A time I will never forget: 50 Years since JFK

I remember the day like it was yesterday – I was in 8th grade, sitting in biology class when the news that our president, John F. Kennedy had been shot came over the loud speaker. We were all sent home right away, bewildered and confused. I remember making my way to my locker to get my books and seeing kids crying.

For the next several days I remember sitting on the floor of our living room absolutely glued to the TV, watching the news of the JFK assassination. 

It was live non-stop coverage which was a new phenomenon on TV at that time in our country. The capture of Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby shooting Oswald unfolded right before our eyes. I remember very distinctly the look on my mothers' face as she said "What is happening to our country? How can one of our own citizens just shoot our President? What will happen to our country now? It certainly was the end of our innocence as a nation. I also remember my mom repeatedly saying "Poor Jackie, and those poor little children, losing such an amazing father." My mom related to Jackie, as a wife and mother, as I'm sure millions of other women did that day. 

I think if I had to point to one event in my life that influenced my inner desire to be a news reporter it was that horrible day in our national history.  I imagine every American who watched the sad and somber televised coverage of the funeral processional and little John John saluting the passing coffin that held his father's body has that image forever emblazoned in their minds. Every time I think of it I can't help but get a lump in my throat.

Our country will always be fascinated with JFK - he was a President who offered so much hope and inspired everyone in America to help us become a better nation. 

Even today, 50 years after his death, I continue to buy books about JFK. This past year I read Stephen King's novel 11/22/63 . I was riveted by not only the story King created based on Oswald and the events leading up to the assassination, but the idea of “what if…”  What if JFK had lived, how would our world be different today? The book is a suspense mystery but also filled with real history and to top it off it really makes you think about life and the world we live in.  JFK's life and early death is a story that will touch lives for generations and I don't think people's fascination with a great President will ever diminish.