November 22, 1963- Where were you?
- Thread starter Frosty
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Crying at home because they preempted cartoons (I was not quite four). My dad worked in downtown Dallas but didn't leave the office I'm pretty sure (he was a stance Republican). I don't recall what his story was; I have to check with older siblings who were all in school. My mother was glued to the set all day as the story goes. I don't remember any of it.
jambo
Puritan Board Senior
We went to visit my uncle, aunt and cousins who lived in a wee village just outside Edinburgh called Currie. My parents had no car so my uncle drove us home in his green Morris Minor van. There was only one passenger seat which my dad had whilst my mother and I were sitting on the floor in the back. When we got back to our house in the middle of Edinburgh there was a note on our table left by my older brother. My mother picked it up and gasped "Oh President Kennedy's been assassinated."
I was only 5 at the time and asked what assassinated meant and she told me. I think that was the first bit of world news I remember.
I was only 5 at the time and asked what assassinated meant and she told me. I think that was the first bit of world news I remember.
JimmyH
Puritan Board Senior
On my way to class, 15 years old, walking down the hall with my buddy O'Brien. A kid ran up to us, he had been in the office and heard it over a radio. Said the president had been shot. We both started punching him in the arms and pushing him into lockers. He cried and said he wasn't lying.
Went on to class, 8th grade, and it came over the loud speaker. The president was dead. Girls, maybe some guys started crying. I asked permission to go to the 'rest room' and it was given. I went in and smoked a couple of Camels and then went back to class. We were dismissed to go home If I recall correctly.
For people who were not of an age of awareness at that time it is impossible to convey the shock and sadness that was felt at that time. It was incomprehensible that this could have happened. Sort of the 1963 equivalent of 9-11-01.
Went on to class, 8th grade, and it came over the loud speaker. The president was dead. Girls, maybe some guys started crying. I asked permission to go to the 'rest room' and it was given. I went in and smoked a couple of Camels and then went back to class. We were dismissed to go home If I recall correctly.
For people who were not of an age of awareness at that time it is impossible to convey the shock and sadness that was felt at that time. It was incomprehensible that this could have happened. Sort of the 1963 equivalent of 9-11-01.
Mushroom
Puritan Board Doctor
I was 4, and just remember my Mom was very upset while we watched the TV. I remember that the TV was a B&W portable on a rolling stand with a red shell (weird). My Dad came home early from work. They were dyed-in-the-wool Democrats, and pretty broken up. We were in a small West Texas town, and I remember being ashamed that it happened in Texas. Our family was from Fort Worth and near Dallas, and I also remember thinking that I was glad I didn't live in the big city where crazy stuff like this happened. I was worried about my cousins. We were watching the tube when Ruby shot Oswald. Strange days.
baron
Puritan Board Graduate
I was in grade school and the nuns came in and broke the news to us. As a child I liked JFK because he was Catholic. But I could not understand why every one was crying. I didn't know him. Boy did I get yelled at, I was happy they were sending us home. After it was all over did I get another lecture from the nuns. Love them nuns.
I was just about 10 Months old so don't remember it. My family was not necessarily a Political family. When Robert (President Kennedy's brother and Presidential candidate) was assassinated I didn't even know about that. Robert played a big part in keeping the race riots at a still here in Indianapolis. I didn't even know anything about the Presidents nor care till Nixon was being Impeached for what I understood to be lying. (LOL) All I remember was that the Nixon stuff was overriding the 3 or 4 channels we had on television. My family was too busy racing and playing little league type things to really care about what was going on. I didn't care nor learn much about anything political till I joined the Navy. My world was Amoral. Politics and Religion were so private that no one dared speak about them unless asked for the most part. I suspect a lot of the kids in my area and generation were a lot like me. I could be wrong.
Unoriginalname
Puritan Board Junior
My grandmother came home from the hospital after the birth of my mother on that day, who was born a few days earlier. My uncle who was 7 at the time rushed in and kept yelling the President is dead. Of course my grandmother being out of the loop from the whole childbirth thing, thought he was just telling an inappropriate joke. Yes I understand this makes me look like a whippersnapper.
irresistible_grace
Puritan Board Junior
I wasn't either!
PS - Both of my parents were born in 1963!
DMcFadden
Puritanboard Commissioner
I was putting decorations on the wall in my 5th grade classroom. My family was not terribly political (Mom only went to school for 5 years, Dad did 8 years), but they were strongly pro-American (Dad was a Republican, Mom was a Democrat). I can remember watching the coverage on a small screen black and white television. Very sad time for the whole country.
18 years later, the third of our five children was born on Nov. 22, redeeming the day for me.
18 years later, the third of our five children was born on Nov. 22, redeeming the day for me.
I was in elementary school in eastern Pennsylvania. I was a warm Friday afternoon and were outside for recess near the end of the school day. The teachers, who were normally positioned around the very large playground area monitoring things, all huddled together. We knew something was up but figured that it was just someone misbehaving on the playground. But then the teachers blew their whistles and prematurely ended our recess time. We all had to go back to our separate classrooms and sit quietly until school was over. As we headed out to the school buses, it was clear that something big had happened. It seemed like the older kids (the sixth graders) knew but weren't allowed to talk about it. I was just a third grader. When I got home, my mom had the TV on and was crying. It wasn't unusual for the TV to be on when I got home from school -- she'd normally be watching her favorite game show (You Don't Say). But instead of her game show, she was watching a bunch of news people talking very sadly but very hurriedly. I remember sitting there with my mom watching them say the same things over and over and over.
My parents were big Kennedy supporters. I remember that Saturday being a very somber time around our house -- not the usual hustle and bustle. I remember the TV being on that Sunday and seeing Lee H. Oswald shot as it happened.
My parents were big Kennedy supporters. I remember that Saturday being a very somber time around our house -- not the usual hustle and bustle. I remember the TV being on that Sunday and seeing Lee H. Oswald shot as it happened.
Mushroom
Puritan Board Doctor
When RFK was murdered I was in the third grade. I was walking home from the bus stop on the last day of school with my report card that had a D, the first grade I had ever got under a B, and I was in severe trepidation over the trouble that awaited me, when I saw a Stars & Stripes newspaper on my neighbor's lawn that read in bold "RFK DEAD". Being a politically intense 8 year old, this news was devastating to me. I was a hardcore Democrat lib at heart then, and my world was crashing in. We left for the beach the next day, I being on restriction for my failure to excel (my sibs brought home D's & F's all the time, but I had the honor of being my parents last best hope for success in the family - what a sad mistake that was!). I had to stay by my Dad's side the entire time, no freedom to roam or explore, so I built a huge memorial out of sand that read "RIP RFK". It took all day, and we still have pictures somewhere. Very strange days.
but older siblings tell me we were all at the meal table when the news came over the radio. It certainly was one of the memorable events of the 20th Century.
Frosty
Puritan Board Sophomore
I know what you mean. The footage and reports I had always seen had him in Dallas, TX that morning in a parade setting. We've been lied to!
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