8: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

On November 9, 1984 a motion picture was released called A Nightmare on Elm Street that featured a burnt killer named Freddie Krueger who slashed kids in their sleep with his bladed leather glove. That movie took place in the fictitious Ohio town of Springwood. But nearly 21 years earlier, there was a true-life nightmare that occurred on a street named Elm as well; only this street was in Dallas and it involved the murder of our 35th President John F. Kennedy.

Kim Johnson, the cousin of my photographer’s wife Vicki, was impressive as she navigated the “back way” to Dealey Plaza, which was a little over three miles from Parkland.  In less than 15 minutes, she had the Tahoe parked just south of the seven-story brick structure called the Dallas County Administration Building.  In 1963, that building went by a different name – the Texas School Book Depository. As I was gently removed from my protective case, I could see the famed picket fence that was right in front of us.  Some assassination conspiracy theorists believe that one or more shots were fired at the president from behind that fence.  Just to the left of the picket fence was the unmistakable white concrete structure, officially known as the John Neely Bryan pergola, which was situated above the ‘Grassy Knoll’.  That pergola would be my first stop at Dealey Plaza.

I was awestruck with the view from Zapruder’s perch; Dealey Plaza looked the same as it did on that infamous day in ’63.  As I gazed down Elm Street, with the former school book building towering over the street to the left, I could envision the presidential limousine as it made its way past the Grassy Knoll.  For me, the famous Zapruder film had come to life and it gave me the chills. I had resin bumps all over my body!

Directly in front of me, located in the center of Elm Street’s three lanes, was a white ‘X’ painted on the street.  That ‘X’ marked the spot where President Kennedy was struck in the head with the fatal rifle shot; and it was only 65-feet away.  I needed to stand on that ‘X’ and nothing was going to stop me! As we made our way down the sloped Grassy Knoll, which was covered with brown grass rather than green because it was March, I noticed dozens of tourists as they dodged oncoming traffic to stand on the assassination spot. It was like a human version of the video game called ‘Frogger’.  Luckily for all involved, Elm Street was a one-way street and there was a traffic signal next to the school book building that gave everyone a short break in traffic; but that break never lasted very long. I love walking in the footsteps of Presidents; I just don’t want to be killed in the same spot as a President.

After waiting a few minutes for our turn, my photographer hurriedly whisked me out onto Elm Street and gently placed me onto the center of the white ‘X’.  With my back facing the Texas School Book Depository building, as well as the potential mid-afternoon Saturday traffic, he did his best to get a low angle photo of me with the depository in the background.  That view was important because science has proven that at least one of the three shots fired at the President in ‘63 came from the sixth-floor window of that building.  Our photo-shoot lasted roughly 20 seconds before my photographer swooped me up and took me safely off the road.  Although an oncoming vehicle had narrowly missed us; we successfully captured the image we needed. And as a bonus, I lived to tell about it!

Traffic on Elm Street had once again eased, which gave us a chance to cross the street and get to the sidewalk that ran adjacent to the Grassy Knoll.  As we began our short walk to the depository, a middle-aged woman stopped us and asked: “Why was a bobble head being photographed in the middle of that busy street?  You guys could’ve been killed.”  After my photographer gave her a Reader’s Digest version of our Presidential quest, the woman went on to say, “I thought it looked strange to see a bobble head standing in the middle of that street with the possibility of getting smashed to pieces, so I just had to take a picture; mainly because I didn’t think anyone would believe me.  If you’d like, I can email that photo to you when I get back to my hotel.  I don’t live in Dallas; I’m in town for a nurse’s conference.”

The last Dealey Plaza site that I needed to get a closer look at was the School Book Depository itself.  As I looked up at the building’s partially opened sixth-floor window from street level, I could see in my mind’s eye Lee Harvey Oswald as he squeezed his rifle’s trigger that landed him into the history books. I was carried through the very door that Oswald had escaped in ’63 and into the interior of the famous brick structure.  I was excited for the chance to go up to the sixth floor, but when my photographer was told that photography was prohibited on that floor, he didn’t pay the fee for the tour.  It was very disappointing to me because I wanted to see the view of Elm Street from the actual sniper’s nest.  But it wasn’t to be, at least on that day.

We spent another half hour walking around Dealey Plaza as we captured images of the site from various angles.  At times I had to keep reminding myself of the magnitude of what had happened at this very location a little over 50 years ago.  The assassination was a tremendous tragedy – JFK was a father, a husband, a son, a brother, and our President.  This site wasn’t just another tourist attraction like Disney World; this was where the young and charismatic John Kennedy was shot dead at the age of 46. This was where America’s innocence had died as well!

I was exhausted from the emotional roller coaster ride that I had experienced during my 90-minute tour of Dealey Plaza.  On that day, March 22, 2014, the Kennedy assassination came to life for this bobble head and that Nightmare on Elm Street will forever be etched into my resin and spring-filled head.