58 years ago today. Erev Shabat. 1 week before Thanksgiving. 3 weeks to Chanuka. (Just so you know, this year it is but three days to Thanksgiving and 6 days to Chanuka.)
My school day was winding down. (All Fridays were short school days, so that those of us – like me- who needed an hour’s trip or more to get home- would be ready for Shabat that started at or before 5 PM. Other days of the week, school didn’t end until 4:30 PM.)
But on this day, all of a sudden at 1:31 PM, the intercoms throughout the building sounded an alarm. We were all demanded to drop what we were doing, and get down to the music room (the biggest room in the school) immediately.
For most of us in the school, it was our first introduction to Sue Katzman. Ms. Katzman was the English and Social Studies teacher to the upper grades (7, 8, and 9). We all knew her reputation. (Is it politically correct to still use the term ‘battleaxe’?)
Ms. Katzman and Rabbi Meyer Fendel ( who was the principal and the founder of HANC, the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County) were leading us in prayer. Asking Hashem to preserve the life of President John F. Kennedy who had just been shot in Dallas.
We stayed in prayer for almost two hours, ending that session with a prayer for the new President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson. In the process, Rabbi Fendel made a conscious decision to hold up a slew of buses (including my own) that were waiting to take us home when school (should have) ended at 2:30. Our prayers, our devotions were important enough that HANC would allow us to break Shabat. (You do know that travel on Shabat is prohibited.)
That was my first proof that prayer- while it may be calming, while it may maybe even self-satisfying- doesn’t always make a difference.
It was also my first proof that the morons in this country can have just as much affect on our history as can the good guys. (Which is yet another reason why I became a political activist- to ensure that the ability of morons to gain sway or followers would be thwarted.)
I had already learned first-hand about anti-Semitism for a decade. Which taught me much about mob mentality (sic).
Yes, that was 58 years ago. It was just five years later that an Arab terrorist took the life of one of my heroes. The brother of President John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy.
I hope you all elect to devote a moment of silence to both of their memories. No, wait, let’s also add the memory of Martin Luther King, for good measure. (The song above was written was Dick Holler and sung by Dion.)
Your post brought tears to my eyes, Roy. Such vivid memories from this moment in history – your first hand documentation is priceless. I was a bit younger, so I have no recollection.
I especially enjoy seeing through the lense of a boy at a Hebrew School. I can’t ever know exactly what that must have felt like to you, but I whole-heartedly appreciate learning about it from you.
Joining in prayer (which yes, sometimes doesn’t make a difference.)
Julie JordanScott recently posted..Begin to Connect with Your Creative Spark
Thanks for your comments, Julie. I am honored by them- and join you in prayer.
Can we add Malcom X also to the mix of 1960 tragedies? Those times were just as tumultuous as these times. These times are seemingly more dangerous to us who are activists. Trump gave the green light to all he crazies.
Trump certainly greenlit the animosity, anti-otherism, and anti-science that prevails. You’re right, Kate!
What an interesting story! I asked my parents where they were for those instances as well. I find it interesting to hear what people remember. Thanks for sharing!
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Glad to share, Dominique. Wish the story had a different ending.
I remember the day well – a grey November. The teachers told us the news just before noon. There was no snow but I walked home for lunch on wet muddy streets in Maidstone. I was wearing a blue printed skirt with race cars along the bottom.
Lily Leung recently posted..CHALLENGES and the PANDEMIC
Amazing how we recall those little things as we mull over calamitous events in our mind. Thanks for adding to the conversation, Lily.
Wow. I did take a moment. Hearing the story from your point of view gives it life again! And I wonder how you have had time to be a political activist with all the million other things you do. You must be like an Energizer bunny.
We make time for things we deem important, Jeanine. Maybe lose a little sleep, maybe get a bump on the noggin that lasts a lifetime, but we do…
Is it appropriate to call your post “bittersweet”? That’s how I feel about it.
I’m too young to have a “where were you when JFK was shot”, I wasn’t even born, my parents had not met yet…
Faith and prayers, unfortunately, can not prevent bad things from happening. Kids get cancer, women are raped, minorities are persecuted… My only hope and consolation are, faith and prayers never hurt. Right? Maybe the bad things turn out a little less bad?
God understood you had to ride the bus later than usually allowed. I think that’s amazing.
I watched the JFK movie with Kevin Costner, and it gave me hope that one day we are going to find out what really happened. My money is on political opponents who wanted to get rid of President Kennedy.
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Absolutely correct about faith and prayers, there, Tamara. Not quite so sure any new facts about the JFK assassination will reach the light of day.
What a decade the 60’s were. The Triple Assassinations (one of them was on my husband’s birthday, too) will be in all our memories forever. I was home the day Kennedy was assassinated, recovering from a broken leg (my classroom was on the 4th floor of an elementary school that didn’t have an elevator, so the NYC school system home instructed me for two months in 1963). I will never forget how my Mom sobbed when she heard the news.
Alana recently posted..Thankfulness #MusicMovesMe
Those were the days that helped define our generation, Alana. Thanks for adding your story to the mix.
I remember this day like it was yesterday. I was in 9th grade and an announcement was made that school was getting out early but no reason way. All the staff said was to go home and our parents would talk to us. A sad day indeed.
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So sorry that your school did not see fit to share the circustances with you, Martha. Thanks for adding your memory to the discussion,
Roy, I just got to know you much better. My memories of that day are fairly vivid. I was sitting in a 6th grade classroom when the teachers all floated into the hallways, sharing a secret. They knew JFK had been shot but were waiting to see if he had passed. A friend was in the hotel when Bobby Kennedy was shot– she heard the shot from the kitchen. Vivid memories. Fine leaders lost. Thank you for the memories.
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Kebba- thanks for adding to the conversation. Your comments help others discern the situation that obtained.
I have goose flesh right now! Thank you for sharing your amazing experience on that horrible day! I remember my day too! I appreciate hearing about your specific experience! We should never forget!
Thank you for your kind words and visit, Larada!
While I was not yet born at this time, your words took me back to this day too vividly.. It also clearly brought back to mind a miniseries I saw on Kennedy’s life in the early 80s as a young girl, and the impact it had on me then and still does..
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WE tend to use too much violence in this country, Vidya,