Dear Mr. President
Just want you to know
On this the fiftieth anniversary
Of your untimely passing
You turned my childhood upside down

Of course
Being only six years old
I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about
Living in Trenton, Ontario, Canada
And New York State just across the lake
We got mostly American channels
Thanks to the antenna on the roof
Everybody had them
For as you may recall
There was no cable TV in those days

And Mr. President
All I knew was my favourite cartoons
Had become something called pre-empted
Dad’s airbase was put on full alert
Mom doing a poor job of holding back tears
And I couldn’t figure out why
Except that it had something to do with you
They tried to explain
But like Air Force One
With your body, Jackie, L.B.J. sworn in
Heading back to Washington
It flew far over my head

Now fifty years later
Like so many others
I’ve grown up and out of that age of innocence
Become an amateur historian and news addict
In part or perhaps wholly due
To that fateful day in Dallas
The world and my childhood changed forever
When you taught me indirectly
That Life can’t always be a cartoon





© 2013
Revised © 2019
Top photo courtesy of the Net
Bottom photo © 2001 by author

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11/22/2013

Posted on 11/23/2013
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti