JFK Assassination: 6 Ordinary People, 6 Extraordinary Stories

What were you doing on Nov. 22, 1963?

If you were born before 1960, you can likely answer that question with vivid detail. Chances are you remember what you were doing, where you were, and what was happening around you in the exact moment you heard about President John F. Kennedy's shocking assassination.

Experts call these types of events "flashbulb memories" because it's as if every person took a snapshot at the exact same historic moment in time, to preserve and pass along to future generations.

Join us as we review six flashbulb memories from various people, from all walks of life, who lived through that infamous day.

'My mother was a reporter for The Dallas Morning News'

"I know exactly where I was at because I lived in Dallas at the time. I was in the 3rd grade and my mother was a reporter for The Dallas Morning News. She was just blocks away when it happened because she was running late to see the motorcade. Late that night I remember her coming home totally disheveled and in tears - she so loved JFK. She was very ashamed to live in a city whose citizens were so openly hostile to the president, resulting in his assassination. I spent days glued to the TV set watching all the news coverage and crying my little eyes out." - Anonymous, according to NOLA.com.

'We were inside someone's garage, and there was an old wooden radio'

"For some reason I missed school that day. I was eight years old. I remember going all over the place with my mom and her friend to different yard and garage sales, and we were inside someone's garage and there was an old wooden radio hanging above a table, and the news came over the radio and stunned us. All of a sudden everything changed. My fun skip school day instantly vanished. We were all crying and in disbelief. People were just sad and somber everywhere. It was a very big deal back then, much more so than it would be today." - Georgia, according to News4JAX.

'The president has been shot'

"I was in my junior year of high school, and coincidentally it was American history class that was interrupted by the principal's announcement over the P.A. that 'the president has been shot.' That she meant President Kennedy was beyond our comprehension; some of us thought she meant the PTA president or the student body president. But those were the days when teens — especially girls, since they had room in their purses — carried transistor radios everywhere. One of my classmates turned on her radio, and that's how we found out it was JFK." - Angela Stockton, according to Quora.

'The sirens bothered them'

"Getting on the bus. (I was about one and a half blocks away.) ... Some of us assumed the sirens were just because the motorcade had turned them on, to get on the Stemmons Freeway. ... Our teacher, and our chaperones, were not so sure. The sirens bothered them. ... Then, we got back to school. ... Students had been sent home. ... For the next three days — it did not really matter what channel you turned to on the TV. Most of the United States basically shut down. Even Broadway was closed. ... Monday — was the final funeral and burial. ... A bit more than a year later, true fact, Marina Oswald and her kids moved into the house directly across the street from mine. My mother warned us all — 'Don't you ever bother that woman — she has been through enough.'" - Bruce Spielbauer, according to Quora.

'We lived in Paris at the time'

"My experience is a bit different from most Americans my age who heard the news in school. I heard about it from my father when he came home from work that evening. We lived in Paris at the time, and my father who'd worked a little late, took a taxi home. The driver realized he was an American and told him he'd just heard on the radio that someone had taken a shot at the president 'au Texas' — not that he was killed, just fired upon. I don't think any of us knew Kennedy was in Dallas at the time. So we turned on the American news on the shortwave to see what happened. Minutes later, they reported he was dead. ... In 1963, a lot of people didn't have TVs. There was only one channel that broadcast a few hours a day. So people would huddle in front of electronics shop windows in the cold, some of them in tears, watching the images there. The president had just been in Paris with Jackie and they had made a huge impression. They showed the entire funeral via satellite...which was really surprising, but a measure of how they felt about John and Jackie." - Kevin F., according to Quora.

'I want to tell you how sad we are'

"The day that I remember most vividly in the Peace Corps was the day after President Kennedy was assassinated. Depressed, some friends and I were not in the mood to deal with the local beggar when he approached us. But then with a sad smile, he said, 'No money. I want to tell you how sad we are that your young president was assassinated.' There, in a remote town half way around the world, a distraught, young Peace Corps volunteer and a beggar embraced and cried together over the death of President Kennedy." - University of Miami President and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Even if you don't personally remember the JFK assassination, you likely have your own flashbulb memories about other events such as 9/11, the Challenger disaster, and Princess Diana's death. Consider preserving your own memories in some way, to someday share with future generations.

References: Memories of JFK's assasination elicit anecdotes from NOLA.com readers | 50 Years Later: Where Were You When JFK Was Assassinated? | TELL US: Where were you 60 years ago when JFK was assassinated? | Where Were You When JFK Was Assassinated?