When news came out about these two Miami Dolphin linemen suddenly out of pro football..one quitting because his teammate kept bullying and threatening him, the other kicked out of the league for doing the bullying and threatening, brought to mind a similar story about a high school classmate of mine; Gene Vostad. Gene was a great football player and when he graduated college he got a tryout with the Minnesota Vikings playing center. The story goes that when taking the hike, quarterback, Gary Cuozzo would slam his hands up into Gene’s groinal area with such force it was beyond the protection of any cup. After a while of enduring this painful indignation, according to what we heard, Gene said that’s enough..turned around, cold cocked Cuozzo and left the field.
I thought, in light of what happened between Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin, this would be an interesting tale of hazing to tell from a personal point of view. So I called Gene, who I haven’t talked to in a long time, for his permission to blog about it. “Well, no Doug” he said. “Because it’s not true. That rumor has been going around for years but there’s not a lick of truth to it. I have no idea how it started. I didn’t care for Cuozzo all that much but never touched the guy.”
I should have known better. Gene is a gentle giant..tough as nails, a Vietnam veteran and an Army reserve Colonel but he’d never take a cheap shot.
Speaking of separating truth from rumor, from now through the end of the month we are going to be inundated with accounts of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination which occurred in Dallas, Texas fifty years ago; on November 22nd 1963. In fact the TV specials have already begun with Rob Lowe starring as Kennedy on the History Channel movie depiction of Bill O’Reilly’s book, “Killing Kennedy” and a two part JFK profile runs this week on PBS. I’m looking forward to seeing some of them…absolutely dreading others because I know a few just won’t be able to contain themselves and be digging up tired old conspiracy theories that seem designed to whip the conspiracy nut jobs into a frenzy. Oh, oh…did I hit a nerve?
Are you one of the 56% of Americans who still believe that Lee Harvey Oswald had lots of help pulling off the murder of our president..maybe from Russia, or Cuba, the mob, Lyndon Johnson or some other far fetched conspirator? What part of the Warren Commission report do you take issue with? The magic bullet, the missing bullet, the pristine bullet..the angle of the bullet..Oswald’s marksmanship, Oswald’s ability to fire the shots in such short time, Kennedy’s head went back after being hit?
If you saw Oliver Stone’s movie JFK in which he made a hero out of the embarrassingly inept prosecutor, Jim Garrison, you saw the truth twisted by Stone that went way beyond dramatic license. Kevin Costner’s portrayal of Garrison was such that the end result of the film was a noticeable shift in the public’s view of the assassination and renewed suspicion that our government wasn’t telling us all the facts about it.
Ten years ago, on the 40th anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination, ABC did, what I believe to be the most exhaustive and very best examination of Oswald, the conspiracy questions and the shameful presentation by Oliver Stone.
Ten years ago, as many 80 percent of Americans did not believe Oswald acted alone. Since then, as more people have seen honest undeniable factual reports such as ABC’s “Beyond Conspiracy” in 2003, the number of doubters, according to a recent AP poll, is down to 56 percent. So there’s still a good chance more than half of you think I have my head up my posterior.
Judging from the number of comments I’m getting lately, there aren’t that many who give a rip one way or another but I’m going to keep writing anyhow.
I would ask, though, that you take some time to watch this program. Believe me, I had lots of questions, myself about the assassination too and no, I wasn’t swayed by the dramatic music in the presentation or the convincing voice of the late Peter Jennings.
It’s just that sometimes the truth isn’t as dramatic as Oliver Stone or any of the other conspiracy nuts would have you believe it is.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYmLf749K5U[/youtube]
20 Responses
Bill O’Reilly’s book “Killing Kennedy” is a good read (or a good listen, if you get the audio version). He presents some very well-researched and compelling evidence for his argument that Oswald acted alone. Of course, there will always be some who will not be persuaded by evidence. They will continue to look for conspiracies until we are all in heaven and finally know the truth…
After watching absolutely hours of theories over the past 50 years, as I am a Kennedy “junkie”, put me in the 56 percentile!!
I don’t think people will ever quit believing that Oswald had help, I don’t think so but a book by Bill O’Riley I don’t even want to read let alone watch a TV movie based on his book! and then there is Jesse Ventura, don’t even want to go there, he makes me glad I live in S.D. and not Minn.
no matter whether we believe in conspiracy or not you have to agree that our world changed in an instant that day and we will always wonder what we lost and how our country’s history might have been changed if this had not happened.
I agree with everything you said Doug. Keep up the good work.
Great story about Gene! We had wonderful classmates! We were seniors in high school when JFK was shot. I was in Mr. Painter’s class when he told us about it. Then I think we went to study hall and watched it on TV. Do you remember that, or am I (out to lunch)? There was also a special church service at Volga First Lutheran. Our school choir sang or maybe church choir. I don’t think we had school on the day of funeral.
