Dusky Day In Dallas.

On 21-22 November,1963, President John F. Kennedy and Jackie stayed at the Hotel Texas, Fort Worth. There was morning drizzle when JFK went outside to give a short speech; there was sunlight. Inside the hotel there was a warm welcome given by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. The confident MC offered JFK a stetson there, which he accepted, smiling, but would not wear. John F. Kennedy gave a witty but uplifting speech: 'No one expects that our life will be easy; certainly not in this decade, maybe not in this century. I will resist nuclear war and preserve world peace.' The President boarded Air Force One at Carswell, touching down at 11: 40 am at Love Field, Dallas. There were crowds along the fence-line, holding up pro- and- anti-JFK signs, ambivalence in the air. At midday I saw President Kennedy get into the back seat of a Lincoln Convertible, without the bulletproof bubbletop. I saw large, enthusiastic crowds on both sides of Main Street, but fewer by Houston Street and Elm Street: I was there. There were just a few spectators on the grassy knoll, when the Hertz digital clock ticked over to 12: 30 pm. Right then I heard the first gunshot from the rear, then two more rapid-fire shots that ended a dream. I found the speech that the President had for the Trade Mart: ''We in this country, in this generation, are- by destiny rather than choice-the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. ..''For as was written long ago, ' except the Lord keep the city, 'the watchman waketh but in vain'.' '' - June,2016.(John F. Kennedy,1917-1963) .