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Entry bubble One Year Old, Happy Birthday GovGab

By: Ginger | September 26, 2008 | Category: General

Ginger at one year old.I’d offer you all a piece of Gov Gab birthday cake, but there is none left. Someone ate it all. If I were a detective, I’d be looking for someone toddling away from the scene of the crime with fat chipmunk cheeks stuffed with yummy cake...

We are going to hop on blogger Joanne’s way-back machine and dial it back to 1963. It was a year with tragedy. President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Violence was escalating in response to the Civil Rights Movement and there were increasing troubles in Vietnam.

But, 1963 had moments of human triumph. The civil rights march on Washington took place and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space.

In literature, The Feminine Mystique and The Centaur were published. But heck, who had time to read those with such great children’s books: Where the Wild Things Are, Amelia Bedelia, and Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective?

On the entertainment front, The Fugitive took a train to Petticoat Junction to visit My Favorite Martian. When he met him he said, “Let’s Make a Deal.” The Fugitive took the prize behind door number 3 which allowed him to make The Great Escape. He didn’t even stop to help poor Suzanne Pleshette who was getting her eyes pecked out by The Birds.

1963 had its moments of sorrows and joys with a touch of humor thrown in. Many years from now when we look back, we will see that 2008 had its share of tragedies (Hurricane Ike and others), triumphs (Michael Phelps’ Olympic victories), and a dash of goofiness (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog) too. We like to think that, in a small way, our Gov Gab Blog will be counted as a triumph for 2008. Thanks for celebrating our birthday with us.  Please share your stories about 1963.  Where were you when you heard President Kennedy was assassinated and what did it mean to you?

| View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: 1963   blogging   ginger   govgab  

Comments (5):

blue comment bubble Posted by MamaT on September 26, 2008 at 03:43 PM EDT

I was at home with my 18 month old little girl. She had just woke up from a nap and the TV program I had on was interrupted by a news alert. I saw it all and a feeling of total shock went right through me, and sadness for days following the event.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Skeets on September 27, 2008 at 09:05 PM EDT

I was at work when it was announced that Kennedy had been shot. Hours later, we learned that he had died. We were allowed to go home early. I was only 19, and nothing like this had ever happened in my memory. I spent the weekend with a neighbor. We were both in total shock, just absolutely numb.

My roommate was playing Vaughn Meader's LP, "Kennedy Family Album", over and over. (The spelling may be incorrect) I was incredibly offended, part of the reason I didn't want to be home. I didn't understand until many years later that recalling happy memories were her way of mourning Kennedy's death.

On the Sunday after the assination, just to get out of the house, we went to a Chinese restaurant. The funeral procession was on. Neither of us had a TV, so this was first time that we had seen TV coverage.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Mary Ruff-King on September 28, 2008 at 09:54 PM EDT

I'll never forget when Pressident Kennedy was assassinated; I was 10 years old, in 3rd grade. I remember sitting on the couch with my parents, crying. In school, my teacher Mrs. Mendum had us all stand and we prayed aloud (Catholic school). Everyone was in total shock.

My world was never the same after that. I then knew bad things could happen to people. I feared communism and the Cold War. I thought nothing that happened in the future could ever be as bad as that day. I was so wrong.... 9/11/01 would soon prove that. Now with the problems we face as a country, I have the same feelings of dread as that 10-year-old girl back in 1963.

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blue comment bubble Posted by GSA on October 21, 2008 at 01:55 PM EDT

I'm not really sure what the point of this blog is. If we are not discussing topics that are common to, or in relation to our lives in the federal workforce (workplace, benefits, bureacracy, congressional mandates, systems, etc.) then what makes this blog any different from any number of blogs that are probably more tailored to our personal interest?

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blue comment bubble Posted by Ginger on October 22, 2008 at 08:09 AM EDT

Blogger GSA, the GovGab's blog audience isn't just for the federal workforce to help employees with federal work issues. This blog is intended to improve public access to government information and services and engage in conversations with all Americans. We bloggers aren't writing from the perspective of federal employees, but as American citizens. We write about experiences and issues that come up in our personal lives. In doing so, we share the resources that have helped us. I don't know of a blog that is specific to federal workforce issues, but it sounds like a great idea. I will try to find the appropriate person to pass
your idea to. Thanks for your comment.

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