This is a day, like 9/11, where if you were alive and old enough for memory, you remember that moment exactly, frozen in time. I was 16, sitting in Mr. Fergusons mixed chorus music class, whispering with friends when one of the school messengers came in. Looking at her face we knew something horrendous had happened. We too spent the next days glued to the TV. Six weeks later, my Father died and the JFK assassination has always seemed personal to me, two dark days and nothing was ever the same again. Like you, I've never believed the Warren Report and have my own theories I'll keep to myself.

I, too, remember Nov. 22, 1963 quite well.
I was a 16-year-old sophomore in high school, in Tottenville, Staten Island, New York City, and I recall that I had gone to the bathroom before I was to leave school, because my last period of the day was "study hall," and we had the option to go home early.
As I stood at the urinal, with a small transistor radio glued to my ear (no earphones in those days, at least for me), I heard the terrible news.
By the time I reached the orphanage where I lived at the time (all my family was still in Cuba), I noticed that they had lowered the flag to half-staff. Sometime after, I remember a crew firing a howitzer next to that flag in honor of the fallen president.
I still feel bad about Kennedy's assassination, even though much later I began to learn that that president's actions were "less than stellar" when we could have taken out the evil in Cuba during the Bay of Pigs invasion.
My father spent about two weeks in jail because of the Bay of Pigs. And the police barely missed me, because I happened to be taking night courses at a private academy in our town when they came up to pick up my father and me. My mother, dutifully, told the fidelistas that I was "out somewhere in town, riding on his bike."
Regardless, I don't think we'll ever know all the facts about Kennedy's assassination. But one thing that stands out, first and foremost, is that it shouldn't have happened and it sure hurt our country. Still does today... 42 years later.
May God bless America!
Julio

Some interesting parallels between us, George. I heard the news in Mr. Noguera's 8th grade classroom at Sts. Peter and Paul School in Miami -was 13 at the time; my dad came to pick me up around 3-something-PM. He was quiet, looked somber, spoke in a soft voice - "did you hear about the President?" I told him yes. I remember he had the car radio on; the announcer said something about "news of the President coming in momentarily," or something like that. Then the announcer cut back in, and stated, gravely: "Ladies and gentlemen...the President of the United States is dead." Then the Star Spangled Banner began to play...

When we got home, not far from the school, mother met us at the door. She was crying.

To this day, the images of the funeral, played in our black-and-white TV, including the sound of the sad dirges as the President's caisson headed for Arlington, replay in my mind, just as vividly as if I was watching them on the same old, vaccuum tube set.

I hadnt been born yet when JFK was assasinated but I, too, have always looked at those images - the old news coverage, the Zapruder film - and recognized what a truly dark day it was for this country.

And, BTW, Happy Birthday, Ralph.

I can't say much about experiencing this event as I was born in 1976, but I do know the importance of the president of this wonderful country of ours, and understand the great loss that was felt at the time.
I do share my birthday with the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, another tragic event in this country's history.

I hope you have a great birthday, dear friend.

I was sitting in Bobby McElroy's 10th grade American history class when the Orderly (we had ROTC at my school) ran in an said, "Kennedy's been shot." I, being a born trouble maker, asked, "Which one?" I don't recall that I was hoping for one of the three brothers over the other.

Only a couple of minutes later, classes changed. By the time I got to my next class, the school had figured out how to pipe the radio over the school intercom system. I remember to this day how quiet it was - no one talked, we all listened. At the end of the school day, the quiet remained - no one "getting wheels" out of the parking lot - no one fighting, arguing, yelling on the school bus ride home.

Then the weekend with the family glued to the TV. It was truly unlike anything before - we'd never, as a country, been linked to an event like that.

In college and law school I became an assassination buff, as George did. I read many, many books - my college library had all 27-volumes of the Warren Commission documents, and I read them all. I interned and investigated for Bernard Fensterwald, who operated a group called Committee To Investigate Assassinations in DC, represented James Earl Ray for a time, and who represented Watergate burgler James McCord.

After all these years, I still don't know what to make of it. Lee Oswald is one of the more interesting figures in history - remember he was only 24 when he died, and for someone who is constantly referred to as a loser, he did a lot in those few years.

As for the official investigations - they were all examples of how poorly Washington does things. Politics and the reputatation of the Kennedy family was paramount - not the investigation of a crime.

Happy birthday, George.

Didn't know where to post this. Although Kennedy didn't deserve to die that way he was the worst excuse for a president ever!
Now to the post.
It seems that Brothers to the Rescue and CANF hit it right on the head with their comments on the Bush Administration. After 40 some odd years as a Republican Party loyalist it may be time to jump off the bandwagon. This administration does not want to see Cuba free. For some reason it would be inconvenient at the time. Wake up fellow Cubans. While I cannot convince myself to vote demon-crat the GOP may have finally lost me.

To Pototo: To say that you are willing to abandon the republican party just because you say they don't want to see a free Cuba is like a dimocrat saying he is going to leave the party because they didn't stand up against the president in the house when they voted Friday not to pull out of Iraq. You don't base your loyalty to a party on one issue no matter how strong you feel. You must continue to voice your ideas and opinions to the party until there is a change.

And, if memory serves me, Alexander Lukashenko, current president/dictator of Belarus, was Lee Harvey Oswald's Russian teacher when Oswald lived in Minsk.

George, your post kind of reminds me of the Alvy Singer character in Annie Hall who was so obsessed with the assasination that he would interupt his love making to discuss the second bullet theory.

Happy Birthday.

LOL, Mike; I laughed my ass off when I saw that scene because I know exactly what Alvy was obsessed about. Still the best of all of Woody Allen's movies. That said, let it be known that I would never interrupt coitus to discuss the JFK assassination...

Actually all the Cuban Americans I have spoken to in NYC have stated that the day Kennedy was killed was a great day for them. I heard this when I was a teenager and I could not believe it or understand - until years later when I found out how much a cad Kennedy was. They were all happy that he died. I really don't know what to say because I was not born when it happened and everything is such a mystery - in a way you felt sorry for his kids - in another way you say poetic justice. Which is correct? We will never know.

From what I was told by many - in NYC there were even many parties and celebrations because of this.

BTW - I will not leave the Republican party as a voter because where am I to go. I will never vote for a Democrat which to me is the Communist party lite.

As an aside - they say JFK jr. plane was blown up by the Clintons because JFK jr. was going to run for public office and he would have won over Hillary. JFK jr was more popular than Clinton - especially amongst women.

Happy Birthday George ! I think your son is getting (you) the new X box for you Birthday ...LOL

Happy Birthday George!!
Kennedy's assasination was a strange day too...I was in Cuba walking home from school with my friends, the waves were huge at El Malecon, bad weather...so we took a detour, we passed by CMQ studios and heard the news!! there were people shouting and dancing with joy!! Kennedy is dead!
When I got home my dad was glued to his radio trying to hear something from Miami radio about the news!! The next day in school we had a whole day of indoctrination on the evil imperialist society that murders their presidents!!
That is how I remember that day back in Havana...