Today is November 22, a date that was once the thread that ran through the nation’s collective memory. We all remembered where we were on this date – that day the president was assassinated.

That was 47 years ago.

I don’t know percentages, but no one eludes time, and the number of people who were around back then has to have diminished. 9-11 has become the new national touchstone – a date reflecting shared loss.

As for me, I was in an elementary school classroom. In those days, our school had a square wooden box on the wall that held a speaker that squawked out the occasional information from the principal. We were told our president had been shot, and that we should immediately begin praying for the well-being of the country.

Our prayers weren’t enough, it seems.

On this anniversary, the newspapers always revisited the scene, the people, the country – in marking the date. This year, the Tulsa World has no article, only a single paragraph in the “Way Back When” column.

Way Back When, on this date in 1963, the country was in a state of shock and confusion. We couldn’t tweet or twitter or share it. There was only the television and the radio and the long wait until, at last, our worst fears were confirmed.

A young, intelligent leader was lost that day, on a date we used to remember.