Inspiring Leaders: A hopeful writer’s reflection on the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination.

Kennedy was before my time, but the impact his death had upon my parents and others old enough to remember that day fifty years ago always held me in awe. Each of them has their story of where they were and what they were doing when the news found its way into their ears. It’s very similar to how some of us can now reflect on where we were and what we were doing on the morning of September 11, 2001 when those terrible events unfolded for us.

My dad’s story has always been one of my favorites, and since he passed away several years ago, I’ll tell the story for him, though I’m not sure I can tell it as well.

He was a young man and had lived in Montana for only a short time. My father was an avid hunter, fisher and trapper, so as usual he was in the woods that morning. He had gone out, as he usually did, quite early in the morning to check his trap line, hiking by snowshoe up one of his favorite places for outdoors adventure. (Therialt Gulch, near Thompson Falls, Montana if I remember correctly.) When he returned to his car with his catch, the local game warden was parked next to him waiting for him to come out to review his tags and catch. Everything was legal and legit, but while they were talking about how well hunting and trapping season was going, the announcement that the president had been killed came over the warden’s radio. They were both shocked. They both stood out in the cold for some time listening for updates to come over the radio.

The thing that always hit me about the story wasn’t so much where he was or what he was doing, or even that he remembered those things. It was the fact that whenever he told this story you could tell that the impact on him as a person was profound. When he told this story, my dad wasn’t the imposing figure of fatherhood I usually saw him as; he was a man with a soul who had been hurt by the death of a leader he truly respected and admired.

My mom’s story is a bit briefer. She was in the sixth grade (My parents were separated in age by 13 years.) and her class had actually been watching a documentary in which Jackie Kennedy was walking people through the White House. So, basically, she went from having this beautiful put-together woman telling her about the happenings in one of the most important households in the world to seeing that same woman shortly after as she dealt with the tragedy of her husband’s murder.

Again, this is one of the things that humanized my mother and allowed me to see her as a individual dealing with the death of a leader.

I think leaders like JFK and Lincoln are important. Even if we look at their fictional counterparts. Would the Red Wedding scene really matter to us in George R.R. Martin’s works if we didn’t look at the Starks as leaders?  How would stories have played out without Allanon there to guide the Ohmsfords during his life and inspire them in death? How differently might things have turned out for Middle Earth if it weren’t for Gandalf? Who’s memory would the companions have stood behind if Sturm and Flint? Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the original ruler of Camelot, King Arthur.

Every good story has iconic characters. Characters that are part of the core of the experience of “living” in the realm the author has created for us, whether they see the end of the novel or not. They have a profound impact on our reading experiences.

I know that many people will look at the characters I’ve listed above and say that it’s wrong to compare them to JFK. However, I think that they’re fictional equivalents of him, and reality being more important than fiction, perhaps they should examine their perspective and the reality of JFK’s life. He was a good man and a good president, but he wasn’t perfect, no more than any of the fictional characters listed were perfect. Gandalf was blind to Saruman’s treachery; Allanon was a manipulator who had negative impacts on the lives of those he manipulated, even if he did save the world; Sturm was an amazing young man as well, but he still lied about his knighthood. Similarly, JFK was an amazing man who inspired our entire nation, but he had his faults.

I think it’s really the characters’ or peoples’ faults that make them so inspiring. It’s what they accomplish in spite of their faults that amazes us. Kennedy inspired us to the send a man to the moon. He was a war hero who commanded two PT boats during WWII. He fought for civil rights. And he made an entire nation believe that we were good and could be better. He did all of that and more while being human. He’s doubtless inspired many writers, whether to write a book about JFK himself or to base a character on him. I hope I write a Kennedy that makes my work come alive and let’s people see their humanity, just like Kennedy’s life let me see my parents’ humanity, even when I was just a kid in awe of all things grown up.

Rest in peace Mr. President. Thank you for making the world we live in just a bit more human.

It doesn’t pay to be a stereotype: Officer stops for coffee and a donut but ends up in a pickle.

Note: This is completely a work of fiction written from extraordinarily outrageous material provided by my News Reporting professor. The assignment was to write a “brite”. A brite is a news story that is somewhat humorous while still reporting the essential newsworthy parts of a story. Hopefully, you find it entertaining. Just please, do keep in mind that this is entirely made up. No 2010 Mitsubishi’s were harmed in the making of this article.

Austin Police Department Officer Sean McKenna, 35, of Pflugerville, has been suspended indefinitely after stopping to get coffee and a donut Wednesday morning. McKenna had stopped in for a snack at about 8:45 a.m. at the 7-11 located at 1601 South Congress Avenue. He left his cruiser running while in the store.

“I was surprised when I saw the officer come in, because I could see exhaust from the car and knew it was running,” store clerk Larry Todd said.

McKenna apparently failed to use the parking break, because as he was checking out, Todd pointed out that the cruiser was rolling towards customer Lisa Caven’s new 2010 Mitsubishi sports car. Caven was already frantic and trying to stop the cruiser.

McKenna rushed out to help stop the vehicle, but it was too late. The cruiser struck Caven’s vehicle, pushing it into the pump and causing about $8,000 in damage to the $35,000 vehicle. The pump was also damaged and the cost of repairs is currently unknown.

Todd had dialed 911 and police responded to the incident. Caven was initially arrested by responding officers, confused initially by Caven swatting at McKenna who apparently was less than apologetic about the incident.

“The guy comes out and gets in my face, like my car did something wrong,” said Caven.                 “The City of Austin is going to pay for this, and I don’t just mean for my brand new Louboutons.”

This is the second incident in a year that has put McKenna’s career in park. He was suspended in March 2010 after pictures emerged online showing that he and two other officers had provided their service shotguns to two Twin Peaks waitresses and allowed them to pose for provocative pictures on the hood of a police cruiser.

“It is against APD policy for an officer to leave his cruiser running and leave the vehicle, other than in situations where he or she is responding to an ongoing incident. Officer McKenna’s actions Wednesday, based on my initial review, reflect badly on this department, and the incident will be investigated thoroughly and promptly,” said Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo.

It ought to be in interesting investigation with new twists coming up every minute.

“On top of everything else, he did not pay for the coffee and donut,” Todd said. “I’m planning to complain of this to the police.”

We wonder if it was a cinnamon twist.

Gluten Intolerance: Getting off the food grid in Austin

This is the article I wrote for my journalism class.  Not quite the way I want it, but I think it’s got potential.  I especially like that I found a way to write what I know about and about something that has a serious impact on me.