Significant Anniversaries

[ArtK78]

This week marks the anniversaries of two of the most significant events in the history of the United States and, to some extent, the world at large. The first of these is today, the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln.

 

One of the lesser known aspects of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is that he followed an address by Edward Everett, a well known orator of the time. Everett's address, titled "The Battles of Gettysburg," lasted for about 2 hours. His address was followed by a "Consecration Chant" sung by the Baltimore Glee Club and then by the President's address.

 

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, which lasted for all of about 2 minutes, is set forth below:

 

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

 

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

 

Abraham Lincoln

November 19, 1863

[ArtK78]

The second significant anniversary which occurs this week will be on Friday. It is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I recently had the opportunity to travel to Dallas, Texas, and I visited the 6th Floor Museum at the Texas School Book Depository. This is the museum dedicated to the events surrounding the assassination and it is located in and around the corner window from where Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy.

 

The museum is absolutely fascinating. I could have spent many hours going through the museum and its exhibits, but my girlfriend and her daughter wanted to move on to other things. My girlfriend had already been to the museum on a prior visit to Dallas (this was my first) and she was only 2 at the time of the assassination. Of course, her daughter, who is 19, was not living at the time. To her, JFK might as well be Abraham Lincoln.

 

I was 7 years old and in 2nd grade at the time of the assassination, and I remember vividly walking home from school about 3:30pm Eastern Time that day and first hearing about the shooting of the President (JFK was shot at about 1:30pm Eastern Time and died shortly after 2:00pm Eastern Time). I did not believe it. When I got home, I walked in on my mother talking with her best friend and neighbor about what a tragedy it was. It was then that I knew it was real.

 

That weekend was consumed with watching television and the events of the day - the tracking down of Oswald, his killing by Jack Ruby, the body of the President lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda, and, finally, on Monday, the funeral and burial of the President.

 

I had not given it much thought before visiting the museum in Dallas, but the virtually non-stop coverage of the assassination's aftermath and the funeral was the precursor to today's round-the-clock news coverage provided by CNN, Fox and MSNBC, along with the major networks.

 

It is said that the assassination of John F. Kennedy is one of the events which everyone alive at the time will remember and will know where they were and what they were doing when they first learned of it. For those of you old enough to remember, where were you and what were you doing on that day when you first heard of the assassination?

[Winstonm]

The second significant anniversary which occurs this week will be on Friday. It is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I recently had the opportunity to travel to Dallas, Texas, and I visited the 6th Floor Museum at the Texas School Book Depository. This is the museum dedicated to the events surrounding the assassination and it is located in and around the corner window from where Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy.

 

The museum is absolutely fascinating. I could have spent many hours going through the museum and its exhibits, but my girlfriend and her daughter wanted to move on to other things. My girlfriend had already been to the museum on a prior visit to Dallas (this was my first) and she was only 2 at the time of the assassination. Of course, her daughter, who is 19, was not living at the time. To her, JFK might as well be Abraham Lincoln.

 

I was 7 years old and in 2nd grade at the time of the assassination, and I remember vividly walking home from school about 3:30pm Eastern Time that day and first hearing about the shooting of the President (JFK was shot at about 1:30pm Eastern Time and died shortly after 2:00pm Eastern Time). I did not believe it. When I got home, I walked in on my mother talking with her best friend and neighbor about what a tragedy it was. It was then that I knew it was real.

 

That weekend was consumed with watching television and the events of the day - the tracking down of Oswald, his killing by Jack Ruby, the body of the President lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda, and, finally, on Monday, the funeral and burial of the President.

 

I had not given it much thought before visiting the museum in Dallas, but the virtually non-stop coverage of the assassination's aftermath and the funeral was the precursor to today's round-the-clock news coverage provided by CNN, Fox and MSNBC, along with the major networks.

 

It is said that the assassination of John F. Kennedy is one of the events which everyone alive at the time will remember and will know where they were and what they were doing when they first learned of it. For those of you old enough to remember, where were you and what were you doing on that day when you first heard of the assassination?

 

I was in school, 7th grade, in Ventura, California.

[billw55]

Also on 11/22/1963, Clive Staples Lewis died; this was (quite reasonably) overshadowed by the Kennedy assassination. My favorite work of his is Out of the Silent Planet, a sci-fi/allegorical novella. Few writers today can match his elegant prose.

 

Aldous Huxley also died that same day. Brave New World is far and away my favorite required reading from high school. At least some things, I am glad they made me do.

[kenberg]

I was 24. almost 25, at the time of the assassination. I might be the only person in my age group who cannot remember just how, or where, he found out that Kennedy had been shot. My life was very difficult at the time, but whatever the case, I don't recall where I was. Probably at home because I do recall staying close to the tv and I recall when it was confirmed that the president had died. I had a two year old daughter that I was taking care of, so I had other concerns. My recollection is that it took a while to get clarity as to who else had been shot, who was perhaps dead, who had been injured. I can't recall if I saw the swearing in of Johnson, I am not sure it was done publicly. Naturally there was uncertainty about motives for the shooting and what might come next.

