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Don Chester
Everyone seems to have remarkable memories of school. My recollections are just not nearly as clear and precise, almost as if the events were over 40 years ago.
Anyway, I did want to share my memories of the JFK events.
I was in Football practice that afternoon and I don't remember the exact time but some where around 2 ish, coach stopped practice and told us there had been a national tragedy and school was out, and to go home.
I remember, taking a shower and rumors were rampant about what may have happened including the potential for a nuclear wwar starting, as everyone remebers, we were only a year removed from the missile crisis.
Anyway, I rode my bike home and there was the news on TV, just shocking.
The next morning was Saturday and my routine was to go to the dallas municiple golf courses where my dad would play with his buddies, and I would caddy either in his group or another group. it was a good way to make $5.
So that Sat morming at around 6 am, we left to go pick up one of my dad's friend in North Dallas, and he drove us by Dealey Plaza on the way to Stevens Park golf course. It was very spooky and I was a little surprised that the roads were open there.
I think we all had the same experiences of watching the funeral and the immense sense of loss that occurred for everyone.
Flash forward 12 yrs and I was in my Senior year of Medical School at Southwestern. I was on a Surgery rotation and my attendings was one of the Dr's that tended to Kennedy in the ER that day.
One day he and several other attendings were giving a lecture regarding severe neurolgiic trauma and the Kennedy events came up. We were messmerized to listen to the events that occurred, from the time he came into the trauma room, to his death pronouncement and then the turf wars between the Dallas Police and the Secret Service agents, that wanted to take the body on the plane.
By state law his body should have stayed and the autopsy done by the ME at Parkland, but the secret service basically siad, F you to the Dallas Police and to the ME and took the body. As a result the autopsy was botched and the conspiracy therories have run rampant ever since then.
A remarkable and extremely bad time for all of us and our country.
I have often wondered how history would have changed had he lived, from a chance the Vietnam War may have been avoided to a variety of other things including Nixon may never have become President.
The 9 years I spent at Parkland were full of remarkable people and remarkable events.
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