No, I didn’t know President John F. Kennedy, but I would have liked to. Unfortunately, I was only four years old when he was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. I do remember going to the memorial service held at Van High School auditorium just afterwards. When I developed a keen interest in President Kennedy, my mother gave me the original program from the memorial service, and I still have it. (I tried really hard to locate it to take a photo for this post, but, alas. If I do find it I’ll be sure to post a pic with a link to this post. Gone are the days when I used to know where everything was.)
I believe we were still living in the house by the football field, but we may have moved into the James house near the park. (More on that later.)
Maybe it was the impression left on me by having to attend that memorial service that caused me to become a lifelong aficionado of the Kennedy family. From my freshman year in high school when I started checking out every book the library had about them, to buying magazines chronicling the life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, to buying every book I could get my hands on, I have learned everything I could about them.
My daughter says I’m obsessed. Maybe. But was there ever an American woman so idolized, so full of grace and mystery and style as Jackie? I still love reading about her, even though I have far different political views than she held. I won’t admit to how many books I have about her, but I cannot bring myself to part with any of them. It’s history, after all. After I’m gone, my kids can try to sell them on eBay or in a garage sale, or just give them away to a thrift store. Surely there’s someone out there who is as interested as I am in the Kennedys.
Uh oh. I think I just read about a new book coming out about Jackie. . .and I hope hubby doesn’t see the receipts for the books I just bought on eBay. They were cheap! Under eight bucks for two! How could I resist?
What about you? “Obsess much?” (Ace Ventura) What about?
XOXO
April Coker, Author 