November 22, 1963

50 years ago.
I remember what I was doing that day.  I was sitting in Mrs Jones' senior English class, when the announcement came over the claasroom intercom.  Everything stopped.  The world, or at least my immediate world, stopped.  The room became silent.  Mrs Jones was as dumbfounded as the rest of us.  A few quiet slobs broke the silence, then low talking, then everyone was asking questions at once.  A raised arm and a stern look silence the room again as the intercom went on, telling the awful story of the end of a life, the end of an era, and the turning of a very large page in the history book.

  As I watched CBS This Morning, recalling that day, my mind went back as well.  That day was followed by several more days of almost constant TV watching.  I remember the long funeral march,  the caisson bearing the casket to the cemetary, the shots of the Jackie and the two little children standing in the cold of Arlington.