I was 10 years old and in school. I remember the school let us go home early and no school until after the funeraal. I remember watching the funeral on TV and cryingg at the same time... Did I understand all of it? No, had no clue but it was sad nevertheless....
I was a toddler. If I recall correctly, my mother went into early labor (my kid sister was born on 11/26/63) and I was taken to my maternal grandparents' apartment on the Upper East Side, just steps from the U.N., while my father brought my mother to Mount Sinai Hospital. Our whole family, Kennedy Democrats who had campaigned for him (so I did understand the import of what had happened -- my parents were very political), were devastated and in shock.
I am with Christine on this one non existent. But my mother has told me all about it. She told me she was at school when he died and that the teacher had wheeled in a tv cart so that they could see what was going on. She said she remembers everyone crying and adults shaking there head like no it can not be. The hope of government had died with him. Until... his brother.
It was tragic to loose him, he had the power to change the world. The first president that was treated more like a movie star than a government head. What made it worse was to loose his brother next. A painful reminder of what they could have done or were going to do.
I love Kennedy history and even as a kid I would make my mother and grandfather tell me about them. Politics was a big deal in our home. Thank you for posting this Leslie I thought I was one of only a few who cared.
Lizzy, it's sweet to discover that we're kindred spirits in another way as well! My parents took me campaigning for RFK and I remember the rallies in NYC and how galvanized people were by his message and by the possibility that changes for the better, especially for the poverty-ridden, might actually happen.
My father kept a photo in his office of him standing beside Bobby Kennedy. And when I was a little girl I had a huge crush on him (RFK, not my father!) :).
I was completly brokenhearted by Bobby Kennedy's assassination, too. Of course it came almost on the heels of Martin Luther King's assassination -- and I kept asking my parents why all the good people were the ones who got shot and died.
I really questioned why the good people die and the bad people live after George Wallace, the racist governor of Alabama, got shot -- and survived -- while JFK, RFK, and MLK were killed by the bullets they took.
I was in my 4th grade class just after lunch and our teacher came in and turned off the light. She sat down in front of the class and through her tears she told us what happened. We all started crying!!! I was devastated, he was on of my heros. I watched t.v. all weekend, saw Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald. Over the years I have read several bios on the Kennedys. He really was a great social reformer.
Welcome to the literary salon of the Lady Novelist (who writes nonfiction as well)
Random musings from women's fiction and nonfiction author Leslie Carroll also known as "historical romance queen" [Publishers Weekly] Amanda Elyot. Actually, Amanda wrote historical fiction, but who am I to reject a compliment from PW!
ROYAL AFFAIRS gets a rave from the Library Journal
In this delightful addition to the countless other books written about the British Royal Family, Carroll (Choosing Sophie ) deftly constructs information chronologically by ruling dynasty, from the Angevins to the Windsors. Along the way, she shares with readers little-known facts-e.g., that the 20-year liaison between William IV and his actress companion was apparently a happy and contented one until he tossed her aside to become king-as well as facts more widely known, e.g., that Queen Victoria and John Brown were close friends but that no evidence of an affair has been discovered. As her previous experience writing historical fiction under the pseudonym Amanda Elyot attests, Carroll can ably research and distill facts and has a true talent for weaving fascinating narratives. Her entertaining writing style makes this one book you do not want to put down. Entertaining, impeccably researched, and extremely well written, it will appeal to all readers with an interest in British history as well as to those with a more specialized interest in the personal lives of the British royal family. Highly recommended.
New York Post chooses CHOOSING SOPHIE
In NY Post reviewer Billy Heller's "Required Reading" column Jan. 20, 2008:
Publishers Weekly raves about Amanda Elyot's next historical fiction release!
All for Love: The Scandalous Life and Times of Royal Mistress Mary Robinson Amanda Elyot. NAL, $14 paper (448p) ISBN 978-0-451-22297-8
Historical romance queen Elyot shines her light on Mary Darby Robinson (1758–1800), who, during her brief life, burned with a passionate intensity. Born to a successful British merchant who abandoned the family, Mary nonetheless enjoyed an education that nurtured her passion for prose, poetry and drama. Elyot convincingly evokes the ambivalence Mary feels at 15 as she struggles with her mother, who pleads that she give up her upcoming acting debut to marry Tom Robinson, the supposed heir of a rich uncle. After doing as she’s told, Mary suffers the first of many romantic disappointments, all the while finding refuge in her poetry and other writings. Tom’s philandering and financial irresponsibility finally return her to the stage, and there the auburn-haired beauty catches the eye of the Prince of Wales. Mary’s daring and anguished existence is truly the stuff of novels—her own writings, particularly her feminist essays, were acclaimed in her lifetime—and Elyot’s telling of her life, in Mary’s voice, honors her legacy. (Feb.)
6 comments:
I was um, nonexistent, on November 22, 1963.
Sorry, you asked! :)
I was 10 years old and in school. I remember the school let us go home early and no school until after the funeraal. I remember watching the funeral on TV and cryingg at the same time... Did I understand all of it? No, had no clue but it was sad nevertheless....
Thanks for replying, ladies!!
Christine, you're such a tyke!
I was a toddler. If I recall correctly, my mother went into early labor (my kid sister was born on 11/26/63) and I was taken to my maternal grandparents' apartment on the Upper East Side, just steps from the U.N., while my father brought my mother to Mount Sinai Hospital. Our whole family, Kennedy Democrats who had campaigned for him (so I did understand the import of what had happened -- my parents were very political), were devastated and in shock.
I am with Christine on this one non existent. But my mother has told me all about it. She told me she was at school when he died and that the teacher had wheeled in a tv cart so that they could see what was going on. She said she remembers everyone crying and adults shaking there head like no it can not be. The hope of government had died with him. Until... his brother.
It was tragic to loose him, he had the power to change the world. The first president that was treated more like a movie star than a government head. What made it worse was to loose his brother next. A painful reminder of what they could have done or were going to do.
I love Kennedy history and even as a kid I would make my mother and grandfather tell me about them. Politics was a big deal in our home. Thank you for posting this Leslie I thought I was one of only a few who cared.
Lizzy, it's sweet to discover that we're kindred spirits in another way as well! My parents took me campaigning for RFK and I remember the rallies in NYC and how galvanized people were by his message and by the possibility that changes for the better, especially for the poverty-ridden, might actually happen.
My father kept a photo in his office of him standing beside Bobby Kennedy. And when I was a little girl I had a huge crush on him (RFK, not my father!) :).
I was completly brokenhearted by Bobby Kennedy's assassination, too. Of course it came almost on the heels of Martin Luther King's assassination -- and I kept asking my parents why all the good people were the ones who got shot and died.
I really questioned why the good people die and the bad people live after George Wallace, the racist governor of Alabama, got shot -- and survived -- while JFK, RFK, and MLK were killed by the bullets they took.
I was in my 4th grade class just after lunch and our teacher came in and turned off the light. She sat down in front of the class and through her tears she told us what happened. We all started crying!!! I was devastated, he was on of my heros. I watched t.v. all weekend, saw Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald. Over the years I have read several bios on the Kennedys. He really was a great social reformer.
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