The Day John F Kennedy Died--November 22,1963

Many of you younger people hear us baby boomers reflect about the impact the death of President Kennedy had on our lives.  As we come up to the day of the anniversary of his death, I think of where I was that day.  In 1963 I was a sophomore at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa and enjoying my love of theatre and performance.  I declared my major in my freshman year and was deep into every aspect of it.  On that particular November 22nd afternoon I was at Bradley University in a competition.  Oral Interpretation of Literature National Competition. At the moment JFK was shot I was on stage at that University reciting Carl Sandburg's poem The Day Lincoln Was Shot. And I do mean at that moment because as I completed the poem and walked off stage, down the aisle and into the corridor there was a television monitor on the wall and our First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy was crawling on top of the trunk to seek help. It was beyond eerie. That picture of her is still clear in my mind today. From that day forward, every decision was done with a much different viewpoint of life. For the first time I understood the significance of  "mere mortals." I believe that from that day forward I began living life as if each day could be my last.  What an impact our beloved President Kennedy had on my generation.