Juxtaposition

I’m a very trusting person…except when it comes to the conspiracy theories about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. From the government to the Mob to alien forces, they could all be true, and I’ve read them all.

So it was that our trip to Dallas for nephew Mark’s wedding was not only a joyous event and a first-class party, but also a chance to check off my bucket list seeing up close and personal the Texas School Book Depository and Dealey Plaza. It was eery and impactful to experience the nuances of the area in person, and by the end of the book depository museum tour, I had Jenny and Christine looking suspiciously at the angles behind the grassy knoll.

It was an odd contrast between the joys of seeing family and celebrating Mark and Katie’s marriage, against the images of the city of downtown Dallas seared into the minds of a generation that were very young that fateful day.

When I took a business trip to Dallas in the early 1980’s, there were no signs or markers of the assassination in the downtown area. This time thanks to Chuck’s VIP Tours package our hotel room had a view of the book depository itself, and we had a window seat to take a cell phone audio tour of the block and buildings surrounding the plaza. Max and Christine couldn’t make it in time to hear the audio, but I pretty much memorized it and gave them all the highlights later.

Not much had really changed in terms of the buildings and the relationship of the places that marked the events and theories of that day more than 50 years ago. The city of Dallas has accepted its history while it tries to highlight other activities for visitors like Texas barbeque, Cowboys Stadium and the famous site where Mark and Katie said “I do.”

The kids were gracious in working their plans around the JFK museum, and Chuck was glad that the book depository wasn’t one of Hal’s boring library tour ideas after all. It was sharing the thoughts and ideas with family that really made it a meaningful event. As it is with all the sights and sounds of our lives.