A Day of Mourning / Then and Now

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1963 2013: Fifty years ago, an estimated one million people showed up to line assassinated President John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s funeral procession route in Washington, DC; that itinerary extending from the Capitol to the White House to St. Matthew’s Cathedral to Arlington National Cemetery. Many millions more watched the televised coverage; my family and I among this vast viewing audience. By 3:34 p.m., our irreplaceable leader was buried and along with him went his ideals.

Finding such an inspirational man, who is also interested in holding public office, is a rarity. With an overabundance of present-day empty suit candidates, is it any wonder why I am unable to let go of the past? Why I’m so fondly reminiscing?

Why I so desperately wish I could transform some sci-fi scenario into scientific fact? And then build a time machine to send me back to Dealey Plaza on 11/22/1963; where I could undo the damage done. But alas… that’s not possible…

But we can pretend, can we not? With that in mind, let’s explore an 11/22/1963, alternate reality; as presented in the Twilight Zone episode, Profile In Silver: PART ONE… PART TWO… PART THREE. I’m sure that when you watch it, you’ll agree that actor Andrew Robinson had really breathed life into the role of JFK. If only such a “resuscitation” were that easy in real life.

Or, if you’d prefer a quick read about this TZ’s storyline, you can access that HERE.

Well, folks, these past four days have weighed heavily on me; saddened me to the point where I find my state of mind indescribable. And believe me, for this blogger, who is rarely, if ever, at a loss for words, this is highly unusual.

In any event, since we know that sadness can be unhealthy, we need to do something to cheer us up. To that end, I did find a clip featuring Bill Maher, where he compares JFK to Ronald Reagan; and his routine did make me laugh; which suggests that there’s a lot of truth in what is oft said re the co-dependent relationship between comedy and tragedy.

And so, as was the case fifty years ago, Monday, November 25th is now winding down and so is this blog posting. If there is such a thing as eternal life, I hope my heartfelt “Good-Bye” was heard by JFK, both then and just now, while I was typing this last word.