November 22, 1963

[John1956PA]

59. Every year when November rolls around, I feel gloomy anticipation for this calendar date.

I was in my second grade classroom at Catholic school when the public address speaker suddenly blared a radio news report that President Kennedy had been shot while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas, and that he was taken to a hospital where his condition was critical. I was generally aware of the location of the city because a family member had worked there. I was not sure of what a motorcade was, but I came to understand that the president had been seated in the back seat of a convertible when he was shot. Before long, the class was given a restroom break. In the hall, the principal explained the meaning of "critical." When we returned to the classroom, the public address speaker was quiet. After a short while, it again started with the radio news feed. The president was dead.