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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2008 > June > 05 > Entry
remembering Bobby Kennedy
For baby boomers of a certain age we sometimes ask one another if we can remember where we were when he heard that President John F. Kennedy was shot in November 1963 in Dallas. I remember where I was.
Forty years ago today, JFK’s younger brother Bobby was assassinated in Los Angeles. He had been running for president and his death crushed what little hope and optimism remained among some Americans following the killing of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a couple of months previous.
That August Americans watched on their televisions as the Democratic convention in Chicago was marred by violence and police brutality. Richard M. Nixon was elected president that fall and America’s descent into darkness accelerated.
Do you remember the day that Bobby died? I do. I was a newspaper carrier and I delivered the Des Moines Tribune, an afternoon newspaper that blared the headlines whenever something terrible happened. I was just old enough to care about Bobby Kennedy - I was devastated.
Several new books have just been published to mark the 40th anniversary of RFK’s tragic death inside that Los Angeles hotel.
I’m reading Thurston Clarke’s THE LAST CAMPAIGN - Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America (Henry Holt) and remembering what could have been.
The “audacity of hope” is a powerful thing…..
Vick Mickunas
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Comments
By lmj
June 6, 2008 9:14 PM | Link to this
I graduated from high school on the day that Bobby Kennedy was shot.By Blowfly
June 5, 2008 2:22 PM | Link to this
I shook Bobby Kennedy’s hand, Ethel’s too. He came to Des Moines and held a rally at the airport during his ‘68 run for president. My mother took all my sisters and me to see him. After the speech he walked along crowd and I was able to shake his hand. I was 11. He seemed like a nice guy to me. I remember one other thing about that day. Someone was heckling him, yelling “get a haircut,” which was something people said to longhair hippy freaks at the time. Kennedy laughed and ran his hand through his hair and said “I just did.” That shut the guy up and everyone laughed.By victor mickunas
June 5, 2008 11:34 AM | Link to this
40 years later that hope has been reborn for some Americans.By beastmomma
June 5, 2008 10:55 AM | Link to this
Imagining what could have been is nice, creating what could be is even nicer.