In memoriam: President John F. Kennedy

[DFW]

25. I saw him at the opening of Dulles Airport outside Washington

I still have a photo of him autographed and made out to me "with best wishes" on my 11th birthday in March 1963. My dad was able to get it done for me because Pierre Salinger was a neighbor of ours at the time. I still have that photo in its original frame from 1963 in my living room.

On Friday, November 22, 1963, we were in Friday afternoon assembly at my school in Washington, DC, when a teacher came in, sought out Bobby Kennedy Jr. and his older brother Joe. We all wondered what was going on, but no one told us. After assembly, I took a bus downtown, as I sometimes drove home with my dad, whose office was in the National Press Building at 14th and F Streets.

As I walked into the building, I saw huge headlines in the tabloids sold outside saying "JKF SLAIN." I thought it was just another "the Martians have landed" headline, only in poorer taste than usual. When I got up to my Dad's office, the phone was ringing off the hook, and he had three calls going at once. In between conversations, I told him what I had seen downstairs, and he confirmed it was no hoax, but true.

An era came to an end right then and there.