*A recent, whirlwind visit to Dallas yields these observations, starting with the must-see stop that is The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. It needs to be experienced for all the obvious reasons.
If you are a certain age, you need to see for yourself what a room-service venue for an assassination looks like. You couldn’t order up a better sniper’s lair. A hairpin turn that slowed a presidential convertible–some 265 feet from that notorious Texas School Book Depository window–to less than 10 mph.
And then those inevitable thoughts of all that might have been had Dallas not happened. This includes serious signs of an evolving John F. Kennedy favoring Vietnam withdrawal–now forever moot. The strife and times–including the Camelot-like–of Kennedy’s tragically-truncated presidency are chronicled. There will be moments when you will tear up.
But no mention is made of rife rumors that President Kennedy was going to be an assassin’s target in Chicago–and Tampa–earlier that November of 1963. Or that the Secret Service and Dallas Police Department failed to communicate with each other and plan accordingly for the “Hate Capital of Dixie” motorcade that would wind slowly around mid-rise buildings, pass a grassy, stockade-fenced knoll and go under an overpass. Visceral feelings of logistical outrage inevitably vie with those of colossal sadness.
If you are not of a certain age–and this is all history and no memory–you need to educate yourself. Chances are, your schooling came up short with a terse Warren Commission reference. The videos, photos and assorted artifacts bring context to a horrific act. There was more to JFK than being the crime-of-the-century victim.
“It’s more than an assassination,” underscored museum librarian/archivist Pauline Martin. “It’s also a life and a legacy.”
For the record, the museum occupies the sixth–and part of the seventh–floor of what is now the (110-year-old) Dallas County Administration Building (411 Elm Street at Houston) in downtown. Twin elevators in the first floor Visitors Center take visitors directly to the museum galleries. It attracts about 325,000 visitors, including students by the busload, a year.
*Reportedly the fence atop part of the grassy knoll has been replaced numerous times over the years. Taking a toll: the ravages of weather as well as the impact of souvenir hunters and graffiti signatories. The latest iteration is relatively new, but I suspect the graffiti is a thematic constant. A current sampling: “We all deserve to know the truth.” “The real crime scene.” “The Warren Commission lied.” “The HSCA said there was a conspiracy.” “You are still missed.” “JFK: Argentina Loves You.” “They murdered JFK. History changed forever–as well as the USA.” Plus lots of “R.I.P., JFKs” and a singular, likely non-conspiracy skeptic: “Amber Mae! 5-14-2011.”
*Directly across from 411 Elm is 501 Elm Place, the old Dal-Tex Building. The first floor now features The Museum Store and Cafe.
Talk about a weird, irreverent juxtaposition. You can watch recycling assassination day images while munching a beef taco or cheese quesadilla, quaffing an ice cold frappe or savoring a smoothie. And this would be the go-to place if you wanted Vaughn Meader’s time-warped “First Family” CD or maybe a Dealey Plaza ornament.
*A 50ish woman helped us determine the correct stop on the DART (Dallas Area Regional Transit) light-rail line for the (impressive) Dallas Museum of Art. “There’s a lot to do here,” she noted amiably. “But all people know is we killed Kennedy.” Sobering.
Longhorn Issues
*Hardly surprising that at the state level, the Texas (GOP-majority) legislature is grappling with issues not unfamiliar to Floridians in its special session. Education cuts and legislation giving school districts the flexibility to furlough teachers and reduce salaries were hot, partisan issues. As was an overhaul of how Texas delivers health care to low-income disabled people. It’s a subset of legislation moving through the Senate and House to expand the privatization of health care services.
And as with the Florida legislature, there’s no likelihood that needed revenue, especially with the loss of federal stimulus money, will be produced by eliminating any tax exemptions or loopholes. And Gov. Rick Perry vetoed an Internet sales tax bill.
Unemployment is 8 percent.
*Perry, the gubernatorial soul mate and friendly rival of Rick Scott and possible presidential candidate, also made news by announcing that he has invited the other 49 governors to join him in “a day of prayer and fasting on behalf of our troubled nation.” It will be Aug. 6 at Reliant Stadium in Houston. The official invitation refers to the gathering as “apolitical in nature.”
The conservative American Family Association is footing the bill for the event.
“I would not characterize it in any way as a political event merely because people who hold political office are participating,” said AFA spokesman Eric Bearse, a former Perry aide. With, presumably, a straight face.
*In Fort Worth, the transit system is enforcing a dress code on city buses. Drivers are now authorized to reject passengers who wear saggy pants that fall below the waist. Initially they are being given a choice: pull ’em up or take a hike. On the first day, 50 passengers were warned–and all 50 opted to pull ’em up and ride on.
*These are some heady days for Dallas-area sports interests. In football, it (Arlington) played host to the Super Bowl; in baseball it was the (Arlington) Texas Rangers in the World Series; and most recently the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.