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The Other Side of the Edge…..
A Time…..Forever Lost
By Joe Facinoli
NOTE: In honor of the milepost anniversary, later this
week, for one of the most significant and sorrowful dates in American
History, I’ve revived a piece from about 6 months ago, which was
written then, for a very different reason. The sentiment,
as well as the truth of it, still holds, but I’ve edited it (and
shortened it) quite a bit, in order to focus more on the shared emotion
of those remarkable times, and of that most heartbreaking moment.
It’s been 50 years, and not only do we still miss it, …but more, …we
can neither get over it, ….nor past it.
"......Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot,
for one brief shining moment, known
as............Cam-e-lot."
Who could ever forget it,.....or him?
If you were alive then,......you will remember.
Always.
Camelot.
All the people and parts of it,…..all the excitement and hope of
it. Real hope. True
hope. It was indeed….. Camelot.
That smile. That charisma and persona.
That accent. That hair.
The sense of humor. Those bright and twinkling
eyes. That wit, …so quick, so direct, …so on
point.
Hyannis Port. The "Compound". Touch
football by the Cape. The endless family of brothers
and sisters, nieces and nephews, …all everywhere, all at
once.
Jackie. Caroline. John
John. So beautiful, so handsome, so
cute. So perfect.
Old Joe Sr., the guiding hand, he of the back room
deals. Rose.
Bobby. Joe Jr., the martyred chosen one, and the one
to live up to. Honey Fitz.
Boston. Harvard. American
Royalty.
PT-109. War hero. Profiles in
Courage. The Pulitzer
Prize. An Inauguration speech for the
ages.
The "Kennedy Mafia". The "Best and
Brightest". Georgetown. The
takeover of DC after the "passing of the torch" to our "new
generation". Those press conferences.
That style. That glamor. The
re-done White House, and the renewed tributes to our history, and
culture, from this younger bunch, so full of life, and of "today's"
values.
The sense of purpose. The belief that it could be
done, and that all was possible. The trust in
that. The ease with which he spoke to us, the comfort
we felt when he did.
Paris. Jackie again. Berlin. "I am
a Berliner!". Ireland. Heritage,
legacy.
The stare down with Khrushchev. And Nikita
blinked. The Monroe
Doctrine. The sense of history, and that each
moment, and each decision, mattered.
The "Challenge" to America, to get to the moon first, and
quickly. And we did.
The massive legislative initiatives. Civil Rights,
Poverty, Crime, Education. So broad, so deep, such
concern for "regular" Americans. So scary for
"established" DC.
Dallas. The tragedy. After so much
triumph, after so much uplifting hope and promise.
Too soon. Too much not finished, …too much never to
be seen.
Those never ending drums, the rolling caissons, the
riderless horse. The silence of the huge
crowd.
The "Salute".
Arlington. The eternal flame. And
the eternal, ebullient light from that now eternal smile, …forever
frozen at 46.
Who could ever compete with all of that??
But, for fifty years, we have let them try. All
comers.
America has looked and looked, and hoped, and looked some more, and now
searches desperately, for another like him. Or someone even
close. Someone to lead us, someone to believe
in. And our choices since then, clearly reflect just how
desperate we have become.
We thought that it could be Bobby, for a while, even with his harder
edge, and sometimes petty and ruthless ways. But his light
was soon extinguished as well.
We never thought it could be Teddy, but still we tried, for longer than
we should have, to make that shoe fit. But no.
Others appeared, rose to false prominence, and then fell
back. Showed promise, but then
disappointed.
Many tried, many did their best to imitate and emulate.
Many pretenders, many wannabes, many imposters, but alas, many never
were.
The conservatives thought they had their man, for a brief time, and he
tried his best to lead us to that "city on a shining hill".
But in the end, although leaving us with much to hold close, he was
seen more as the "tired old king" that someone sung about.
The liberals have thought they've had their man, three different times
since Jack left us. But all have proven to be very poor,
even dangerous, imitations.
The inexperienced peanut farmer, and the inexperienced community
organizer, sandwiched around the most dubious of the three:
the inexperienced intern advisor and lip biter..........all proved, or
are proving themselves to be, far, far less than advertised, and far
too short of their promised proximity to the one, the ideal, whom we
miss so deeply, and so completely.
