November 22, 1963

While in the 6th grade classroom at Hillcrest Elementary, we were watching an educational film of some sort or another. Our teacher broke the news that President Kennedy had been shot. We sat in stunned silence for quite awhile and then began talking among ourselves about it. The only statement that I recall was that of a classmate named John Holdorf. He had recommended that bamboo shoots should be jammed under to shooter's fingernails. This suggestion seemed reasonable to me. A short time later, Jack Ruby took the law into his own hands and killed Lee Harvey Oswald on national TV.

The days of my innocent youth were over. I could never look at the villains on 'Cecil, the Seasick Sea Serpent' in the same way again.