Where Was I When the Shot Rang Out?

On that fateful Friday, 50 years ago, I was standing near the corner of 14th and P Streets in
Washington, D.C. along with a group of neighborhood gang members*. I will never forget
their faces and reactions as the police copter flew so low overhead. I feared it would crash as
it blared forth the announcement --

                              President Kennedy has been shot!

The gang's leader J.T. along with Oliver, Donny, Charles, and Sonny were absolutely
frantic! They hollered "Mr. Clem, don't go anywhere. Stay right here. Don't move. We
will be back."

                                    And . . . back they came . . . with scrapbooks.

They opened the pages of their precious books. It was immediately obvious that their
heroes were JFK and Cassius Clay. Together, we paged through their collections of
newspaper clippings and photos.

                                    And . . . we stood near the corner of 14th & P,
                                                      held each other,
                                                                      and wept.


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*My spouse and I were living in Washington, D.C. at the time. Elizabeth was employed
 as a chemist at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. I was in my first year at
 Wesley Theological Seminary. I had chosen, as my student volunteer work requirement,
 to help begin a mission in the inner-city of Washington to address the needs of people in
 this black 2nd Precinct.