It's been ten years since JFK Jr. died.

[Drunken Irishman]

I know people like to say it's hard to believe it's only been ten years, but this actually is easy to believe. The last ten years have been extremely slow for me and I actually remember the day he died. There was faint sadness, but I was young -- really young -- and still didn't get it.

But now I do.





He died on July 16th, 1999.

He was only 38.

[vaberella]

1. This is turning into the MJ thing in New York.

Every program has dedications to him here and documentaries and what not. It's a bit exhausting.

[Drunken Irishman]

4. It's understandable to an extent.

With it being the tenth anniversary. Those are always the biggest.

Hunker down, vabe and get ready for the biggest of 'em all...

9/11/2011! :o

[vaberella]

14. That turns into a 2 week Holiday---I'll be in France for that...Thankfully.

When that comes by each year I have to wonder how we go on with our lives without 9/11. And the amount of Repubs. Jeez.

[mahina]

2. I'm finally happy not to see his face at the grocery checkout, and now

it's back.

I knew him, he was my classmate. He was a decent guy.

Thanks for remembering.

sigh

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

3. Can you explain "it"?

I didn't get it then, and still don't.

He was no JFK, not even an RFK. What was/is the big deal?

:shrug:

[Drunken Irishman]

5. Because he was 38.

He had his whole life ahead of him. He died in a horrible way and was apart of American culture.

You might not have liked him or cared about him, but for many, I guess, it symbolized something.

Maybe it was the Kennedy mystique, the hopes of millions that he would carry on that torch.

Maybe it was something far more personal.

Whatever it was, to every person emotionally hit by his death, it was something.

[JI7]

6. mostly he was physically attractive, but i agree, he was not like his father or uncles

it is the same with Caroline. remember what happened when she tried to become Senator ?

i do think Caroline is a lot more intelligent than he was.

JFK Jr was a very nice guy, but he didn't have what it would have taken to become an effective public figure.

if he was not as attractive as he was, there wouldn't have been all that talk about whether he will be SEnator, President etc.

[Jawja]

8. We remember him because a lot of us

were around when he was born and remember when his pictures as a toddler graced the magazines and we remember the murder of his father, a U.S. President, and we remember the funeral and the touching salute.

[Samantha]

27. That salute was on the steps of St. Matthews Cathedral

an awe-inspiring church I have visited many times (and I am not Catholic).

John Jr. was like the son the Country adopted because of both the guilt and the sadness we felt over his father's tragic death. Many of us loved both his father and his mother, and we could not understand how either Caroline or John could possibly grow up to be well-adjusted due to the tragedies that befell the Kennedy family. How euphoric we felt years later to learn what a stupendous job Jacqueline had done raising these children without their father, and how extremely well they had turned out.

For those of us in that generation described in the previous paragraph, some could not help but keep up the watch that perhaps one of these children of the late President Kennedy might possibly grow into a magnificent politician who might step in and help fill the void created by the deaths of John and Robert, and the decision of Ted to ultimately refrain from attempting to pick up the pieces.

And so our hopes were dashed upon the tragic demise of John Kennedy, Jr. Recognizing the reclusiveness of Caroline and her reported dedication to her family and home life, and listening to the rumors abounding that John was considering wading in, we kept watch. That watch ended painfully with his untimely death, and once again, many of us mourn the passing of the last best chance to recapture the myth and magic of Camelot. I hasten to add, beyond the Camelot charisma, we felt a deep admiration for the way the Kennedy brothers spoke to us and worked on our behalf. Not until the arrival of Barack Obama has another politician began to accomplish somewhat of that same reach.

Sam

[mopinko]

15. he was also stepping into the public spotlight for the first time

with his magazine, and looked like someone who could actually do something to reverse the horrible sinking feeling many of us were having about politics. the ugly specter of the bush years was just starting to take shape. most of us knew the impeachment of wjc was some sort of kobuki theater, but did not know how they were getting away with that kind of a coup.

his death also raised questions for some of us, because we have so many unanswered questions about his dad's death. perhaps it was a simple plane crash, but we were just starting to wonder, i think, about how things worked around here.

