Oh, yes ... I was 7 years old and living in Cuba and distinctly remember our next door neighbor, a strong supporter of Castro, bursting into our apartment and gleefully announcing: "Mataron a Kennedy!". I'm certain that she saw the assassination as payback for the Bay of Pigs invasion, and for the loss of 'our' nuclear missiles, both of which had only happened 1-2 years earlier.
While we are on the subject of memory, I wonder if anyone is aware of relevant research (off top of your head) or might care to speculate about the following. I left Cuba at age 14 and, over the years, I seem to have far fewer memories of people and events of my childhood years in Cuba than, say, others who were born in the US and also might have moved to a different state at approximately the same time period. I can readily identify a number of factors that could account for these differences, but what I am most curious about is whether the extent of my inability to recall earlier material is due to a lack of contextual sensory cues (visual, auditory) versus to the change in language dominance that I have experienced over time. For example, I seldom think in Spanish and for many years have not had as many opportunities to interact in Spanish as I do in English. Obviously, I realize that sensory contextual cues are very important. For example, I have heard from a couple of friends who have gone back to visit and were able to recall/recognize all sorts of people and events during their visit. But, I wonder to what extent language dominance has also affected my earlier memories. Miguel -----Original Message----- From: Mike Palij [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2008 8:35 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Cc: Mike Palij Subject: [tips] It's "It's That Day Again" Day >From today's NY Times: - ON THIS DAY - On Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas. Suspected gunman Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States. I was in class when the teacher/nun came in to tell us about it. I don't remember much more from around that time outside of a lot of sadness and then seeing Oswald being shot on TV. I trust my own memories less now than the videotape available from that time. The PBS series "Frontline" has an interesting episode on the death of JFK which aired this week and might be airing in your area today. -Mike Palij New York University [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
