Who Killed John F Kennedy?

 

I often ask my grandchildren what they would like me to write about. Usually it various cool animals like capybaras , snakes, and sharks. This time one of my grandsons, Dylan, who’s a history buff ask about who killed JFK. Not bad for a middle schooler eh? Since he’s all game for a good conspiracy theory also, I figured I’d try to give him the gambit. So this week, my Notes from Papaw will also be my weekly Musing. Hold on, here it goes.

A basic Google search will usually outline six or seven main theories.

1. The Lone Gunman

• ·       The Theory: Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository, killing President Kennedy and wounding Governor John Connally. Jack Ruby killed Oswald two days later on his own initiative.  Source: The Warren Commission (1964).
• ·       It is interesting to note that a majority of the American public reject this theory.

2. The Mafia Theory

• ·       The Theory: Organized crime orchestrated the assassination as retaliation against Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy’s aggressive crusade against the Mafia.
• ·       Jack Ruby may have had ties to the Mafia.

 

3. The CIA/Deep State Theory

• ·       The Theory: Elements within the CIA or the broader "military-industrial complex" killed Kennedy because they believed he was soft on communism, planned to withdraw from Vietnam, or was going to "splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces" after the Bay of Pigs failure.
• ·       The CIA did withhold evidence that they had Oswald under surveillance.

4. The Cuban Involvement Theories (Two Sides)

• ·       Pro-Castro: Castro retaliated after the CIA made multiple attempts to assassinate him. Oswald’s trip to the Cuban and Soviet embassies in Mexico City shortly before the shooting fuels this theory.
• ·       Anti-Castro: Cuban exiles, enraged by Kennedy’s refusal to provide air support during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, killed him for "betraying" them.
• ·       It would be hard to prove it if only individuals were involved.

5. The Second Gunman on the "Grassy Knoll"

• ·       The Theory: Oswald was not the only shooter. A second gunman fired from a,knoll in front of the limousine, supported by analysis of the Zapruder film showing Kennedy's head moving backward and to the left.
• ·       Source: The 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA). The HSCA concluded that a "probable conspiracy" existed based on acoustic evidence suggesting four shots were fired, though that evidence has since been challenged.

6. The Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) Theory

• ·       The Theory: Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson conspired to kill Kennedy to take the presidency and avoid being dropped from the 1964 ticket due to impending corruption scandals.

7. “Friendly Fire” Theory

• ·       The theory that a Secret Service agent accidentally killed President John F. Kennedy posits that in the chaos immediately following the first shots fired by Lee Harvey Oswald.
• ·       Agent George Hickey accidentally discharged his own weapon, firing the fatal headshot from the follow-up car.
• ·       There was a subsequent cover-up to protect the reputation of the Secret Service.
• ·       Source: JFK: The Smoking Gun: A 2013 documentary based on the work of Colin McLaren, an Australian detective, which popularized the theory.

To be honest, I do not think we will ever know the whole truth. I kind of lean toward the Friendly Fire Theory, but mostly because I really don’t want to believe that our government would be so brutal as to plan something like this. We do know they are good at cover-ups.

It kind of comes down to something one of my sons said. If the government can do all thses things, there not a lot that any one individual can do about it. So my advice to you is:

1. Trust God’s plan.

2. Be the best person that you can be.

3. Shine the light of truth to everyone you know.

4. Try to leave everyone who meets you better that they were before you came into their life.

That’s all I have this week. Later!

Love, Papaw

Millipedes & Centipedes

 Today while Papaw was at his State Park job he saw both millipedes and centipedes. Can you tell the difference between them? If you listen close, you will be able to tell the difference when we are finished. This is a picture of the millipede He saw today. The centipede looked like this.

Some people think that rollie pollies are centipedes, but they are not. Rollie pollies are isopods and are in the group with  to crabs and shrimp. They are land dwelling crustaceans.

Can you tell the difference? Here is how you can tell.

Millipedes:

• ·       Have rounded bodies (like a tube)
• ·       Have two pairs of legs for each body segment
• ·       Eat rotten wood and decaying plants
• ·       Curl up and let out a smelly fluid when threatened (the don’t usually bite)
• ·       Millipedes are pretty slow
• ·       They have short bent antenna

Centipedes:

• ·       Have flattened bodies
• ·       Have only one pair of legs for each body segment
• ·       Eat other insects
• ·       Can bite when threatened! (better just observe them)
• ·       Centipedes are fast!
• ·       They have long, thin antenna

Papaw even wrote a song about centipedes!

 

Here is a video about them!

Later Gator!

Love Papaw.

 

 

 

Lying

 

Have you ever told a lie? I think we all have. Lying is not telling the truth, or being quiet about it. It is easy to do, but it causes a lot of problems. Now your nose won’t grow like Pinocchio in the Disney movie, but it does have some bad effects. It makes people not trust you. It builds a wall between you and your friends, siblings, or your parents. You like it when people tell you the truth. Make sure that you do that for others also.

There is a story told about our first president, George Washington. We don’t know if it really happened, but it is a good story. In the story, George is six years old,. He got a new hatchet as a present. He decided to try it out on a small cherry tree near the house. He chopped it down easily. When George’s father found the tree he ask if he had chopped it down. George didn’t lie. He said, Yes, I did it.” Even if it didn’t really happen, it’s a good story to think about. Telling the truth, even when we might get in trouble, helps build trust. If you break something, don’t lie about it. Chances are, it can be easily fixed or replaced. It’s better to be honest then to carry around that terrible feeling that you lied about something. President Abraham Lincoln, our 15^th president, was often called “Honest Abe.” Do you think people thought they could trust his word. I think so! That’s the kind of person you should strive to be. God is happy when we share the truth. He never lies, and doesn’t want us to lie either!

Here are some famous quotes about lying.

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. – Both often attributed to Mark Twain.

No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar. – Abraham Lincoln

Always practice the truth. You will be trusted and blessed.

 

Until Next Time!

Love Papaw.

 

Do you have fog where you live? We have been having really thick fog this year in Central California. Yesterday it was so bad that Papaw missed his exit on the freeway and had to get to work another way. I could barely even see the traffic lights. For a moment, I didn’t even know where I was. That can get a little scary! Fortunately I could see the lines on the road and found a road sign I recognized. You have to slow down and be extra careful when the fog gets that dense. Some days the fog burns off (disappears) around 11 or 12 o’clock. Other days it never goes away. I don’t like those days. They can be very dreary. I need some sunshine now and then.

Fog is really a cloud on the ground. If you look real close you can sometimes see very tiny drops of water floating in the mist. It only forms when the humidity is very high, the air is colder than the ground, and there is a very gently breeze. If there is no wind to move the air around, fog doesn’t form. That’s why it looks like it is creeping over the land. It often forms near water or very moist fields. It will usually be denser out in the country. Our fog normally forms in the winter months. That’s when we get most of our wet weather.

Here is a cool video that explain more about how fog forms. (The little mouse in the video cracks me up!)

Hope you like it!

Love, Papaw