Forty years later, Part II ...: Immediately after writing the blog item below (and freeing up the phone line), I got a call from a Hub Blog brother inviting me to join him and his three children (ages 3 to 6) to go to the JFK Library and Museum in Boston to commemorate the anniversary. Never been there. Couldn't resist. The intent: To instill in the children a love for history. How could I resist? It was wonderful. The kids fidgeted throughout the intro documentary (really aimed at adults), but they loved the exhibits on Caroline's dolls, pony, the Moon shots, PT-109, the Ireland trip, the fact we share a name (Fitzgerald -- but no relationship) and ... and they fell silent and mesmerized at the Nov. 22, 1963 exhibit. They were very sad. ... “Why are the drums beating, daddy?” ... I felt sad, too. ... So I can sympathize with those who went through, full force, Nov. 22, 1963. But I still ask: Has the anniversary's historical significance really come down to relating the shared experience of emotional intensity?


FYI: There was a film clip, from the early 1950s, in which JFK was asked why the people of the Middle East hated us. ... His answer was erudite, succinct, thoughtful, with no punches pulled either way. My brother and I exchanged Nothing Ever Changes glances at both the question and answer. ... And, oh, Kennedy made no mention of Israel. He pretty much put the blame on colonialism, suck-up Communists, poverty and dictatorship. Sounds right to me. ...   ¶ 7:09 PM