Manic Monday #3-Silence
I was only a few months old when this picture was taken, but my mother, when I was old enough to comprehend, told me how she and other Negroes went into Woolworth's to watch President Kennedy's funeral. As they stood around and listened to speech after speech, my mother remembered that when Mrs. Kennedy and the family came out of the church and "John-John" saluted his father's coffin, a hushed SILENCE covered the whole crowd. Soon, the SILENCE was broken by the sounds of my mother's muffled weeping into her hankie, as slowly, some of the other ladies also began weeping.posted by Debo Blue | Sunday, April 29, 2007
9 Comments:
Being of the generation who can tell others today EXACTLY where you were, what you were doing, how you felt, when you learned of President Kennedy's death and also, having been glued to a tv set whenever possible too in order to watch the funeral proceedings and processions and everything, I think most likely your mother's and the others reactions was most certainly the norm at that time. I know I wept openly then and still get teary-eyes 40 plus years after the fact when watching various history films and such about the assassination. It left an indelible mark on many of us at that time.
I also wanted to thank you Deb, for the comments on my blog post tonight too. For me, sometimes I am quite leery of spending time with my older daughter as all too frequently we tend to clash and I never know from one time to the next, what comment, regardless how innocent it may be intended, may toss us into a confrontational situation. So today, with things staying on a nice even keel during our visit to her home, it was especially enjoyable for me.
I know Jeni, I know. So when we get the quiet times, it makes it all the nicer.
I was 4 years old at this time. I can remember the reaction of my parents. We did not have a TV at that time. I do remember watching the motorcades of Bobby Kennedy's funeral. A sad time in history.
Dang good post for the topic of silence.
Later Y'all
As with Jenni above, I was a young adult with a baby son. Those memories are still strong after 44 years.
hi! I like your blog too.
I don't speak so good english, but I understad excellent, so if you want to write me in english there's no problem.
good luck!
bye bye
this was a little before my time but my mom gets a little emotional when she talks about it.
Blogger ate my comment.
The shortened version.
I was twelve when JFK was shot. Then in '68, MLK, RFK and, living in Detroits some very unpleasant riots.
Vietnam came along.
The list goes on.
I'm not much for crying. I don't have a hankie; but, silence, in the face of tragedy seems appropriate.
Such a touching memory...
M.
I too remember this day. It was a very sad time for many. Excellent post. God bless you for sharing this piece of your family history.
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