On This Day In......

[Vern]

- 1990: Thatcher resigned
- 2003: England won the Rugby World Cup

Happy happy days!

- 1963, Dallas.... Where were you and how did you hear about it?

[tafnut]

1963, Dallas.... Where were you and how did you hear about it?

Walking into my house after a day in Jr. High (me 12), I'm confused because both my mom and dad are glued to the TV in the middle of the day. I ask what's up, but no reply. I get a little freaked out and my mom says, the president has been shot and may die. ??!! This is not computing in my brain. Why would anyone want President Kennedy dead? We watched all the way through supper, and to many, as the song goes, that was the day the music died. The world seemed a whole lot darker to me after that, and I couldn't have explained why.

This day and the day Neil Armstrong walked on the moon six years later (because of Kennedy's Inauguration Speech), are two of the most vivid memories I have of the power of TV in the 60s. Body counts (with visuals) on the nightly CBS News was another.

[maggot]

- 1963, Dallas.... Where were you and how did you hear about it?

I was in last period study hall in high school.

[Vern]

[quote="tafnut"][]

Walking into my house after a day in Jr. High (me 12), I'm confused because both my mom and dad are glued to the TV in the middle of the day. I ask what's up, but no reply. I get a little freaked out and my mom says, the president has been shot and may die. ??!! This is not computing in my brain. Why would anyone want President Kennedy dead? We watched all the way through supper, and to many, as the song goes, that was the day the music died. The world seemed a whole lot darker to me after that, and I couldn't have explained why.

quote]

Beautifully written tafnut, I'm surprisingly moved.

On a happier note, my predominate memory of Thatcher's day of glory was a Sikh guy hanging onto the platform of a London bus, bottle of champagne in hand, singing "Ding dong, the witch is dead" at full volume.

Guess the rugby went unnoticed stateside?

[bad hammy]

Cannot directly address the Kennedy thing from personal rememberances - I was five and have no memory of it at all. Apparently I was quite impressed by grieving and outpouring of love and all (so says family members), ‘cause after that I decided that I wanted to be President (go figure – looks like a good job where you get shot, yeah, that’s what I want!) It wasn’t until about age 12 that I figured out that much/most of the life of a politician kinda sucks.

Of course in retrospect it all seems, similar to 9/11, like a very negative turning point.

Guess the rugby went unnoticed stateside?

Rugby? What is this rugby?? Well, at least it is more fun to watch than soccer . . .

[dukehjsteve]

I had finished a History class ( Junior in college ) and had gone to some silly movie by myself. Movie ended about 3 pm, and as soon as I got in my car to drive back to Duke campus, first thing I heard on radio was "....if you want to pray for the President churches are open..." took about another 30 seconds to find out he had been shot in Dallas. Within 4 or 5 minutes radio announced he had died.

Here's the odd part... I literally raced back to campus so I could TELL PEOPLE WHAT HAD HAPPENED. Burst into my Delt fraternity house to make my announcement, then saw about 60 guys glued to the tube. That's when I think I fully realized the hugeness of the event.

[wineturtle]

My last 3 periods were lunch,gym,studyhall.As a member of the Track Team I got a pass on gym so my day was over,could get in a workout and still have a afterschool job.Just before 2Pm as I stepped into the office with my usual wisecrack the two teachers and my coach glared at me and returned their attention to the portable radio on the windowsill."...........taken to Parkland Hospital where he......."
"Who is it" "President Kennedy "said Coach.
Then like Taffy said the power of T.V. unfolded that day. Then we had the immediacy of watching our sons or brothers die in 'nam 'in living color'. Then on thru the Bobby and MLK murders and on to watching a man hit a golfball on the moon.
I think at one point I read that 70% (or some such number) of the world had the assassination news within the hour.

I seem to remember a story about BlackJack the riderless horse,something about the officer having his foot stepped on and broken by the horse and walked the whole way without any one knowing.Myth or Truth?

[marknhj]

I have no memory of the day Kennedy was shot. However, I do remember my parents getting me up to watch the Beatles and the moon landing was the first time I'd ever stayed up all night, my Dad insisted. My favorite Thatcher memory was her on Spitting Image. She was taking a leek in a urinal with Michael Heseltine standing next to her unable to pee...!

[Pego]

I was on the emergency call for the county hospital in Slovakia. A colleague told me the news.

[tlb747]

Happy happy days!

- 1963, Dallas.... Where were you and how did you hear about it?

I was not born.

[Per Andersen]

I was at my girlfriend's house when we got the unbelievable news from Dallas on Norwegian TV. Never been so shaken up by any news report.
The names and places will always be with me: The Dealy Plaza, the Stemmons freeway, the Grassy Knoll, Parkland hospital. The Mannlicher rifle, the Schoolbook depository, JD Tippet, Jack Ruby, the Zapruder film. It goes on...