It seems so long ago, 58 years, yet I’m reminded of our first date every year by the headlines back then…
I was eagerly anticipating our first date. We were supposed to go to a fall dance at the High School. We hardly knew each other…had just met in English class our Senior Year, even though we had been in the same schools since 7th grade. Our paths had not crossed in any class before.
We were in our afternoon classes when the PA announcements came on that President Kennedy had been shot. We all listened in stunned silence. Over the next few hours, we were bombarded with all the speculations from the news media, our teachers and our classmates. The details would unfold over the days and weeks to follow.
Many of the pictures in the news are still familiar to me today:
By the time I got home from school, the world had changed. I think we were all in shock. All I could think about was what a relief it would be to go to a dance to feel somewhat normal again…if only for a few hours.
Of course, we had not gotten the memo that the dance was cancelled! So, I got dressed up, Bert came over to pick me up and we went to the school. Oh no! The sign on the door gave us a reality check! We headed back home to just go for a walk around my neighborhood and talk. We hardly knew each other so it was an awkward time.
It was also a memorable beginning to our relationship that I will be reminded of every year. I guess it stuck, because 58 years later we’re still hanging in there!
Do you have memories of that day back in 1963? I’d love to hear about them! My email address is marykisner@comcast.net.
Wow what a way to start a 58 year relationship!
Crazy, I know.
I was in 6th grade English class and we were interrupted by someone who came to the door and whispered to our teacher. She started to cry and we were dismissed. I was a little too young to appreciate the importance of that day but I knew it had to be big if the most intimidating teacher in the school was crying.
Wow! What a terrible way to find out!