How JFK Changed My Life

I can't tell you why I remember this in as much detail as I do. I was only seven years old. It was October of second grade. John F Kennedy was in a tight battle with Richard Nixon, the Vice President.  The Democratic and Republican National Conventions of that summer were the first I watched.  My parents let me stay up well pass my bed time to watch the conventions.  I was glued to the TV. I felt I was seeing democracy in action and it turned me on.

You see in New York City the public schools are closed on all election days (November, primary day and any special election).  From the year I was born until I finished sixth grade my mother was a poll worker.  She would take me with her from 7:00AM in the Morning till 9:00PM at night.  I would play with the other kids.  My mother and the other poll workers would play MahJong..  I learned the importance of voting, and thus have missed only a rare election my entire life.  Even if I was going to live in a place one year I registered to vote.  In college and medical school I voted absentee from school.

Woody Station Wagon

Car bwith speakers

I clearly remember it was a Sunday afternoon in October 1960.  The election was less then a month away. I was walking home from Sunday Hebrew School.  It was a few minutes after noon.  As I was walking the last little bit to my house a Woody Paneled Wagon with giant speakers on the roof was coming down the 72nd Avenue toward me.  It was plastered with campaign posters for JFK.  I heard patriotic music coming from the speakers and the music and the station wagon stopped and out bellowed, 'COME MEET THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES".  It then said this was just two blocks away, on Jewel(70th Ave.) Avenue off the corner of 164th Street.  My heart skipped a beat.

PS 200 Front

I checked with my Mom and went to the rally.  It was two blocks away at the far corner of PS 200 elementary school.  This was the closest school to my house.  However I went to a school (PS 154) almost three times farther, because PS 200 was built specifically for the complex of apartment buildings call Elechester built for the men in the local electricians union. On the map below you can see where my house is ( by the d in 72nd AVE, after you move the little man and the 'A' bubble to top edge of the map.).




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JFK at another Rally

Flat bed truck but without rail.

There was a giant crowd.  I was standing on the curb right by the third tree from the left in the street view image above.  We all waited what seemed like hours but was probably 45 minutes and a shout went up that he was coming.  I couldn't see since I was so short (I was only 7) and was standing on my tiptoes.  All of a sudden some men cleared the street in front of my and I say a flat bed truck coming toward me down the hill.  It stopped right next to the curb between the second tree and the one I was standing next to.  Everyone surged around the truck and I ended up next to the rear bumper.  I looked up and two feet in front of me was a giant standing on the back end of the flatbed truck and holding a rail.  He reached down and shock my hand.  I was awestruck.  He then gave a speach, which I don't remember a word of, but I became a die-hard fan of JFK that momment and a life time Democrat.

This Blog Snippets of my life, is going to be a daily blog for at least one year. I will tell stories about me that I hope you find interesting. If you like them please do two things: click to become a follower; and post on your Facebook page or twitter them. I hope to have 10,000 followers by years end. Some stories will be very personal. I will try to remember the correct names of those involved, however, I have a terrible memory for names and some names will be completely fictitious. The stories however are completely truthful as far as I can remember. Hope you enjoy. Some of these blogs may seem mundane. However, they are important foundations for later Blogs.