In the AARP magazine this month, there is the Bob Schieffer story about where he was when Kennedy died. It's about the coolest story ever. I'm not going to repeat it here but look it up. Trust me. It got me to thinking about the events that I will always remember where I was when it happened.
First, the Kennedy assassination: The 50 year anniversary is in about a month. I was in the first grade in Bagdad, AZ. I remember the principal coming over the loudspeaker, telling us that our president had been shot. The teachers were supposed to keep us inside until someone came for us. I remember Cathy & Jo, senior and junior in high school, coming for me. I didn't understand what was going on because I was a protected 6.
When Martin Luther King was assassinated, I don't remember where I was at the time but I do remember the girl I was walking home with telling me her parents were very happy about it. I remember thinking how sad that was. I don't remember hearing about it at home. I was a protected 10 year old.
I remember May 30, 1970 going with my sister Jo and her husband Art to a baseball game that Art was umping and because they had been arguing all morning, I wanted to go home. Right after dark the sheriff came to our door to tell us that Jo had been shot and killed accidentally. I remember going to the emergency room at the Bagdad hospital and my daddy having to be held back so he would not go after Art. After it was ruled an accident, and the funeral held, Art took everything out of their house that could be sold and not sold, including Jo's hair curlers and Bible and my parents Mastercard and left town forever. They had been married 4 months. Today I think a different investigation would have netted a different result.
I remember the American POW's coming home from Vietnam. They had to come home in the middle of the night to avoid the protesters. I was a senior in high school. A little less protected.
In August 1977, I was in Miami Beach and I remember stepping out of the shower to hear the announcement on the radio that Elvis had died. So sad.
On December 8, 1980 I remember Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford and Dandy Don Meredith announcing on Monday Night Football that someone had shot John Lennon. So confusing why someone would shoot such a gentle man.
On May 31, 1997 my sister Cathy died of breast cancer after a long and ugly battle. I remember talking to her about 2 weeks before and she was coughing. She said she was going to come to Texas to rest and let mom take care of her. I remember telling her it was a good idea. In the meantime, mom & I went to Uncle T's and Aunt B's for Memorial weekend. We ate Boston Market chicken at a roadside park on the way home. My mom liked traveling with me and I with her. The next morning, they got a call that Cathy was in the hospital. They drove to Arizona and one of them sat with her 24 hours a day until she died on that Saturday. My dad was 83, mom was 68. It broke their hearts.
September 11,2001 goes without saying. I was at work when my friend Jason came in to tell us that a plane had crashed into one of the twin towers. We were watching in the lounge when the 2nd plane it. We stayed at work all day but didn't have any calls.
My mom died in the middle of the night on February 3,2003. She's been a coma in the hospital for a month and the doctor had told me she was not going to get better. I remember the day before sitting with her and telling her that it was ok if she was tired. I think that was all she needed.
On February 21, 2009 my daddy died in the nursing home in Jayton. He'd been in there 1 week. I had always said he wouldn't live for 2 weeks in a nursing home and he proved me right. He was tired too.
A lot has happened since then. AT&T Retirement, Walgreens, Wright Elementary, Unemployed, house sale, Texas Tech University, apartment. And maybe some future memories.
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