Enjoy your writing!
… Having been born right around the time President Kennedy was shot, I have followed Kennedy family news close enough over the yrs. … now being a Parent myself I think about the way people treat their kids, and the time they spend doing things with their kids. … Kennedy family news for the most part showed Family as being important, something they would actually work at and put a little effort into. ….. good stuff for the most part. ………. And in my opinion, John Kennedy was one of the most interesting Presidents we have ever had. thanks for the story Doug.
life is good
Thanks for the story Doug ..played quite a few rounds of golf with Gene up at Pine Hills in Milbank..and you are correct, he’s a true gentleman. Last month I was helping cut wood at Big Stone Lake with a gentleman from town, and during a break we got to talking, and I found out that during the Vietnam War, he and his wife had R&R in Hawaii with Gene and his wife! Small world.
Doug, I enjoy your blog and you often bring back many memories. I agree with you about Gene. I was always very happy that he was a lineman blocking for me, and not a defensive lineman taking me out. I remember very clearly the day JFK was shot. When I came home from school and went to the barn to do chores I would not be prepared for what I saw. My Dad, a Norwegian farmer, that very seldom showed any emotion was sitting on a stool crying. He embraced me and stated that JFK had been shot. What stands out from this experience is that at the time I was a junior in high school and that was the last time my dad embraced me as he died when I was a freshman in college.
I always said Oliver Stone did a great disservice, using “facts” that were along ago disproven. Oswald’s motives? Who knows? I really subscribe to the lone nut theory. Fifty years later, nobody has fessed up to being a shooter or being behind a plot. The CIA leaks worse than that. The mob thing? All second and third hand info that wouldn’t stand up in a trial. The way the mob leaks these days (Whitey Bulger, Goodfellas, etc) it’s a secret that couldn’t be kept. Even the guy who shot Bugsy Seigel (sp?) eventually fessed up. If somebody actually could establish a “chain of command” in the Kennedy killing, the government would make him such a deal to squeal that he or she could run for president from the witness protection program.
I watched NOVA Wednesday night on what was supposed to be the definitive last word on the evidence and, while in the beginning of the presentation, I thought they were going to renew the whole conspiracy BS, instead they applied the latest ballistics technology and concluded beyond most reasonable people’s doubt that three shots were fired from the Texas School Book Depository sixth window at the motorcade from Oswald’s Italian bolt action rifle. The first shot missed, the second struck Kennedy in the back..went through his throat..entered Connally’s back in a tumbling motion and followed a trajectory consistent with the governor’s injuries. That bullet was far from pristine but badly dented on the end. Lead from that bullet was found in Connally’s wrist. And, according to the examination of Kennedy’s damaged skull and trajectory of the entrance wound, NOVA also concluded there is no way any of the shots could have come from the grassy knoll. The reason Kennedy’s head lunged forward is also satisfactorily (for most people) explained.
I think part of the need for a conspiracy is the inability to accept that one person could so dramatically and negatively impact so many people, especially reaching those thought of as unreachable. Such unthinkable tragedy seems to require a bigger plot than just one lone gunman. That makes us all more Vulnerable – with a capital “V.”
I’m not sure where I land on all of this JFK conspiracy theory stuff. I wasn’t even born when the assassination occurred. However, I do know that it had lasting impacts on us as a county. It’s one of those events that changes the perspective of everything that follows it. For many of us, that event will forever be 9/11/2001. Sadly, every generation seems to have one.
I agree with you Doug–and Steve. The evidence that Oswald was the lone shooter continues to pile up year after year, especially now with all the advances in forensic technology. I had been a dyed-in-the-wool conspiracy buff until 1993 when I watched the outstanding PBS Frontline special “Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald.” It is the best documentary on the assassination I have ever seen and it completely turned my thinking around. PBS is rebroadcasting that program this coming Tuesday the 19th. I highly recommend watching that show. One thing I’ve noticed about the conspiracy buffs is that few of them seem to have any understanding of how firearms work. The small hole in JFK’s back and the back of his head are clearly entrance wounds (coming from the school book depository) not from the front (the grassy knoll).
Further, if the mob did it, why would they mess with a nut like Oswald. If they hired Ruby to kill Oswald, why mess around. Send them both, like Code Talkers, giving one instructions to kill the other and make it look like a suicide. Conspiracy theories are just to complicated for what was a simple act to carry out. Assuming all this, why make such a public mess of it all. My theory is two nuts; Oswald and Ruby, both of whom thinking they were doing something heroic.
I’ll try to seperate myself from the “conspiracy nuts” and “conspiracy BS” after the remaining JFK assassination investigation files are released to the public. (http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/11/kennedy_probe_files_still_seal.html)
That’s scheduled for 2017. I won’t hold my breath since their release has been pushed back time and time again. Until then, I’ll assume that our whole world would come crashing down if those top-secret secrets were public knowledge.
