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Memoir | News | Assassination | Kennedy | RFK, Sr
They Shot Kennedy
My 8th birthday was two months away. I’d finished 2nd grade a few days before. Our old Motorola 19" black and white TV was on in the living room when I passed through on my way to the kitchen.
I heard the news playing and told myself, “I’m almost 8 years old now. I should start watching the news.”
So, I stopped and watched.
My mother’s head snapped up from preparing breakfast when I ran into the kitchen shouting, “Mom! Mom! Kenney’s been shot!”
Her brow wrinkled in confusion. “I know, son. That happened years ago.”
I skidded to a halt. “What? No! He got shot last night in California. They’re talking about it on the news.”
My mom turned off the burner she’d been scrambling eggs over. The low flame sputtered out. She gave the eggs one last push with the spatula before turning to me and saying, “No, Doug, John Kennedy was killed five years ago in Texas.”
“But, Mom,” I insisted. “The news just said that Robert Kennedy was shot last night in California. They didn’t say anything about a guy named John.”
