foreshadowing
& flashback
assignment
- 10-21-99
Twice
a Witness
The
day was sunny, but cold, unusual for a Texas November. Seventy-eight-year-old
Hal Thomas stepped out onto the crowded streets of Dallas, beginning the
first leg of his short journey to the Dallas Times where he was meeting
his grandson, Jacob Thomas.
Dallas, Texas - which
was always buzzing - was even more so than usual with mass preparation
for the presidential motorcade of John F. Kennedy, the President of the
United States.
Crossing the busy street,
Hal strolled three blocks and arrived in a timely manner at the Dallas
Times. He let himself in and walked back to Jacob's cubicle.
"Good morning, Gramps,"
Jacob greeted cheerfully, walking out with a handful of papers. "I'll be
ready to go in just a minute. Let me just drop this by David's desk." He
disappeared into David Williams' office, a few cubicles down.
"Thanks, Thomas," Williams
thanked distractedly, quickly returning full attention to his phone call.
Jacob couldn't help but overhear the conversation, as David Williams was
more than known to talk loudly. If he was riled up enough, you could hear
him clear through the building.
"But I'm tellin' you,
Banks. This Kennedy Presidential thing is going to be just the break we
need! Once we've got this story printed all over the headlines, old Creighton
will realize this paper can stand on it's own two feet." David argued endlessly,
trying to convince the person on the other end. He swerved around in the
black leather chair, phone tucked under chin as he looked over the stack
papers.
"See you later," Jacob
whispered, stepping out to join his grandfather in the hall. He pulled
on his long black wool coat, and they walked to the door.
"This is probably a
strange question to ask, seeing as Mr. Williams just announced it to the
whole building, but is the Times excited about this presidential motorcade?"
Hal questioned, holding the door open for his grandson. Jacob chuckled
at his grandfather's dry, but humorous comment.
"David's excited about
it, that's for sure. Completely convinced this will be just the ticket
to keep Creighton from selling the Times to the Star Telegram. He's just
about bet all his money on it."
"What about you. What
do you think?" Hal asked again. Jacob shrugged, burying his hands in the
depth of his coat pockets.
"It should benefit us
pretty well - hopefully. It's not every day that the president parades
down a street in your hometown." He smiled, and shouldered his way through
the growing crowd. "Now, it's my turn to ask. What do you think of this?"
Jacob furrowed his brows as he tried to make his way to the other end of
the block.
"I'm not sure." Hal
shrugged, diverting his eyes from his grandson, to a little boy shining
a man's shoes across the street. "I've had the privilege of seeing one
other president in person and it's not exactly something that I care to
remember." He swallowed, not offering anymore on the past experience. That
was New York, this is Texas, sixty-two years later. Hal flexed his
stiff fingers, his shoulders tensing slightly.
William McKinley,
the 25thPresident of the United States, had finished his speech. A large
crowd had begun to form, anxious to greet the presidential celebrity. Sixteen
at the time, Hal was elated at even being in the same building as the President.
Waiting anxiously, hardly able to contain his boyish excitement, he couldn't
help but hope the President would shake his hand.
To his utmost surprise,
the President did, even thanking the "youngster" for coming. McKinley slowly
moved down the line, offering smiles and hand shakes to the rest of the
continuously growing crowd. As he extended his hand to another young man,
Leon F. Czolgosz, it took only a matter of seconds for the once-in-a-life-time
experience to shatter like a piece of glass.
Ignored by the crowd
until the President doubled over, the unmistakable shot of a bullet echoed
through the large room. McKinley grasped his lower side, where Czolgosz
had apparently made his intended target - the President…
"Gramps? Gramps?" Jacob
tapped Hal gently on the shoulder, looking at him with concern. "Gramps,
is something wrong?" He called over the loud crowd. Hal snapped from the
past, forcing himself to focus on the present.
"No…" He shook his head,
gazing distractedly at the brick wall of the Texas Schoolbook Depository
behind them. "No, nothing's wrong. I was only thinking." His last words
were drowned out as the band began to play The Star Spangled Banner.
Shouts, cheers, and whistles filled the streets. Small children waved replicated
paper flags, while others waved banners, posters and pictures
Being led by the police,
the open topped limousine slowly began to approach. JFK, his wife Jacqueline,
the Vice President John B. Connelly and his wife, waved from the slow moving
automobile, smiling at the large group of onlookers.
The white vehicle turned
onto their street and gradually drove past the Texas Schoolbook Depository.
Unexpectedly, three shots rang out, mirroring those that had terrified
Hal well into his adult years.
Two bullets lodged in
the President's body - one in his neck and the other in his head. Jacqueline's
piercing scream - much like those Hal had heard so many years before -
ripped through the cheerful shouts as she tenderly cradled the head of
her stricken husband in her lap.
Hal watched, fists clenched
tightly as he fought to keep his exposure. Calm on the outside, but fighting
the horrifying memories on the inside, he remembered the dreadful night
he never wanted to relive. Violent tremors shook his body, the nightmare
threatening to overwhelm him.
Years and years he had
fought to rid his sleep of the awful dreams, only to come back to him now;
another assassination.
William McKinley
shot in Buffalo, New York. Died nine days later on September 14, 1901.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy shot and killed in Dallas, Texas on November 22,
1963.
It was then that Hal
Thomas was twice a witness.
The
End
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