Camelot and Canterlot

                                      
SOMBER ANNIVERSARY: The airwaves were full of recollections about President John Fitzgerald Kennedy's assassination 50 years ago today.

I went through a phase decades ago where I read everything I could get my hands on about the assassination. I read one article this week, an interview with one of the ER doctors who treated Kennedy, that brought up an angle I hadn't heard before. It was widely known that JFK had a terrible back, to the point of being debilitating. He often wore a brace - super old school by today's standard - rigid and high waisted.

The doctor contended that had Kennedy not been wearing the brace, he may have survived the assassination attempt, slumping over after having been hit the first time. However, the brace didn't allow him to slump, and the second shot hit him in the head. 

It made as much sense as anything I've seen or read about the shooting, and explains the video I've seen over and over and over of Kennedy's odd, upright position after the first bullet. 

I hate thinking about it, and I hate writing about it even more. Watching footage of the aftermath and his memorial is overwhelming. And it all went down before I was even born. 

I named a son after JFK. Countless sons and daughters out there are, likewise, named.

Today, CJ and Annabelle watched a BrainPOP video today about JFK. 

Afterward, they each continued to explore the site, watching educational videos and playing games. 

DEXTEROUS DINOS: Last night, the Dinos got ahold of a deck of cards and started building. 

Annabelle was pretty amazed as she approached, 'fresh' from slumber.

After a bit, the kids took the dinos' work down, and I challenged them to build their own house o' cards.

While doing so, they each gained a new appreciation for what the dinos had gone through the night before.

CJ took to it a little more quickly than Annabelle.

After many failed attempts, she was happy to get four cards up in ANY configuration and called it good.

The night before, the dinos set an example of good oral hygiene.

PONY PRELUDE: Tomorrow is The Day. My Little Pony's Season Four premiere. The adventures in Canterlot continue!

The first episode is on at 7 a.m., and the kids are all on fire about that. 

CJ is also on fire about the marathon that precedes it, starting at 3 a.m. our time. So, we've busted out the sleeping bags and I'm gonna drag them out of bed at 3 a.m so they can at least pretend they watched it all. 

We'll see how it goes ...