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In reply to the discussion: When you see today's date on a calendar or printed or online [View all]ShazzieB
(16,285 posts)Then I looked at the calendar and went, "OH."
I was in 13 and in 8th grade. When the news came through that the president had been shot, they started playing the news over the p.a. system. I remember sitting in study hall after lunch, listening to the news, and wondering whether he was going to die or not. (Of course, he was already dead, but it was a while before they announced that he had passed.)
After study hall, I went to my home ec class, where we girls worked on our sewing projects while continuing to listen to the radio. (The boys were in shop class at that time.) That's where I was when they finally announced that he was dead, and I remember what a huge shock it was. My memories are hazy after that, but I know they must have canceled school for the rest of the day, and sent us home. I also know we didn't have school for a few days after that, probably for the rest of that week.
I don't remember any of the kids in my class saying anything mean, but I remember my sister (age 8/3rd grade) crying because of a smart remark one of her friends made.
The next thing I remember clearly is watching the funeral procession on TV a few days later. I was absolutely spellbound watching that solemn procession with the riderless horse and little John John saluting. The main thing I remember is feeling so sorry for those two poor little kids who had lost their daddy.
The Kennedy assassination and the Cuban Missile Crisis the year before are two of my most vivid memories from junior high, both deeply etched in my memory, even though a lot of the details have faded over the years.