Three Shots Fired

This Day in History: November 22, 1963


There are many events that altered the course of history. Had they not occurred the world as we know it today might possibly be quite different. There will always be rumors of war, war and assassinations. Freedom is not free but comes at a high price...  

"The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission."

 35th President of the United States

Do you recognize the face? You should whether you lived the era of the 60s or studied about its monumental events in a history class. This was the decade that changed a nation. November 22 encompasses a day filled with overwhelming sadness for America. As we embrace the past, one of the most shocking events in our nation's history occurred on his day in 1963.

Embrace the Past. . .

Even though cooler temperatures had been predicted, clear skies and a warm sunny day engulfed Dallas, TX on that memorable day. President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy exhibited their usual charm in preparation for the President to speak at a luncheon with civic and business leaders at the Trade Mart. 

But, that speech was never to be given. . .

"His assassination on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, sent shockwaves around the world and turned the all-too-human Kennedy into a larger-than-life heroic figure. To this day, historians continue to rank him among the best-loved presidents in American history." [Source: History.com]

Three Shots Fired

Assassination was not new to America
but definitely unforeseen and astonishing.

What was intended to be a push for reelection
ended in a cataclysm that led the American nation
in a totally new direction.

 

A mass of zealous people

Overran the streets, standing blade to blade

Waiting for even a glimpse

Of the thirty-fifth President’s motorcade

 

Then, shots rang out in Dealey Plaza!

From whence did they come?

The Texas Book Depository?

“Grassy knoll” said some

  

This tragic event of ’63

Took the life of a young president

Leaving an undying memory

An iconic figure unduly spent

 

Was it a conspiracy

Or the lone gunman accused?

What major discrepancies

Left people beguiled? bemused?

 

Those of us who lived that era

Still remember the dire words that aired

From CBS News’ Walter Cronkite

“In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired…

  

Engulfed in numbing disbelief

Eyes filled with tears, limbs became numb

A nation’s people cried in shock

“What has been done? What has been done?”

 

What happened next became history

John F. Kennedy was dead

Now it’s been fifty years

With much truth still left unsaid 

“Change is the law of life.

And those who look only to the past or the present

are certain to miss the future.”

—John F. Kennedy



©2012 Awakenings
Sharla Lee Shults

Remember the words of President John F. Kennedy:



 Empower the Present. . .

"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."

―John F. Kennedy

Enrich the Future. . .



"The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened."
― John F. Kennedy