If only ...

I'm in geek heaven, watching a History Channel documentary called JFK: 3 Shots that Changed America. This show replays the local and network news coverage of the President's assassination so I'm watching the story unfold the way most citizens did back then. And it's got me wondering, "if only."

When I play "if only" or "I wish," I purposely aim a little low. I don't want God to think I'm too greedy. Like when I buy my Lotto ticket, I don't hope to be the sole winner. I wouldn't complain if I have to share the $6.5 million with another ticketholder.

Likewise when I think about history and weave my "if only" about November, 1963, I don't wish that President Kennedy hadn't been taken. That's too much to even hope for. It was such a profound loss and it's arrogant to question God's will that much.

Instead I wish that Jack Ruby hadn't taken Lee Harvey Oswald out. First of all, I hate that the smirky, twisted little man you see here is now a historic figure of great and continuing interest. There are at least 12o books devoted to Oswald. He doesn't deserve all this attention -- he really doesn't. All he wanted was attention, to become famous. He expected to become legend by renouncing his citizenship and defecting to Russia. That didn't work. He shot at controversial Texas segregationist Edwin Walker, using the rifle shown in the cover shot, but he was stopped by the bullet-proof glass in Walker's living room. So then Oswald went to Plan C, and damn if he didn't finally get the attention he craved.

Because Ruby killed Oswald, he never stood trial. Some of the more pathetic aspects and motives of Oswald's life were never heard in open court. Because he disappeared from the scene so suddenly and with such violence and finality, the system didn't get to play out and Oswald takes on a mythic dimension. Some conspiracy theorists over the decades have turned this murderous twerp into a martyr, an innocent caught up in a web spun by powerful forces (the FBI, CIA, Castro or the Mob, take your pick).

I hate that.

P.S. Recognize this family? They are the Tippits. Officer J.D. Tippit was also shot by Oswald on 11/22/63. This poor man's reputation has taken quite a hit as conspiracies swirl. This family deserves better. Another reason I wish Oswald had lived to stand trial.