JFK Library

I was able to lie in to 9:30 this morning, and then catch up with a few of my notes from the week before lunch, as well as having a nice chat with my parents.

This afternoon we took a trip to the JFK Presidential Library. I had previously assumed that presidential libraries were just that, but it turns out (at least in this case) to be more of a general memorial and exhibition about the JFK. I didn't know a lot about him before today, and most of what I did know came from the films "JFK" and "13 days" (about the Cuban missile crisis). The exhibition really was very engaging, and I feel I have now learned a lot more.

It would be easy to suggest that a monument to the glorification of an individual is not the best place to learn the history, but the things that made an impact on me were almost exclusively the old newsreels of his public addresses. Leadership is one of the topics we've studied this week, and JFK seems to be a splendid example of a leader whether you agree with his politics or not.

The main forum at the Library is a glass-enclosed space with a beautiful view over Boston and the islands around the harbour. In it hangs this vast flag, just waiting to be blipped.

After the exhibition we headed into downtown Boston and explored until we got too cold (-15 degrees plus windchill!) and retired to a bar. Then we went to dinner - the Babson folks had arranged a private room in a nice restaurant for us and we were very well fed and looked after.

It was really nice to get out and immerse ourselves in US culture after spending most of the week within the confines of the exec ed center! It seems especially relevant to have seen the JFK inaguration speech just a few days before the Obama inaguration - perhaps the president elect with the most expectation hung upon him since JFK.

42 asked yesterday if I could share some of the thngs I've been learning about. I'd love to, and maybe I'll try to do so tomorrow. It's now 1:30am here however and it's time for bed...