Kennedy and Me

I must admit I was really ready for this birthday to be over with. You see, Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. More than ten years later, I was born on that same date. Over the years it has been a bummer to wake up on my birthday with newspaper headlines that read, “Today America Mourns.”

This year marks the 45th anniversary of Kennedy’s death and lots of people (by that I mean the media) in DFW can’t stop talking about it. Our local news discussed all the tourist traffic in Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum which were suddenly hot spots. Also, one news station interviewed the police officer who was handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald at the time of his shooting. Suddenly, it seemed as if JFK’s ghost was all over town.

The whole idea of someone being killed that way is creepy and to have video of it played over and over on your birthday is no fun. I do understand how Dallas and its people were changed after November 22, 1963. It happened here so here is where they will talk about it a lot. But JFK’s ghost was creeping me the hell out.

It was a good thing that I made plans to stay out of Dallas during the weekend of my birthday. And just so you know, people in other cities don't make a fuss over the 45th anniversary of JFK’s death. Maybe they just have a different way of reflecting on it or perhaps they aren't particularly interested. Either way, it was a nice to celebrate without a Jack Ruby-tini on the cocktail menu.