 

Back then you had to be 21 to vote and in 1960 I did vote, I voted for Kennedy. It might be amusing to ask my daughter, now 52, if she knows who Kennedy ran against in 1960. Quite possibly she does, but I would bet that she is unaware that a large focus of the Kennedy campaign was that the Eisenhower/Nixon team had not done enough in the global struggle with communism. There was this missile gap.... Added: Actually I take it back, I bet she does know, i will ask her.

 

 

There are times that I wonder if the ghost of McKinley is walking around saying "Yeah, Lincoln got shot. Yeah, Kennedy got shot. But how about a little time for me? I got shot too, you know." For that matter, so was Garfield, but he had not been president all that long.

[blackshoe]

It is said that the assassination of John F. Kennedy is one of the events which everyone alive at the time will remember and will know where they were and what they were doing when they first learned of it. For those of you old enough to remember, where were you and what were you doing on that day when you first heard of the assassination?

I was in Charlottesville, Virginia for my father's second marriage. Dad and my stepmother discussed postponing the wedding, but as many of the guests had travelled long distances to be there, they decided it would be too disruptive to other people's lives to shut it down and try again later. So they went ahead with it. The wedding was on Saturday. I was 16.

[barmar]

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here....

Shall we nominate this for biggest presidential understatement? The Gettysburg Address is arguably one of the most remembered speeches in history.

[Winstonm]

June 10, 1963

 

"....For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.”

 

John F. Kennedy

[mike777]

Over time people forgot that John was for huge defense spending, the missile gap he ran on, and tax cuts.He was conservative. Bobby and Edward were much more liberal.

 

btw John was pro life, church going and owned guns.

[mycroft]

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

Shall we nominate this for biggest presidential understatement? The Gettysburg Address is arguably one of the most remembered speeches in history.

"Abe, what could possibly be wrong with that?"

"They'll remember it. Abe, they'll remember it; it's the old humble bit. You can't say 'It's a great speech, I think everybody's going to remember it', Abe, you come off a braggart, don't you see that?"

"Abe, do the speech the way Charlie wrote it, wouldja?"

 

Button-down Bob nailed it in 1950.

[kenberg]

"Abe, what could possibly be wrong with that?"

"They'll remember it. Abe, they'll remember it; it's the old humble bit. You can't say 'It's a great speech, I think everybody's going to remember it, Abe, you come off a braggart, don't you see that?"

"Abe, do the speech the way Charlie wrote it, wouldja?"

 

Button-down Bob nailed it in 1950.

 

I was only lukewarm about the Bob Newhart Show, but his early comedy albums were terrific. There was one where Sir Walter Raleigh (I think) is explaining to Queen Elizabeth (I think) about the new practice of smoking he learned in the New World. As I recall, he carefully explains how you grind up weeds, roll them up in a piece of paper, and stick the result in your mouth. Then, with suitable pauses for effect, he explains that you light it on fire.

 

Anyway, back to the topic of the thread, but for those who missed his early comedy albums, I highly recommend them.

[blackshoe]

If I remember correctly, Lincoln wrote that speech on the back of an envelope, on the train on the way to Gettysburg.

[kenberg]

In trying to recall and understand the early sixties (nineteen-sixties, not eighteen-sixties), I have some random thoughts.

 

Tom Lehrer, introducing his song on nuclear proliferation, Who's Next?. "China, which we call Red China, exploded a nuclear bomb, which we call a device." The song recounts the history of nuclear arms. For example "First we got the bomb, that was good, 'cause we love peace and motherhood" and, later, "China got the bomb, but have no fears. They can't wipe us out for at least five years". This referred to assurances from the government that (Red) China was at least five years away from an effective delivery system. And they did call it a "nuclear device".

 

Bobby Kennedy, speaking about big government "I think when people speak of their fears of big government they mean me". Bobby, as Attorney General, was unrelenting in his pursuit of Jimmy Hoffa. He was also regarded as the strongest spokesman in the administration for a vigorous use of federal powers in the ending of segregation.

 

George Will has a column today on the Kennedy years:

http://www.washingto...32e1_story.html

E. J. Dionne has, of course, a somewhat differnt take:

http://www.washingto...e67c_story.html

 

Perhaps of interest, Will and Dionne don't disagree that much about the conservative nature of JFK. But the words liberal and conservative perhaps had a different meaning then. Clearly Kennedy strongly believed in a strong central government, and believed that this could be a force for good. This sort of confidence no doubt has its good side, but it also was part of what led us to believe we could do in Viet Nam what in fact was not possible.

[barmar]

In trying to recall and understand the early sixties (nineteen-sixties, not eighteen-sixties), I have some random thoughts.

