Every year, I remember. I look at a calendar, I write a date on a check, I hear someone talking about preparations for Thanksgiving, and I remember Friday, November 22, 1963.
What did I do that morning? I assume I got up, got ready for school, and attended my morning classes at Highland View Junior High School. What did I do at lunch time? I went through the cafeteria line and picked up my light green plastic tray. The entree section was filled with fish sticks and potatoes. I sat with friends to eat my lunch. As I ate, the principal's voice came over the loudspeaker, "The president has been murdered."
I didn't know it then, but my life changed forever that day. The shock that our president, the first man ever elected to that office in my young memory, had been shot and killed was my initiation into that collective experience which happens when tragedy strikes our nation.
Whether our first experience with collective tragedy was an attack such as Pearl Harbor or 9/11, whether it was an individual death such as JFK's assassination, I see that these are times that Americans come together. These events may affect us in different ways to varying degrees, but we all share in the experience.
Today, Aunt Sandi says:
- Even in the remembrance of sad events, there is something for me to be thankful for. I am thankful whenever I see Americans coming together to help each other through difficult times. I am thankful for the compassion and strength that lifts us up and gives us hope even in distressing circumstances.
- Advertisers have been intent on turning our focus to holiday shopping since before Halloween. Even so, Friday probably will be one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Take your own tote bags to reduce waste, take only one debit/credit card (or cash) to control spending, and take a list to help resist impulse buying of unnecessary "stuff."
- Holiday times often mean more dirty dishes. What is the most energy efficient way to wash dishes? The results of a study comparing alternate methods of hand washing dishes - as well as the use of automatic dishwashers both old and new - can be found at switch.portlandgeneral.com.
Well-written remembrance of that November day. I, too, remember those moments vividly.
ReplyDeleteHowever... should it be 9-11 or 9/11, not 911?
And I had already seen that diswashing article -- it was very interesting, albeit not very scientific. It DID point out that leaving water running (especially hot water) in the sink gets wasteful really fast.