That’s the one good thing about dying young, you still look pretty good, and how uncanny to have May 29 of this very special milestone, fall on Memorial Day.
I’ll bet he would have smiled at that.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States (1917-1963), is celebrating a big birthday alright. His mother, Rose, lived to be 105, so who knows if he would have made it to 100 if his life wasn’t cut short at 46, in 1963.
I continue to be fascinated by the Kennedys, especially their derring-do, a jaunty term for their reckless behavior displayed over and over again.
I recently read a book called Dallas 1963, written in 2013 by Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis, that gave me shivers.
Unbeknownst to most Americans, JFK was warned repeatedly about the dangers lurking in Dallas…how hated he was and it was not safe for him to campaign there.
His brother Bobby, as Attorney General, got countless calls at the State Department, while citizens wrote to the White House….DON’T COME…but he did anyway, and we all know what happened.
Fast forward to 1999, his only living son, John, is told, don’t fly on a foggy summer’s night, ignoring all warnings, killing himself and two others.
Was it in their DNA to be this thoughtless and foolhardy?
JFK refused to put up the bubble top on his limousine that day in November. “I want the people to be able to see me,” he told his staff. What about Jackie, and the Connellys who rode with him? Governor John Connelly was also shot, luckily surviving, but his wife Nellie and Jackie could have been shot too, all so the people could see him better.
I shouldn’t be criticizing him on his centennial the country is celebrating, but it is food for thought. What might have been if caution wasn’t tossed to the wind.
You can’t help but to wonder.
Happy Birthday Jack, wherever you are.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on this day, May 29, 1917. 
