Just Something Quick to Remember (11/22/63)

It was exactly 45 years ago today when our last great president, John F. Kennedy, was gunned down in hatred by... someone (show of hands... who still thinks it was Oswald?)

I just think that it is important on this day to remember this great man. The 45th anniversary of his passing was, to my knowledge, signified only by a three-sentence blurb in the morning paper and tonight's premiere of Oliver Stone's 1991 classic "JFK" on AMC.

Well, today, we stand ready to inaugurate a new president-- an historic one, at that, whether you like him or not. The world is one great blue ball of turmoil-- crises are popping up now on a daily basis in every corner of creation. We face an economy in chaos, two wars stagnating in western Asia, and many Americans whose rights are being taken away at the leisure of voters-- to name a few in the USA.

Let us remember that JFK led our people through the Cuban Missile Crisis-- the nearly two-week period when everyone thought that the world was about to be blown to smithereens. Though I was not alive then, I do know that we have only the incredibly unpredictable forces of fate and fortune to thank for the fact that it didn't happen. Well, we have them, and this great man, who was shot in the head after being that rare President who actually achieved something and did the right thing.

On TV, Jackie Kennedy did not shed one tear over the assassination of her husband, but looking through archival images of her during this ghastly time, we can see why. She had the awesome responsibility of bearing America's grief. Crying is something America can't do. She was being strong for all Americans, past and present. So today, if the feelings or maybe even the memories of that terrible day bring you to the verge of tears, just stay on the verge. That is how we can best remember such a great man-- by being strong, and by simply remembering.