It was a slow Monday for President John F. Kennedy. Having narrowly escaped an assassin’s bullet in Dallas, Texas, he had taken the weekend off to spend time with his family. An unwelcome reminder came with his breakfast as Theodore Sorensen, special counsel to the president, outlined the full schedule and how they were already way behind. With all his ‘Boston charm’, Kennedy replied, “I was almost shot in the head, Teddy. You can take my schedule and stick it where the sun don’t shine.” After a pause, he hoisted his eyebrows into his forehead and added, “Thank you.”


Jackie chuckled while the joyously oblivious children stuffed their faces and John-John guzzled some orange juice in a mouth still crowded with pancake mush. His dad laughed heartily, and Mom reminded the boy to finish swallowing. Taking in this mundane ‘everyday’ scene, the president became nothing in that moment but a husband and father. Thoughts rushed in, condemning him for certain infidelities, and he promised himself he would cherish this loving family forever.


Of course, he was still the president of the United States of America, a job with its share of demands, and his day needed to get on with itself. Rearranging his schedule always drove Sorensen crazy, so the POTUS cast a wide smile when he asked for the status file on the Apollo mission. ‘We choose to go to the moon,’ he had boldly declared to the world. His brow wrinkled as he read the report. The financial impact made him gasp and when he saw the technological proposal, his mouth dried up like a desert. This would be much more than an ‘aim and shoot’ rocket launch. 


Could they really do it? And would they beat the Russians?


No, Kennedy didn’t even want to think about the Soviets today. Unless… Could they have been behind the assassination attempt? Sorensen called his name a second time to snap him out of his stupor. In response, the presidential eyeballs found his wristwatch and he realized his next meeting should have already started.