But that time is now gone, as is he. That one, agonizingly
brief, shining,….moment in the sun.
Waiting for its return could prove as fruitless for this country as the
hollow accomplishments of those who have followed, tried their brand of
charisma and leadership, and have failed to meet our unforgivable
expectations.
He was not our greatest President, …nor statistically, even our most
popular. In fact, his election was by the closest popular
vote margin in our history. And as well, he showed his own
inexperience, early on.
But once we realized what we had, especially after we had him no more,
he became the beacon for almost all Americans to look back on, as the
standard for our continuing search, during the entire second half of
the twentieth century, and on into the present one.
The thought of his persona, his ability to make us feel good about
America, and about ourselves, …that's what we wanted, and still hope
for, regardless of party, regardless of how it may be
packaged.
November 22, 1963, will forever stand as one of the 4 or 5 most
infamous and gut wrenching events and dates in our nation’s
history. Along with:
--Lincoln’s assassination (April 14, 1865,…died on April 15)
--Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941)
--FDR’s death (April 12, 1945)
--9/11 (September 11, 2001)
As a nation, we have chosen to ignore the warts, the shortcomings, the
weaknesses, and even the failings. We have,
instead, manufactured an imagery of that time, and a legacy far greater
than it ever was, and perhaps even, far beyond the true
merits.
JFK had a unique aura. But he also had common sense, many
broad life experiences to draw from, and a balanced, well-crafted
brilliance, to go along with that peerless ability to
communicate.
And he knew who to surround himself with, and how to delegate, and how
to listen. And how and when to make
decisions. And when and how to stand by
them.
The Kennedy years were exciting, always dynamic, and at times, even
chaotic. Change was abundant everywhere, with the new, bold
ideas unceasingly moving out the old and established. They
knew what they wanted to do, and they knew how to do
it.
But there was always an underlying kindness, and charity, to all of
their actions and intentions, and we believed, perhaps more than we
should have, that the "right things" were always being considered, and
taken into account.
America gave its heart away once.
And like so many forlorned and mournful lovers, who have been left
behind by events beyond their control, …sometimes tragic, can't seem to
find a way to believe again, to trust again, nor to give themselves up
again.
Not after what happened.
We've hated the succeeding politicians and leaders, exactly because
they were not him. Or the perceived image of
him.
Instead, like the bitter stepchild, or the sad and hardened lover, we
have been taking out all our frustrations, and sense of loss, on the
ones closest to us, the ones we should be trying to work with, the ones
unlucky enough to have followed him.
Empty suits and empty rhetoric, …compounded, one on top of another, and
then more from the next one, and then another, and still another one,
and the next, and then more. And then,.......here we
are.
We did not want them, and they did not know how to win us
over.
And they lied to us, as well. So many
times. And on and on it went, and goes.
And now, no one trusts, nor likes, nor wants to work with, nor even
listen to, even for a minute,.......anyone.
All the years of animosity, and bitter partisanship, …the blaming, the
finger pointing, the hair pulling, …all the blatant corruption and loss
of all values, have come about because there have been no true
leaders. No one that America, as one nation, could believe
in fully, get behind, give their hearts to, and put their faith in,
…..together.
No one like John Kennedy.
He was the beautiful girl, or the handsome guy, that you had a first
time, one of a kind fling with, that wonderful summer you'll always
remember from your younger days, …or whenever.
Someone you just knew was "the one". The soulmate, the
fantastic lover, the close and dear friend. Only to
lose them, somehow, and then never to see nor hear from them again,
….ever.
It changes how you feel, about every partner that follows, and maybe
even your overall attitude for most things in your life, even the very
important ones.
We had our “Camelot”, and certainly, ….let it be not forgot.
But can we not compound this loss, by continuing to waste away these
same precious gifts and opportunities, which have always defined our
great nation, and our people, and which still remain available to us
all, even now ??
Can we instead, save this beloved “Magical Kingdom”, the greatest the
world has ever seen, ….from ourselves, …..and from our own self-ruinous
path ??
We must, for,…. “.…there’s simply not,…a more congenial spot,…for
happily ever-aftering,….than here in…(what remains
of),…. Camelot.”
Joe Facinoli
--Joe can be reached at: joefacinoli@gmail.com
Intelligent Response Encouraged !!
© Copyright 2013, Joe Facinoli
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