If you're having trouble recalling, I guess you were there. :)

 

I was only 2 1/2 when Kennedy was shot. Personal connection: it was my parent's anniversary. I've never talked to them about the conflict.

[kenberg]

If you're having trouble recalling, I guess you were there. :)

 

I was only 2 1/2 when Kennedy was shot. Personal connection: it was my parent's anniversary. I've never talked to them about the conflict.

 

It certainly ruined their anniversary but I doubt that there would be further conflict. An ex-wife (I have two of those) has her birthday on Nov. 22, two grandchildren were born on Sep 11 (none of these on the year that made the dates infamous). My (third and final) wife's birthday is Dec 8. Her parents said that if she had been born 24 hours ealrier she would have been named Pearl. My mother was born shortly after the battle of Mainila, at least her parents showed enough restraint so that it is only her middle name that was Manila. And she will come back and haunt me if she finds out I blabbed, since she claimed, even with close friends, that the initial M. was for Mae.

[ArtK78]

It certainly ruined their anniversary but I doubt that there would be further conflict. An ex-wife (I have two of those) has her birthday on Nov. 22, two grandchildren were born on Sep 11 (none of these on the year that made the dates infamous). My (third and final) wife's birthday is Dec 8. Her parents said that if she had been born 24 hours ealrier she would have been named Pearl. My mother was born shortly after the battle of Mainila, at least her parents showed enough restraint so that it is only her middle name that was Manila. And she will come back and haunt me if she finds out I blabbed, since she claimed, even with close friends, that the initial M. was for Mae.

 

I take it that since you were referring to your mother, the Battle of Manila that you mention was the one in the Spanish-American War in 1898.

[kenberg]

I take it that since you were referring to your mother, the Battle of Manila that you mention was the one in the Spanish-American War in 1898.

 

Yes. My mother always claimed she was born in 1899, but later I found that her birth records say June 16th 1898. I am still not sure why her parents would name her after a battle, and she didn't much understand it either. I think that my wife's parents may have been joking about naming her Pearl if she had been born on Dec 7th but who knows? Maybe there are kids born on June 6th named Omaha? I really hope that there are no kids named Hiroshima.

[Winstonm]

Yes. My mother always claimed she was born in 1899, but later I found that her birth records say June 16th 1898. I am still not sure why her parents would name her after a battle, and she didn't much understand it either. I think that my wife's parents may have been joking about naming her Pearl if she had been born on Dec 7th but who knows? Maybe there are kids born on June 6th named Omaha? I really hope that there are no kids named Hiroshima.

 

 

How are babies named? Why do you ask, Nagasaki?

[ArtK78]

I know that there was a spike in the birth rate in New Jersey 9 months after Hurricane Sandy. I wonder how many of those babies were named Sandy?

 

Speaking of which, I found this article:

 

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

 

In New Jersey it's not just the royal baby making headlines because there are many other new bundles of joy. When Hurricane Sandy hit, many people were stuck at home, nothing to do but keep close and wait it out. And you know, funny thing - nine months later there seems to be a bit of a baby boom. Several hospitals in New Jersey report they are delivering hundreds more babies than at this time last year. No word on whether or not a popular name choice is Sandy. You're listening to MORNING EDITION.

 

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[blackshoe]

My mother's birth date was December 7, 1923, so there was no reason to name her Pearl. Her name was Barbara. She was 18 the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Helluva birthday present.

[ArtK78]

50 years ago today, I was sitting in my 2nd grade classroom at Oakview Elementary School in Woodbury, New Jersey. A quick check shows that Oakview Elementary School no longer exists.

 

In any event, I was completely unaware that, at about 1:30pm Eastern Time, John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Texas, about 1500 miles away. He died about 30 minutes later, at about 2:00pm Eastern Time. It was a Friday afternoon, just as it is today.

 

I thought that I should make this post at about the same time as the assassination 50 years ago today. It is one of the major events that occured during my lifetime.

 

EDIT (roughly 20 minutes later): Here is an interesting article which delves into the issue of why the assassination of JFK is so meaningful for those of my age. http://news.msn.com/us/jfk-death-maybe-we-should-move-on-but-we-dont?gt1=51501

[PassedOut]

My girlfriend and I were in an apartment in Madison, Wisconsin near the university (where she was a student) and came out to get lunch. A man in a hurriedly parked car rolled down the window and said "The president has been shot!" I thought he meant the president of the university, but he shook his head, "It's President Kennedy," he said, tears streaming down his face. We walked into a place on State Street and watched Walter Cronkite chronicle the day's terrible events as reports came in.

[Cyberyeti]

two grandchildren were born on Sep 11 (none of these on the year that made the dates infamous).

 

Sep 11 was already infamous before THE 9/11 in some parts of the world due to events in 1973.

[kenberg]

Sep 11 was already infamous before THE 9/11 in some parts of the world due to events in 1973.

 

I had not realized this, thank you.