November 22, 1963
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jswordy
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I was 5, and I absorbed the impact through my parents' shock and grief. I remember being glued to our B&W TV set for news, and watching the entire funeral procession. I first saw the now-iconic John Jr. salute as it happened.
Mostly what I remember was that it seemed like almost all adults were walking around numb for maybe a week after that, and it affected my schooling too, because the teachers were all that way. It was like, for a short period, time stood still and it was understood that things were not going to be the same afterward.
I experienced the same feeling on the morning of 9/11, after the second tower fell and TV had finally given up on the pretense of an "airliner accident." There was a period then that lasted maybe 2 days where people were in a semi-shocked state as the realization that nothing would again be as it was crept in. I think the stunned period was shorter for 9/11 because the feeling was, for so many people, quickly replaced by anger.
Mostly what I remember was that it seemed like almost all adults were walking around numb for maybe a week after that, and it affected my schooling too, because the teachers were all that way. It was like, for a short period, time stood still and it was understood that things were not going to be the same afterward.
I experienced the same feeling on the morning of 9/11, after the second tower fell and TV had finally given up on the pretense of an "airliner accident." There was a period then that lasted maybe 2 days where people were in a semi-shocked state as the realization that nothing would again be as it was crept in. I think the stunned period was shorter for 9/11 because the feeling was, for so many people, quickly replaced by anger.
tonyt
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Glowin and JohnT both make great points. Our presidents all make good and bad decisions, often under the political and social pressure of the time. History often lowers our opinion of the great and elevates our opinion of the lowly. Kennedy is now often criticized and Nixon is sometimes seen as a statesman. They are all just mere men, no better or worse than the rest of us. And time is a great equalizer.
DirtyDawg10
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My Parents were both 13 years old and wouldn't meet for another year and a half...so I wasn't even a twinkle in my Father's eye. Sorry I had to 
The President's Visit December, 1962
This was a BIG deal for us. I have worked in that building on and off for the last 28 years now. They have a small window box with photos and the actual coffee cup he used. I still can't believe they served him coffee in a plastic Melmac cup. Couldn't they have dug up a set of China from somewhere even somebodies house. LOL Then there was the fact that they served coffee and pastries in a Hot Cell. I have been in that Wing and there is no way I would eat in there. Of course this was 1962 and the building was only 10 years old and not 60 years old as it is now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Xkx-KLZN-N4
This was a BIG deal for us. I have worked in that building on and off for the last 28 years now. They have a small window box with photos and the actual coffee cup he used. I still can't believe they served him coffee in a plastic Melmac cup. Couldn't they have dug up a set of China from somewhere even somebodies house. LOL Then there was the fact that they served coffee and pastries in a Hot Cell. I have been in that Wing and there is no way I would eat in there. Of course this was 1962 and the building was only 10 years old and not 60 years old as it is now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Xkx-KLZN-N4
NoSnob
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After reading all these posts from you young whippersnappers I figured I'd briefly share my experiences.
I was in the Navy and on leave at home before assignment to my next duty station as a hospital corpsman. I had heard President Kennedy's inauguration speech and parts of it then (and even today) were riveting. Everyone remembers the line "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country." But a lesser-known line has become most meaningful to me as well: "Here on earth, God's work must truly be our own."
That Friday, my dad and I were watching television on CBS when the news broke in with the announcement of the shooting. We were stunned. A few minutes later, Walter Cronkite said the president had died. He took off his glasses and looked up at the clock announcing the time. He had tears in his eyes. We never forgot it.
I was not politically active and did not identify with the New Frontier, although it certainly animated an entire generation of people my age. Afterwards, of course, we all identified with Camelot, the myth surrounding the potential of the Kennedy family that was crushed by these events.
On Saturday, and all week-end, all eyes followed the funeral on TV. More images burned deep into our brains that continued to sadden us. By Sunday, I traveled to my new Navy duty station where they continued to follow the funeral and related events on TV, also into Monday.
For 30 days we flew the U. S. flag on base at half-staff in honor of our loss. My commander in chief had been killed and there were far more questions than answers. This event and those that followed in the next few years did not make much sense to any of us. We lost other notables as well.
Those were indeed sad times.
NS
I was in the Navy and on leave at home before assignment to my next duty station as a hospital corpsman. I had heard President Kennedy's inauguration speech and parts of it then (and even today) were riveting. Everyone remembers the line "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country." But a lesser-known line has become most meaningful to me as well: "Here on earth, God's work must truly be our own."
That Friday, my dad and I were watching television on CBS when the news broke in with the announcement of the shooting. We were stunned. A few minutes later, Walter Cronkite said the president had died. He took off his glasses and looked up at the clock announcing the time. He had tears in his eyes. We never forgot it.
I was not politically active and did not identify with the New Frontier, although it certainly animated an entire generation of people my age. Afterwards, of course, we all identified with Camelot, the myth surrounding the potential of the Kennedy family that was crushed by these events.
On Saturday, and all week-end, all eyes followed the funeral on TV. More images burned deep into our brains that continued to sadden us. By Sunday, I traveled to my new Navy duty station where they continued to follow the funeral and related events on TV, also into Monday.
For 30 days we flew the U. S. flag on base at half-staff in honor of our loss. My commander in chief had been killed and there were far more questions than answers. This event and those that followed in the next few years did not make much sense to any of us. We lost other notables as well.
Those were indeed sad times.
NS
The end of innocence in some ways. This thread has really made me think of how rapid social change ensued following JFK's assassination; drugs, music, divorce, the pill, welfare, the list goes on. Things just never were the same after 1963.
