Today Patrice earned her keep. Followers of this blog know that some of our best adventures have been discovered by Patrice. Today she added to the list of wonderful things she has discovered for us to do.
This morning we went to The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. You probably know this place by its previous name, The Texas School Book Depository. The building from where it has been said that Lee Harvey Oswald shot and assassinated President John F. Kennedy is now a museum. The exhibit is mostly housed on the sixth floor where taking photographs is prohibited. You can see the area from where Oswald allegedly took aim at the President. There are also a series of displays showing video and audio recordings of the events leading up to the assassination, the event itself and the aftermath.
People younger than us have learned about the assassination but having lived through it makes this museum much more riveting. Everyone my age knows exactly where they were when JFK was assassinated. I can still hear my junior high school physical education coach (Mr. Criss) leaning his head into the coaches office and saying, “It’s true, he’s been shot”. Then I asked Mr. Badran (another coach), “Who was shot?” and he said “The President”. Then about an hour later I was in the hall with my friend Gerry and we heard on a radio that the President had died.
Reliving the event at the museum brought back many memories not only of the assassination. I remembered the 1960 Democratic Convention being at the Los Angeles Sports Arena just a few miles from our apartment. I remembered hearing the then President-elect saying after the election results came in, “We are now going to get ready for a new administration and a new baby”. Hearing him say those words again made me tear up. I know, I know, that’s nothing new for me.
Of great interest was seeing how close the President’s limousine came to the Depository and then turned in front of the Depository and as it proceeded away the area where he was shot. I have heard a lot of conspiracy theorists ask a lot of questions but one thing I do not recall hearing is why Oswald waited until the limo turned and was going away from him. Why didn’t he shoot when the limo had turned on to Houston Street and was heading directly toward him? That and many other questions will never be answered.
After a very emotional and tearful morning at the Sixth Floor Museum we had a wonderful dinner with our friends Sam and Kathy. We know this wonderful couple from when they lived in Hermosa Beach many years ago. They moved to Texas because Kathy wanted to be closer to her family in Texas (Erica please read the previous sentence at least 10 times). When they lived in Hermosa, Sam and I enjoyed Indian Guides with our sons Michael and David. What could be better than two Jewish guys in a Christian father and son organization? After Sam and Kathy moved we lost touch. I tried in the past to find them but Dallas is a big city. Last year I decided to use Facebook and much to my surprise I found that Sam had a FB profile. It was clear that Sam was not very active on FB but I found Sam’s son Michael and he got me connected with his dad.
We had a great time tonight reliving old times. We also talked about parenthood (after all today is Mother’s Day), Texas, travel and all sorts of topics. Sam made a wonderful dinner (sorry I forgot to take a picture) and we decided our next meeting would be much sooner than our last hiatus of 26 years.
Tomorrow more friends, family, and sightseeing.
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 