I was 12 years old when JFK was assassinated. I took the news badly. Kennedy was a hero to me. When you're that age and first start paying attention to world events and your president was a young, smooth talking guy who made the Russians (then our enemy) back down from our naval blockade of Cuba, it was a big thing! You were REALLY proud of your country and of this man. To hear that he was killed was a big blow.

I was in junior high school when an announcement was made about Kennedy. We got out of school early and with all the chaos I didn't get to meet up with my friends I usually walked home with. I walked by myself and started crying, something a 12 year old boy doesn't want to do in public.

I passed an appliance store (back in those days they used to put the big appliances in the front window) and all the televisions were on display. I walked up to the window and there were about 20 other people crowded around, watching. It was then when I saw Walter Cronkite announce that JFK was dead. Everyone (mostly adults) had tears in their eyes.

Watching the news reports on September 11th was just as bad, if not worse, but I was an adult then. I could grasp the enormity of it better than when I was a kid.

I can't believe it will be 50 years in November.