There are few dates that I could never forget and this is one of them.
On November 22, 1963 I was a high school senior at Franklin K Lane in Brooklyn NY. November 22nd was a Friday and as such I did not have classes that afternoon but, because my friends did I had volunteered to work for the Dean of Girls, Miss Anna Manning. Miss Manning was not the kindest person you would want to meet. She practically never smiled and wouldn't talk to any of us working for her. The only reason why I took that job was that I didn't want to go home alone and on Friday's we all went for Pizza then went to our Church's Dance at 7 PM.
It was supposed to be a fun year for us. We were seniors, due to graduate in June 1964. About 6 weeks before we had "Baby Day" when we all dressed up like babies and celebrated being a child, we had a great time and then all went to Jahn's Ice Cream Palor to pig out on the Kitchen Sink which was a giant ice cream sundae that even myself and about 15 friends couldn't finish. The following Friday we had "Senior Day" when we all dressed up as working adults. More below the fold.
I don't remember the exact time, guess I erased that from my memory, but it must have been about 2:30 PM Miss Manning came in and with tears in her eyes told all of us to go to Principal O'Connell's office. The offices were packed with all the students that worked in the various offices, staff and teachers who didn't have a class that period. The radio was on and they were announcing that President Kennedy had been shot and was dead. I thought I was hearing things, couldn't believe it and stood there in shock. After we heard that announcement Principal O'connell got on the intercom to announce to all students and teachers that President Kennedy was dead and that school was dismissed. Lane was never that quiet, after all it was a Friday afternoon and normally we would all be excited for the end of the school week and the start of the weekend. I was crying and managed to find a few of my friends and we went to the bus stop, all with tears streaming down our faces.
My mother wasn't home when I got there, she had gone to pick up my sister Angela who was 9 and in elementry school. She arrived shortly after I got there and I saw that her face was stained with tears. She immediately turned on the TV (keep in mind in 1963 you only had a black & white TV's and there was no such thing as big screens) and we sat there watching. My sister Gen (who went to High School in Manhattan) arrived and joined us. My father worked nights so we didn't expect him home until after midnight. Instead he arrived about 5 and sat there with us. I never saw my father cry, not when his oldest brother passed away, not ever yet there he sat, his solid muscular frame shaking and tears streaming down his eyes. There he sat the entire weekend watching the TV and only got up to go to the bathroom or eat, although we weren't interested in doing that either. On Monday 11/25 I was supposed to have my picture taken for our Yearbook and had an appointment to get my hair cut and set by my mother's stylist. They hadn't announced yet that schools would be closed on the day of Kennedy's funeral so I took the time to go get my hair done. When I got home my mother advised me that they had announced that there was no school on that Monday.
I remember the first time I saw LBJ, it was when they got off the plane in DC. I started to sob and said he couldn't be President, that Kennedy was our President and I wanted him back. My mother comforted me until I stopped crying.
There we sat, all 5 of us watching as Kennedy's flag drapped coffin arrived for citizens to pay their respects, we watched as Jackie Kennedy lovingly stroked his casket and the rest of the Kennedy Clan paid their respects also.
Along with our parents we spent the weekend in front of the TV on Sunday we watched as Oswald was killed by Jack Ruby. More shock and we thought that the country maybe at war. Shortly thereafter we found out that Oswald was dead. I think we were all too much in shock to say anything but I remember thinking that Ruby should have let Oswald be tried and executed for what he did.
Monday November 25th arrived and we all sat there transfixed watching the funeral, the Mass, the possession, JohnJohn saluting his father's casket as it went by, Jackie, Bobby, Teddy and the rest of the Kennedy's walking behind the flag drapped casket, the riderless horse, the stillness. It was the saddest time in all my 17 years.
JFK had only just started, there was so much to do and he wanted to do it. LBJ did push through many of those things but my world (and those in my generation) life would never be the same. Here's a poem that was written in our Yearbook by a student on the memory page dedicated to JFK:
"He was so young
when he wondered why and how,
He was an adolescent
When the curtain of lfe was drawn
permitting him to be a member of its cast.
He walked the paths of Harvard Yard
Accepting the quest which was his life.
He was prepared as man and President
to challenge a changing world
And face its glistering horns.
He was fearless of all the perils
Held by life or by his office
For he had faith in God.
He was...He will be
Milan Rada