I remember being fascinated as a kid when I read about CS Lewis in the encyclopedia and saw he died the same day as JFK. It was weird cause in America, November 22 remains one of the saddest days in history. The definitive where-were-you moment for folks 50 and older.
But it got even stranger this year when I was looking up Aldous Huxley. The author of "Brave New World" and influence on The Doors also died on 11/22/63. Trippy? Even Alanis Morissette would call this a lil too ironic.
People still hail Brave New World as not just one of the greatest books of the century but relevant in today's era, probably why I want to read it after I found it around the house.. CS Lewis has a new audience thanks to the Chronicles of Narnia movies as well as his Christian literature/philosophy that's still being read today (been reading The Screwtape Letters this year).
And one only has to look at Barack Obama to see a reminder of JFK's youthfulness, vision and desire for change.
The only death anniversary that had the same amount of irony was July 4, 1826. On that date, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died within hours of each other, the 50th anniversary of them signing the Declaration of Independence. Adams gave the memorable last words "Thomas Jefferson still lives", not knowing that Jefferson preceded him in death.
Something to ponder...
