Some Events Are Forever Imprinted On The Mind

The JFK Assassination

The date of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is so imprinted on my mind that I can clearly recall the events of November 22, 1963, as if it was yesterday. For me, the date is easy to remember because it’s the day after my birthday. So here we are 60 years after the event—it’s hard to believe. For me, it was the first shocking event of my lifetime.

I was 17 and was signing my name to a year 11 exam paper in Toronto, Canada when an announcement came over the loudspeaker; “President Kennedy has been shot in Dallas, Texas”. When I heard those words, time stood still. I was in a state of disbelief, unable to process those words. An American president shot? How? Why?

The day was a Friday around noon, and that weekend, I couldn’t focus on studying for the next exam. It was a flurry of events: the presumed assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald himself, was gunned down on live TV in the basement of the police station; Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as President and JFK’s funeral. It was all so surreal.

As it turned out, 11 years later, I attended my first chiropractic seminar in Dallas, Texas. I subsequently participated in several more in Dallas, and ultimately, I purchased properties in the Dallas area and used Dallas as a base for storm-chasing adventures.

I have been to Dealey Plaza a few times, and the Texas Book Depository from where Oswald was purported to have fired the fatal shots.

In-person, Dealey Plaza looks smaller than how it appeared on TV. My wife, who used to be in the Australian reserves and has fired weapons, had a hard time accepting that Oswald could fire those shots.—in such rapid succession— and from that distance. Perhaps he got lucky.

In the ensuing years, I read many books on the event, from outlandish conspiracy theories to some that appeared logical. Many documentaries were produced on the subject, some purporting to confirm that Oswald was the lone shooter, others indicating how Oswald could not have been the assassin. Scientific analysis using detailed forensics was presented, from the acoustics of the bullet sounds to the reproduction of the same weapon fired in rapid succession.

So, 60 years later, there is still much uncertainty. The fact that successive presidents have refused to release material in the name of national security says that information is being purposely hidden away. I hope everything will be released in my lifetime so we can permanently put this event to rest.