"King of Kings"

50 years ago seems like a lifetime. At 1:30 EDT or shortly thereafter, while in orchestra rehearsal at our high school, the PA announced the shooting but the reports were not clear and thought to be "shot at".  Sometime after 2p the confirmation came.  I was in orchestra rehearsal. The piece was The Messiah and the Hallelujah Chorus...we at the phrase in the libretto "King of Kings..Forever Forever".  Right there on the stage. That's were I was and that was what I was doing.
School was dismissed on the spot.  We all went home and turned on television sets, games were cancelled for the evening and events just didn't happen. I still have my tickets for a Saturday night dance, November 23 in my scrapbook.

It seems odd to think that it was so long ago.  My father was born in 1910 and he was as close in time - actually closer - to Lincoln's assassination than we are now to Kennedy's.  Anyway, it was very sad.  The big discussion in government class the following week centered around how America could have someone in its midst who would just shoot a president - such an act of violence and non-caring.

Anyway, I was sorry then as I am now that killing someone is thought to be a solution to anything.