1960s: Shots that changed a country - and a teenager
As summer start coming to an end, Thomas regrets not having had time to spend time at Anna's ranch as they usually do. But life has bee busy, with birthdays and parties and work. Taking a vacation in summer has been nearly impossible, as the first ever heart transplant was made in South Africa and the hospital busy with the implications, the moral dilemmas and the new prospects that brings.
But as Steven is turning ten, no longer so little, the family takes a day off to celebrate his birthday in Chestnut Ridge.
It's a warm welcome and the adults - and Michael who can't wait until he is an adult - soon sit around the large table outdoors chatting away. About heart transplants, the war, politics and the upcoming election this fall.
But as Steven is turning ten, no longer so little, the family takes a day off to celebrate his birthday in Chestnut Ridge.
It's a warm welcome and the adults - and Michael who can't wait until he is an adult - soon sit around the large table outdoors chatting away. About heart transplants, the war, politics and the upcoming election this fall.
Carl and Susan, on the other hand, run straight for the paddock and the horses. Carl is first up on Gale, with Susan taking the older and calmer Stormcloud, then they're off with Carl only half listening as his father yells at him to make sure Susan is safe and not to go too fast. Susan is a bit unsteady, but in no way does she want to go slower.
Meanwhile, Steven runs off to the treehouse once built by his father, pretending he's an astronaut, headed for space.
Meanwhile, Steven runs off to the treehouse once built by his father, pretending he's an astronaut, headed for space.
Later in the evening, they all gather around the table to eat and celebrate Steven, who is happy to be the center of attention for once.
But as they settle indoors, shocking news reach them. While they have been eating and chatting away, Marthin Luther King Jr has been shot in Memphis!* For the rest of the evening, most of them stay glued to the TV, watching the news of the events. For Michael, especially, it's incomprehensible. "Why shoot someone for preaching non-violence?"
"Because people listened, and there are many who don't want things to change."
For the rest of the evening, as the news share story after story, Anna shares her stories, her views and her insights, and when Michael returns home he has a new role model in his great-aunt.
Over the next few days, Michael follows the news closely every day. He's finds a new hero in Robert Kennedy as he hears of his speech in Indianapolis, and is horrified by the news of the Oakland shootout between Black Panters and police, and feels there is something severely wrong in this country of his. There must be another way than violence. After career day at school he knows what he wants to become. A lawyer like Robert Kennedy. Perhaps then he can be a part of changing things for the better.
In her new house in Hopewell Hills, Barbara is just as shocked by the news as Michael. Even more, the events in Oakland feels incredibly close and she knows some of her friends know people in the party, even if it's something they rarely discuss with her. She knows what her parents will say, that they should never have opened up fire on the police, but it was just a boy and he was unarmed. She hugs Abby a little tighter that night before tucking her in.
While she can sometimes miss the life of the city, times like these make her appreciate the sleepy little area she's settled in. It doesn't hurt that she loves tending her garden and has even gotten some chickens that roam free in the garden. Her friends spend more time out here with her than she does in the city.
"The air is getting so bad in there, all those car fumes," they complain.
"We should do what you did. Perhaps get a little house boat, or just a plot of land. Get out of the pollution and live off the land, the way we were created."
"Did you hear how bad it's getting in LA, man? Insane!"
Most of all, however, Barbara loves how much time she gets with her art. In the week she paints, on the weekends, she leaves Abby with some neighbors and head into town to sell her art and her jewelry. She's not making all that much, but she's getting by and paying her bills on time. As the world seem more and more insane, something which is only made abundantly clear when King's assassination is followed by the murder of Bobby Kennedy, Barbs is finding that she wants less and less to do with it. Here in Hopewell Hills she can tune it out and remove herself from it.
For Michael the death of his newfound hero hits hard. Even as the family gathers in the Pinnacles for Alice's 75th birthday, he has a hard time thinking or talking about anything else even as the others discuss the upcoming democratic convention.
"I voted for Kennedy in the primary, I don't know who could replace him," Alice says.
"McCarthy is the only option if you want to stop the war, and he's the only one doing something about the environment. I can't believe you can stand living here with the air so bad!" Barbs argues passionately.