[Neecy]

17. I liked his magazine, too

Yes, there was a little too much celebrity stuff in it, but I think he tried to make politics accessible and interesting to people in order to get more citizen participation in the process. I was sad when George stopped publication (although not as sad as when Spy magazine went belly-up - *that* was my favorite).

[mitchum]

18. Spy also did a great parody of George

[Neecy]

19. Spy did some hysterical riffs on the Gore daughters

Using hip-hop slang when discussing wonky policy issues ("The 2Q EU industrial output forecast is stoopid fresh!").

[mitchum]

20. I remember those...

a few weeks ago, I picked up "Spy: The Funny Years" at Border's for $1. Check your local one if you don't already have a copy.
Like you, I also really miss it.

[mitchum]

16. I think New Yorkers felt a particular affection for him...

because he and his wife presented a very attractive representation of the city. An antidote to Donald Trump and whoever his particular arm candy of the moment happened to be

[Are_grits_groceries]

7. A lot of people remember him

from the time he was a toddler. His salute to his father's casket broke what was left of our hearts. As JFK jr grew up, he seemed like a good person. We followed his life almost as if he was a relative of some sort.

When his plane went missing, all I could feel was melancholy. It wasn't the sharp grief felt after the assassinations. It was a sadness that seemed to settle in my bones.

[midnight]

9. Nicely said. But wasn't there speculation that he was considering

running for office. Here is a video that I hope is accessable from this link. http://www.encyclopedia.com/YouTubeDisplay.aspx?videoid=8a-Ts6r8xPA&term=Kennedy, Jr., John Fitzgerald

[CTyankee]

10. I was on Martha's Vineyard that weekend. I remember hearing a helicopter

flying over early Sat. morning and took my grandbaby out to see it. It was a Coast Guard copter altho I didn't know it at the time.

Later in the day we heard that his sister in laws luggage washed up on the beach at Gay Head, down island from where I was. That afternoon, walking on South Beach, I simply couldn't bear to put my feet in the water...it seemed so scary to me...I think we knew at that point but couldn't quite face it...

[AngryAmish]

11. It is always British Open weekend

Easy to remember.

[avaistheone1]

12. JFK Jr. had the potential to be a great president.

He was just developing his political legs.

[Clio the Leo]

13. It would have been interesting to see him working with the current admin. if he were alive today...

.... given the degree his otherwise private sister has been public in her support and visiting the President, it's logical to assume that he might have had an even greater role.

We might be talking about NY's Sen. Kennedy's bill challenging DADT instead of Sen. Gillibrands right now.

[Raine]

21. Sad

I'll never forget that weekend. :-(

[earth mom]

22. Why do the good always die young?

RIP JFK Jr. :cry:

[butterfly77]

23. Maybe because someone always kills them...

[earth mom]

24. It was a clear night when JFK Jrs plane went down, yet the media reported that it was cloudy.

:tinfoilhat:

[Politicalboi]

25. Yes I remember

On that weekend GW Bush was MIA during the 2000 campign. I know this was in 07/99. They say JFK jr was waiting for a co-pilot which is why they were running late. No co-pilot seat was ever found even though family members said they were traveling with one. Gas throttle was on off position with a dummy shut off. Plane was 17 miles offshore from family compound but it took 16 hours to find the plane. On November 22nd 1963 Poppy Bush says he doesn't remember where he was that day. July 16th 1999 Bush jr isn't anywhere to be found that weekend. Senior kills senior, jr kills jr.

http://www.john-f-kennedy-jr.com/murdered.htm

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/182.html

[AspenRose]

26. I remember it very well because it was a month before my wedding.

[mp9200]

28. Sad

But he shouldn't have been flying that night.