Hanging my Head

I was a history major. My favorite era of history is the 20th Century, particularly 20th Century U.S. history.

I just finished watching 1968 with Tom Brokaw on The History Channel. I TiVoed it in the middle of the night on Monday morning.

Damn, it’s good.

But why am I hanging my head? Because I was only peripherally aware of the details of Robert F. Kennedy’s death. And I had no idea that Rafer Johnson worked on RFK’s campaign. Or that he was so close, physically, to the assassination.

I lived in Los Angeles for eight years. I worked in the athletic department at his alma mater and met him at least once. I became friends with both of his children.

And I was purely, completely ignorant. The Ambassador Hotel is gone now. I could have visited, at least to see the place in person before it was demolished.

I’ve been to Chicago a number of times, but hadn’t paid attention to that city’s history as it pertains to the splintering of the Democratic party.

There is so much history I want to learn about. I borrowed a David Halberstam paperback from the family friends we visited two weeks ago. I want to find the box that has my college reading that I skimmed instead of reading and absorbing it. I want to learn more about what has come before and shaped where we live today.

This program airs again on Wednesday night at 8, at midnight on Wednesday night/Thursday morning and at 5 pm on Dec. 15 (all ET, according to my TiVo). If you are at all interested in history, I recommend this program. There are many similarities between 1968 and 2007/08. It’s good to know what came before us.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled blog. Gotta go pick up stitches to finish turning the heel on Monkey1. Wish me luck.