stunned demenaor of folk around the world when that happened. rest in peace sir .

[xtraxritical]

11. Get over it, I remember him well.

[The Blue Flower]

12. We grieved a promise yet to be fulfilled

I was 14 and our gym teacher came out to the playing field and told us the president had been shot. The entire school was sent out to the flag pole for the striking of the flag, everyone in tears. And this was in Florida. I'll never forget those three days of nonstop tv coverage. I was watching when Ruby shot Oswald.

I believe the promise has been taken up again and will be fulfilled before our eyes. We have that inspirational, good-hearted, brilliant leader now and I thank God we were smart enough to re-elect him.

[Little Star]

13. Beautifully said SoCalDem. Gave me chills. Thanks for the memories. n/t