Monday, November 22, 2010

Iced In

The next sign that autumn is gone and winter's footprint is among us is that early morning's most ponds have that thin glaze of ice lacing them now. Even these ducks fear breaking through to see if I'm throwing any stale bread their way. In my toddling years, my grandmother often brought me here to this pond connected to a cemetery. I never asked why we came here so many afternoons. I was just excited about feeding the ducks. When I got older, I realized it was more than seeing and feeding the ducks that pulled her back here. Her son, killed in the 'Good War' (WWII), was here nearby. I bear his name.

November 22- I'll remember this date forever. JFK killed in Dallas. Where were you? Me? In my high school Library in Sophomore English class.

22 comments:

  1. I was in 6th grade. We were called to an assembly and told the tragic news. I'd never seen my teachers cry before.

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  2. I like this photo! I remember this day well too! I was in a high school science class.

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  3. A delightful image of a waning Autumn.
    I was a bus headed home from high school.
    ☼ Sunny

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  4. Just got home from high school and was in the kitchen of a local dairy, paying my parent's milk bill. Milk was delivered to milk boxes outside the house in those days. The milkman's wife told me the bad news and I ran home to watch the TV.

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  5. I was in the 5th grade and I remember being in the hallway of my elementary school when someone shouted it out. Everyone started crying.

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  6. I will never forget that day---It is my birthday too--I was on the phone talking to a friend and we were stunned. MB

    Regarding your comment on my blog--'Whats for Dinner?' If you notice the hawk in the lower right--she has something in her talons. MB

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  7. Nice wintry shot!

    I was working as an insurance investigator in Mesa, Arizona that afternoon. We lived in Scottsdale and sat in front of the TV set for the next three days. I think we did eat and sleep a bit, though. Terrible times!

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  8. Beautiful photo, poignant post once again. . .
    Re: JFK. . .en route to freshman college tennis class. Teacher made us continue w/class. Afterwards we all rushed to the dorm lounge to follow news on television.

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  9. I was in 2nd grade. We were practicing cursive writing. The principal knocked on the classroom door and told our class. We bowed our heads in pray and class was dismissed.

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  10. Nice capture. I'd be like the ducks! Soon that glaze will turn to a thick sheet. I wasn't even a thought yet when President Kennedy was assisinated. My mom saw him a few days prior and said he was even better looking in person.

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  11. Wonderful, great job. Greetings Leovi

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  12. A beautiful image and a lovely post, again.

    That November 22 I was at home, too young to understand what was going on.

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  13. So there was a Birdman I? That's a nice story and good that you and your grandmother enjoyed time here when you were young.

    I was not yet born when Kennedy was shot. Floating out in the ether somewhere, I suppose.

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  14. This is particularly nice. The ice looks like glass entrapping the last red leaves of autumn. At my locker getting ready to leave school, senior year in high school.

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  15. I was in the 6th grade. We were supposed to watch his speech in Dallas on the TV that was in the classroom. Instead, we were all sent home.

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  16. Nice and cold where you live too ;)

    Not cool to take a dip in the water just now...

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  17. Everything is beautiful in this image and I could never guess it's that cold... :-)

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  18. It's great that you have such wonderful memories of your grandmother! On that fateful November day I was in school where we were all called into an assembly where we were told what had happened.

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  19. Just was not born yet.

    Wonderful memories of time spent with your grandmother.

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  20. A quite beautiful photograph - and words which match the quality of it. On that day ? A young schoolboy in Yorkshire - where the news was just as earth-shattering as anywhere else.

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