"It's not so bad up here, downtown is horrid, but neither one of us goes there very often these days. We have everything we need right here, and the protests, violence and the coughing..."
"The air really is horrid, we saw it driving in. You can barely see through the haze in you some places. You should move out to Oasis Springs instead, it's much nicer." Josephine says, but Alice and Cora can think of nothing they'd like less than moving to a conservative town.
"About the convention, do you think Humphrey could take it? He hasn't been in any of the primaries, but a lot of people still believe he can take it."
"How could he? He's supportive of the war! I could never-"
Tired of the conversation, Michael goes outside for a moment. He cannot believe the others are worried about some convention, when the only thing he wants to know is how a country he's been taught his entire life is greater and better than others can allow men like King and Kennedy to be murdered.
But as they settle indoors, shocking news reach them. While they have been eating and chatting away, Marthin Luther King Jr has been shot in Memphis!* For the rest of the evening, most of them stay glued to the TV, watching the news of the events. For Michael, especially, it's incomprehensible. "Why shoot someone for preaching non-violence?"
"Because people listened, and there are many who don't want things to change."
For the rest of the evening, as the news share story after story, Anna shares her stories, her views and her insights, and when Michael returns home he has a new role model in his great-aunt.
Over the next few days, Michael follows the news closely every day. He's finds a new hero in Robert Kennedy as he hears of his speech in Indianapolis, and is horrified by the news of the Oakland shootout between Black Panters and police, and feels there is something severely wrong in this country of his. There must be another way than violence. After career day at school he knows what he wants to become. A lawyer like Robert Kennedy. Perhaps then he can be a part of changing things for the better.
In her new house in Hopewell Hills, Barbara is just as shocked by the news as Michael. Even more, the events in Oakland feels incredibly close and she knows some of her friends know people in the party, even if it's something they rarely discuss with her. She knows what her parents will say, that they should never have opened up fire on the police, but it was just a boy and he was unarmed. She hugs Abby a little tighter that night before tucking her in.
While she can sometimes miss the life of the city, times like these make her appreciate the sleepy little area she's settled in. It doesn't hurt that she loves tending her garden and has even gotten some chickens that roam free in the garden. Her friends spend more time out here with her than she does in the city.
"The air is getting so bad in there, all those car fumes," they complain.
"We should do what you did. Perhaps get a little house boat, or just a plot of land. Get out of the pollution and live off the land, the way we were created."
"Did you hear how bad it's getting in LA, man? Insane!"
Most of all, however, Barbara loves how much time she gets with her art. In the week she paints, on the weekends, she leaves Abby with some neighbors and head into town to sell her art and her jewelry. She's not making all that much, but she's getting by and paying her bills on time. As the world seem more and more insane, something which is only made abundantly clear when King's assassination is followed by the murder of Bobby Kennedy, Barbs is finding that she wants less and less to do with it. Here in Hopewell Hills she can tune it out and remove herself from it.
For Michael the death of his newfound hero hits hard. Even as the family gathers in the Pinnacles for Alice's 75th birthday, he has a hard time thinking or talking about anything else even as the others discuss the upcoming democratic convention.
"I voted for Kennedy in the primary, I don't know who could replace him," Alice says.
"McCarthy is the only option if you want to stop the war, and he's the only one doing something about the environment. I can't believe you can stand living here with the air so bad!" Barbs argues passionately.
"It's not so bad up here, downtown is horrid, but neither one of us goes there very often these days. We have everything we need right here, and the protests, violence and the coughing..."
"The air really is horrid, we saw it driving in. You can barely see through the haze in you some places. You should move out to Oasis Springs instead, it's much nicer." Josephine says, but Alice and Cora can think of nothing they'd like less than moving to a conservative town.
"About the convention, do you think Humphrey could take it? He hasn't been in any of the primaries, but a lot of people still believe he can take it."
"How could he? He's supportive of the war! I could never-"
Tired of the conversation, Michael goes outside for a moment. He cannot believe the others are worried about some convention, when the only thing he wants to know is how a country he's been taught his entire life is greater and better than others can allow men like King and Kennedy to be murdered.
* MLK was shot in April, the shootout in Oakland was a few days later and RFK was shot in June after winning the California primary. The convention took place in August.
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