✍️ Nov. 22, 1963: When the lights dimmed ...
A national tragedy that shaped a life of civic engagement
In November 1988, during the 25th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, I wrote these comments as part of an informal group activity with my co-workers in Seattle.
As a 13-year-old eighth grader 25 years ago at a brand-new school, Madrona Junior High School in Edmonds, I was at an all-school assembly that ended just before 11 a.m. on a gray Nov. 22. All of us in my English/social studies block class returned before the teacher did, and we left the lights off.
Mr. Kruse, our teacher, always got red-faced when he was upset, and he was red-faced when he finally entered the class and turned on the lights. Soon afterward, the announcement came over the loudspeaker: Kennedy had been shot.
The rest of the school day is a blur, but I remember the lights being left off or dim at home. All evening long, the black-and-white TV blasted the news into our darkened living room. I had never seen my dad cry, but I heard him that night.
My dad never did tell me about the birds and the bees, but not too long before the assassination, he had sat with me in my bedroom and counseled me about why he was a Democrat. Knowing my interest in U.S. history, he talked with praise about presidents Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy. He talked about how they cared about the “working man” and others suffering economic hardship.
My mind now combines those memories with the memories of the murders in 1968 of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. 1968 was a significant year for me; I graduated from high school, entered college and became draftable into the Vietnam War, if I didn’t get good grades. And now, in a year when I enjoyed my 20th high school reunion, the 25th anniversary of JFK’s assassination is also being noted.
I think the events above, occurring at the ages of 13 and 18, helped establish in me a pattern for living that continues today. I believe that people must make time and take risks to help others. Kennedy’s famous quote about “asking what you can do for your country” has had a lasting effect on me.
People can make a difference—if they get involved. Although the process can be frustratingly slow, people can stop unpopular wars, prevent rampant pollution, slow the arms race, and require equal rights for women, minorities, and people with disabilities. Consumers can demand birthing rooms in hospitals, nonsmoking sections in restaurants, and automobiles that don’t guzzle gas. …
I remember many lights going off in 1963. But the tragic events then and later helped switch on in me a commitment to public service and political activism that continues to glow.
Gary B. Larson, November 1988