A Day with JFK
My oldest son has happily matriculated at Boston College, and I happily have a day now and then to spend exploring The Cradle of Liberty. I’ve just spent a day at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum and here are my top 5 observations:
1. The Location is Amazing!
Located on Columbia Point, looking north over Old Harbor to a majestic view of Boston’s skyline. The stunning I.M. Pei designed structure exudes a sea-side distinguished presence. As brother Teddy said at the ground-breaking ceremony in 1977: “There is no more beautiful view of the Boston he loved and the sea he loved than from this view from this site on which we stand…”
2. JFK’s Televised Debates With Richard Nixon
Four televised debates between presidential candidates JFK and Richard Nixon, the first of their kind, in the fall of 1960 are said to be the turning point of the campaign in JFK’s favor. JFK projected youth, strength and confidence, especially during the first debate when Nixon was still recovering from a hospital stay and looked a bit sickly.
The debate setting is recreated with period equipment, and you can view the debate as it was televised in 1960. Watching the interaction between the candidates, I perceived a civility that transcended sharp political disagreement that is long gone today!
3. The Cuban Missile Crisis Must Have Aged JFK 20 Years
An excellent 14-minute film puts us in JFK’s seat as he gathers information on Nikita Khrushchev’s deployment of nuclear missiles into Cuba in October, 1962. We hear inputs from diplomat Robert McNamara and hawk General LeMay, and JFK’s questions and replies as his brother Bobby helps him to decide on a course of action. Nuclear war was never so close, as we learn a Soviet sub near JFK’s “quarantine line” 500 miles from Cuba actually armed a nuclear missile and prepared it for launch.
4. Peace Corps
JFK announced the Peace Corps in a visionary speech early in his term, and signed legislation on September 22, 1961. By 1963, 7,000 young people served in 44 countries. The Peace Corps seems like a great idea in today’s world! I get the sense that this initiative was a big part of laying the groundwork for civil rights advances that were carried over the goal line by LBJ.
5. You Touch the Kennedy Family’s Lives
JFK’s influence on America at the national level was short-lived like a thunderbolt, lasting well less than a decade. The museum is chock-full of personal items and images that give us a glimpse into Kennedy the man, and his family. Home movies, intimate family pictures, treasured keepsakes and gifts, and even little Caroline’s artwork let us know him a little better.
This rocking chair was a gift from JFK’s father Joe, and was kept in the Oval Office. He liked to sit in the rocker to take pressure off his aching back while listening to aides.
BONUS OBSERVATION: THE ERNEST HEMINGWAY COLLECTION
One of the last corridors of the museum houses presentations on each of Papa’s major works with excerpts from manuscripts and photographs of various inspirations for his stories. It is gratifying to see that the master strikes text and revises just like the rest of us!