I’ll never understand why many of you believe all facets of government have OUR best interests in mind. Is our government to be trusted explicitly? Like they trust us (TSA searches, DUI checkpoints, sudafed tracking, NSA surveillance et al, et al and et al)? I’m a criminal until proven otherwise, but I’m a nut if I consider elements of our government may be criminal (or negligent, at the very least)? Is that it?
I’m sure you’re tired, Doug, after many years of chasing stories. You’ve earned that easy chair. However, doesn’t that journalistic curiosity still gnaw just a tiny bit? Must everything be explained away, no matter how improbable (WTC 7)?
Whoa…hang on there Todd. How did we go from evidence in the Kennedy assassination pointing to Oswald as the lone gunman to blindly trusting the government explicitly in all things? Clearly you’re not a regular reader or you’d know that I’ve grumbled lots of times about what I consider to be police entrapment with their DUI checkpoints. I’ve pointed out invasion of privacy issues I have with the growing number of cameras watching our every move..not to mention the TSA full body scans and unnecessary uncomfortable searches. We agree on more than you think, Todd. But not “everything” is a conspiracy. Sometimes, as in the Kennedy assassination, the evidence…which several new investigations aired this week by CNN, CBS and Public Television, clearly prove beyond any reasonable doubt through the latest ballistics and forensics that Oswald fired the shots and acted alone. You can, of course, continue to believe the Oliver Stone version. As for that journalistic curiosity you suspect that I’ve lost..it’s still there but I was also taught to report the facts..not speculation. Anyway, I appreciate your comments, as always, Todd.
It is interesting that just this week, our gov’t made sure it got Caroline (Kennedy) Scholssberg to her ambassador post in Japan. I find this coincidental on(actually before) the 50th Anniv of her father’s tragic death. Not saying it is bad, it is just that the gov’t can get things done in a timely manner, if it truly tries.
I am guilty, Doug, of not being a regular reader. I’ll try to remedy that.
Let me say it is unfortunate so many unscholarly endeavors at proving conspiracy have tainted the arena over the years. Reasonable people can and do spot that a mile away.
But I am afraid this has led to a general feeling in society that ALL consipiracy matters are now untrue and propagated by your “nuts” and “whackos.” This ultimately does not bother me (any more) since it is painfully obvious the majority of the populace can now be categorized as those known as “sheeple.” However, this frequently does a great disservice to truth.
You, Doug Lund — but more to my point the mainstream media in general — carry much influence. Dismissing multiple curiosities, as has been done by the “official” narrative over the years, can squelch the truth.
I understand the pain that the JFK assasination carries, and indeed our county has never been the same since. I, however, think more was afoot that day than just a lone gunman.
I’ll finish with two things. The CBS “news flash” moment and a video. I don’t think either of these things will lead to any major breakthrough for the conspiracy community (and there is a large (and educated) one in this country), but they should prompt a raised eyebrow or two.
First, the CBS news flash when Walter Cronkite declares “three shots were fired.” I’ve worked in the chaos of journalistic deadlines, so I know of the pressing forces and judgement calls. I am “impressed” that Conkrite trusted his Dallas sources and declared to the nation that there were three shots fired. It should be well known there multiple witnesses hearing more than three shots. My gut wonders why Cronkite didn’t wait on those details. “Shots fired” fired would have sufficed. But, he nailed the Warren report right away. Nice job, Walter.
Lastly, this early motorcade video from that day. I like to turn down the sound (aka narration’s opinion) and just watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glPyZAj_wqc
Even 50 years later, I think there’s still ample room for doubt.
p.s. Oliver Stone is a moviemaker, not the official spokesman for the opposition to the official narrative.
It’s not so much the how, it’s the “why?” that people are searching for. I think ballistics have put to rest the shooting, Oswald did it. But I want to know how this guy who spent so much time in the USSR goes waltzing in and out of the county, stopping in to visit foreign embassies without Hoover and folks from the CIA all over this guy. It makes the safety detail look like a bunch of rubes who need a flashlight and a map.
Was Oswald a wacky loner, looking to make a name for himself? Was he a soviet agent sent to take out the president for showing up Kruschev? Was he a failed CIA double, or worse, working for the CIA? That’s the crappy part about Ruby taking him out before he spill the beans, or at least his version anyway. That’s why we keep looking…
Oswald very well could have acted alone in the actual killing of John Kennedy, but that does not mean that he may have not received any advice from someone BEFORE he killed Kennedy. How did Oswald know what type of rifle to use? How did he know the travel route and timing of the motorcade? How do we know whether or not there were not anyone who ‘fessed up to helping Oswald? Whether or not Oswald truly acted alone in planning and implementing the murder, we will probably never know until an additional 50 years go by, and by then almost everyone who was alive at the time, will be long deceased.