50 Years Later: Looking Back at Jack, JFK would be 98 years old

       Washington, DC, was cold last Friday, but the sun was out.  It was a nice day.  But not a nice day to remember.   As the 50th Anniversary of JFK's assassination approached, the media reminded the nation of the collective trauma to the entire country.   Interviews were conducted of survivors of the incident in Dallas, Texas, photos reprinted, and stories repeated.  Conspiracy theorists had their moments, again, refusing to accept the  "lone gunman" fact.
      A week ago Sunday, the New York Times magazine printed an article that covered the brief life of the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.  Clearly, the man was alienated from any mainstream American life.  He had already lived 2 years in Minsk, Russia, learning Russian, and making believe this was his path to becoming a Communist.  When he returned to the USA, he made overtures to Cuba, and Fidel Castro by going to the embassy in Mexico City.   He had married a Russian woman, Marina, and she was largely in the background, without influence.  Two weeks before he murdered the president, he attempted to kill the leader of a far right organization in Dallas; but he missed in that attempt.
      The author of the article called Kennedy a victim of the Cold War, the confrontation of the 2 major world powers that often came in the form of proxy wars, eg. VietNam.  No link has ever been established with any other plotter in the event.

The Newseum
      The privately operated museum on Constitution Ave. provides insight into how the print media works, and how other outlets(TV, radio, Internet) cover news topics.   A recent installation included the work of Jacques Lowe, the photographer of the first family.  He had almost unlimited access to the family, beginning when JFK was elected to the Senate from Massachusetts.  He moved to the White House in 1961 and covered JFK's first 2 years there.   The photos reminded viewers, young and old, how attractive the Kennedy family truly was, and how this attraction spread around the world.
      Flags around the capitol flew at half staff, most standing well off the pole as the November winds rippled across the Potomac River.  Modest crowds walked to and fro as visitors checked off the various national galleries of art, history, Congress, White House, and Smithsonian.   For those younger than 60, the day had some historical interest; for those older folks, we could recall a different America.