A crowd of people lined the sidewalks of Dallas, Texas. The sunshine was bright, warming the onlookers on as they waited anxiously for their most anticipated visitor to come. A limousine pulled slowly around the corner, officers flanking them on every side. The people grinned in excitement, laughed, and waved. The man in the back seat smiled broadly at his spectators, his wife waving on. It was like they were waving and smiling just for them.
The man up front turned around and exclaimed happily, “Well, Mr. President, you can’t say that Dallas doesn’t love you.”
That was when the first shot rang out. He turned in confusion. Who would be shooting today of all days? Didn’t they know they were in city–
Another shot rang out, he slumped sideways. He heard the panicked shouts of citizens, the driver, his wife. Who was going to help them now? he thought, his last before he slipped away towards death.
The president has been shot!
The president has been shot…
The president has been shot.
John F. Kennedy, the president of the United States of America, has been shot in Dallas, Texas. He passed away not long afterwards.
The echoes murmured and echoed across America until everybody who knew turned away in tears and disbelief. The president had been shot and killed. Who could shoot the president. Who could shoot him? We must find him. He must pay.
There is a name. They’ve caught him.
Lee Harvey Oswald.
Yes, they saw him on the sixth floor window. He was acting suspiciously when they saw him coming down the stairs after the shooting. He left everything behind.
Yes, Lee Harvey Oswald shot the president. He must pay.
Lee Harvey Oswald shot the president. He was caught. He paid.
But he still shot the president. Where do we move on from here?
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This is a creative nonfiction piece. John F. Kennedy was in fact shot on November 22 in Dallas, Texas 50 years ago today and Lee Harvey Oswald was taken in for questioning and accused for JFK’s assasination. Some liberties may or may not have been taking in regards to thoughts and emotions, but I tried to capture the emotions and sentiments of the time as best as possible. This post was written for National Nove/Blog Post Month.
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