Dallas, TX (USA)

We spent the afternoon in Dallas today - visiting the site of the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy. I had seen lots of documentaries of the event, including camera angles of the Zapruder film and the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository, but until today I never truly appreciated the tragedy. When you visit the Sixth Floor Museum (located in the old Book Depository) and stand within feet of Lee Harvey Oswald's shooting position - and look down on Dealey Plaza - you really feel like you were there. The area around the Plaza has not changed very much - the streets are still quiet and there was very little traffic. We spent nearly two hours in the museum, which has lots of models, artifacts and photos/videos of the Assassination. It was good - and the kids even liked it. Afterwards, we walked around Dealey Plaza, including the "Grassy Knoll" and on some X marks in the street that represented the spots where Kennedy received a bullet wound. Standing on the street and in places where the eyewitnesses saw the shooting was surreal - Oswald had a great view and it really didn't look as far from his position to Kennedy's car as I thought it would. I've shot an M16 from about the same distance (albeit a stationary target) - I'm sure a Marine could do it. We later walked over to nearby Founder's Square - site of the founding of Dallas. There was a log cabin that represented the home of the first settler (John Neely Bryan, 1841). Across the street was a cenotaph (empty tomb) commemorating the life of John F. Kennedy. Next door was a nice red Romanesque-Revival building (the Old Red Courthouse) - might be a good place to visit another time. Went home soon after - it was a good day!