My girlfriend in the 12th grade was Mary Barrow, also known

My girlfriend in the 12th grade was Mary Barrow, also known as George. She was Portuguese, Japanese, American Indian and Caucasian American - quite a mix. Her dad was a Highway Patrol Officer and scary. Her mom was a Japanese war bride. I wish I had heard more stories from her mom. Our ‘romance’ continued on a ‘by mail’ basis throughout my freshman year at Rice. I think it fizzled in the summer of ’65.

People my age all have a common experience. We know where we were when President John F Kennedy was shot. He was gunned down by an assassin’s (Lee Harvey Oswald) bullet in Dallas on 22 November, 1963.

I was a senior in High School and was in civics class when his shooting was announced over the school PA. I believe this was around 1 PM. The teacher, Mr. Warren, kept order and kept on teaching. By 2 or so the word that he was dead arrived and I think we were dismissed for the day.

This was on the Friday a week before thanksgiving. The whole nation was consumed by the unfolding events including the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald on Saturday morning while he was in custody!