Rambling thoughts as I approach 70 years old

[flor-de-jasmim]

6. The infamous weekend in 1963

November 22nd was actually a Friday, and I remember spending Friday afternoon and all day Saturday and Sunday glued to the TV with my parents, watching everything play out in real time. Although I wouldn't have had the awareness at the time, it was later said to be the death of innocence in the U.S.

With civil unrest and the Watts riots of 1965 in LA, nothing seemed to be the same. In the late 60s, the high school I attended in the Greater Boston area had 1 black student - busing began, with maybe 30 black students being bussed in from Roxbury. I remember being in favor of the idea because of the level of education they would get, but sad that nothing was done to actually foster their integration (and their long bus rides each day). In 1969 or 1970 my English teacher gave us an assignment - to go to Roxbury and write about our experiences. How did we feel being in the minority? There was an outcry in the community. I had lived in several different communities and extrapolated my feelings, so I turned in an assignment based on those memories (I got an A - was it because I could convey fear and uncertainty?? I would love to know the grading criteria!!).

The assassinations of MLK and RFK were also imprinted in my mind, and throughout President Obama's term felt an ongoing unease that he would not remain safe. Every now and then I shake my head at the Secret Service ordering Dallas police to STOP screening for weapons at a campaign rally for Obama in February 2009. In DALLAS, ffs.