WHAT A DIFFERENCE 5 SECONDS MAKES

I'm not a conspiracy theorist which is why I won't whole heartedly commit to the ideas that aliens are out there. Having said that, I have been watching various documentaries about the Kennedy assassination and I keep thinking about how five seconds within that scope is an eternity. Let's take out the conspiracy theories for a second and look at the whole 5 second period.

In five seconds this is what happened:

1. One bullet goes through President Kennedy's neck and strikes Governor John Connally.
2. A bullet misses 
3. A third bullet kills the President. 

During those five seconds everyone in Dallas, in the parade route, went into pandemonium. The US as a whole froze and the direction the world seemed to be going in took a drastic turn. For nearly 50 years there have been theories of all sorts and the mystery remains. Still the idea of such a tiny spectre of time meaning so much is simply astonishing.

50 YEARS LATER AND THE MYSTERY STILL EXISTS

It's going to be 50 years since the JFK assassination and the mystery still exists. A special on reelz, that will be coming out in November, talks about the possibility of the murder having been an accident involving a secret service agent. While I find this fascinating I will not lie in that I find it morbid to say the least. Kennedy has been gone for nearly 50 years so any theories will stay just that, theories. My favorite is the possible part played by LBJ and his people.

The Kennedy assassination marked a dark and sad moment in American history, the end of innocence. Kennedy was the ray of hope for everything that was good from progress to a new direction in civil rights, one never previously traveled. Kennedy was a once in a lifetime shot, the charisma, youth and looks of a special man. Kennedy was the last president to have young children, he represented growth, something special and elegant.

Camelot is gone and there will never be another, never let it be forgot that there once was a place called Camelot. Let Camelot rest, let it stand out, a memory that could have been the best must once and for all be put to rest.

1963 AND ALL THIS COUNTRY COULD BE

In this generation of Social Media and true homogenization or making every trend truly uniform in nature and condensing the fat content of distance and disconnect it seems history has also gone away.
On a sunny November day in Dallas exactly 49 years ago John F. Kennedy was gunned down and seemingly so was the hope and innocence of ideals that America clung to so tightly. I am not declaring political allegiance of any sort so if you are a zealous republican or ardent democrat please take the politics somewhere else.

From 1961 to 1963 for nearly three years the JFK administration was a beacon for this country. Every major leader was fascinated by the youth, good taste, and lively nature of the Kennedy administration. It was not always easy for JFK as he faced obstacle after obstacle with the growing conflict in Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs invasion and mounting tensions with Russia. Kennedy was also a maverick of sorts as he challenged the CIA almost directly, made it clear he wanted an audit of the FED and on top of that would not play ball with controlling figures such as J. Edgar Hoover. Kennedy was the man that wanted progress and at the same time a democracy where secrets were not on tab for the people he served.

Kennedy was a throwback to the days when leaders would openly address the people they served. With his multiple imperfections and serious flaws Kennedy was someone that gave this country a breath of fresh air. Kennedy was not stiff like Richard Nixon or old like the venerated Eisenhower. There was something special about seeing the Kennedy children run to greet their father as he exited Marine One. The Kennedy administration made this country something vital. With youthful figures like Robert McNamara, Pierre Salinger, and Robert Kennedy there was something special.

The only older figure in that administration was LBJ and he represented the stability and the experience of over 26 years in Washington. The US was ready to put a man in the moon and everything seemed on track, the US had hope. A bullet  on that sunny November day took that hope away and opened up a wound that this country has yet to heal from.

The US Presidency is more a form of business than a symbol of real power and change. Special interests plagues this country and basically secrets are what's behind every major decision that spurs any change negative or positive. There are no longer convertible Cadillacs or Lincolns and there is no longer that feel that our leader is someone we can approach. Truthfully November the 22nd 1963 was not the day Kennedy died but the day hope seemed to die.

It's fair to wonder how this country would be today if Kennedy had not been shot. Kennedy would have been re-elected in a fairly close election in 1964 and likely would have stopped sending troops to Vietnam and looked for a way to settle that conflict early. Kennedy would have marveled at the success of the Space Program and would have backed Martin Luther King with great fervor en route to great success in achieving equal rights for all Americans. There would have been turmoil but maybe less depletion of resources as a result of an easier out from Vietnam. Now in retrospect this is all a speculative matter but still that glimmer of hope that has faded is a great reflection of a wonderful time that was far too short.

And so for I hope I close with:

It's true! It's true! The crown has made it clear.
The climate must be perfect all the year.

A law was made a distant moon ago here:
July and August cannot be too hot.
And there's a legal limit to the snow here
In Camelot.
The winter is forbidden till December
And exits March the second on the dot.
By order, summer lingers through September
In Camelot.
Camelot! Camelot!
I know it sounds a bit bizarre,
But in Camelot, Camelot
That's how conditions are.
The rain may never fall till after sundown.
By eight, the morning fog must disappear.
In short, there's simply not
A more congenial spot
For happily-ever-aftering than here
In Camelot.

Camelot! Camelot!
I know it gives a person pause,
But in Camelot, Camelot
Those are the legal laws.
The snow may never slush upon the hillside.
By nine p.m. the moonlight must appear.
In short, there's simply not
A more congenial spot
For happily-ever-aftering than here
In Camelot.