JFK

Blogging away while somebody somewhere is in a state of confused amazement at the fact that the Jimmy Kimmel Show is STILL on the air...

Well, I had this morning's entry all finished up, except for the lyric at the end, when suddenly, everything on my screen disappeared and went back to my desktop. I love when that happens. You know what that means... more time blogging and less time working. After church last night, went to APPLEBEES for dinner. Sat with JESSICA. She and BETH both came by to chat a bit. I had wings and fries. Came home rather early so that I could watch the football game. DALLAS lost 12-0. I kept flipping back and forth between the game and this JFK special that was on the HISTORY CHANNEL. That was really interesting.

Two things that really impressed me: First, with basically all his advisors, joint chiefs-of-staff, etc. urging him to invade Cuba, he resisted and found a peaceful solution. At the time, we thought we had about two weeks before the Soviets would have their missiles active. So they were telling him to invade now before they got them ready to fire. About 30 years later, it was discovered that they already had more than a hundred missiles ready to go, about seventy of them aimed at the mainland United States. So if we had invaded Cuba then, a nuclear exchange would have been virtually assured. The comment was made in the program that oftentimes, the best sign of a great leader is knowing when NOT to attack. Wow! Maybe some people today could learn from that. And don't forget, all this occurred while facing one of the most popular, hard-line Communist Soviet leaders ever.

The other thing that was completely impressive was the throngs of cheering crowds that greeted him in other countries.. Germany, Ireland, etc. Ya don't see that anymore. The speech he gave in Berlin was completely one of the greatest speeches ever given. Simple and strong. I love that speech. Chills... They still play the video of that speech back every year over there. They had a clip from earlier this year where they were playing it back and thousands upon thousands of people were watching, remembering, and many were crying. Anyway, it was very interesting. They didn't shy away from some of his flaws. But I think the thing that stands out, and maybe the thing that made him so beloved and admired, and missed to this day, is the hope he brought and gave to America and the world, and the promise that he held. But oh well, enough about that. I'll resume regular minutiae blogging a little later.

"Where are you now? Is someone there tonight, holding what was mine? Where are you now? Do you wonder where I am? Are you really doin' fine?"