The Day JFK Died: Or Why I Hate Lee Harvey Oswald
The Birthday Present
When my father was in a good mood, one of his birthday presents to us was permission to stay up past 7 p.m. and watch TV. I was born on 17 November 1954, so in 1963 my birthday fell on a Sunday. That meant I wouldn't get to enjoy my "stay up late" gift until the following Friday, thanks to school getting in the way.
That Friday was 22 November.
A lot of people say they remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard that John F. Kennedy, President of the United States, had been assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
I certainly do.
I remember it as the day Lee Harvey Oswald fucked up my birthday present.
The Moment Everything Went Wrong
At 7 p.m. that Friday, I was ready. All my brothers and sisters had been sent off to bed, and I was parked in front of the telly, waiting to watch proper adult shows like Take Your Pick, Double Your Money, or — if I was really lucky — Coronation Street.
Then a newsreader appeared. He started going on about some bloke who'd been shot in America. And because of that, all normal programming was suspended.
What?!
I couldn't believe it. The only thing I knew about America was that cowboys and Indians lived there. I had absolutely no idea why some far-off shooting should interfere with my birthday treat.
The Long, Boring Vigil
So I sat there, forlornly staring at the telly while both channels — there were only two in those days — displayed a static graphic and played slow, sad classical music. Every so often, a grim-faced newsreader would pop up and give an update.
And that was that.
No birthday telly. No Double Your Money. Just bugger all. And there wasn't a thing I could do about it.
Over the next couple of days, we learnt that the man who'd shot the president had been shot himself. And honestly, that pleased me.
The bastard had ruined my birthday.
Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald.
Of course I understand it now. But to a nine-year-old boy, it was simple: one man’s place in history was another kid’s ruined Friday night