Did he really say that?
It was on this day, in 1964, that the Warren Commission Report on the assassination
of John F. Kennedy was released. I love conspiracies as much as the next guy,
and (years ago) followed enough of the various investigations in order to still
believe that the lone gunman theory just doesn't have the right ring to it. But
when it comes to the Warren Commission Report, I have to admit that I've never
read it.
On the other hand, for many years I've quoted Lyndon B. Johnson, then president
of the United States who, upon being presented with the report (the entire 26
volumes? a condensed version?) was reported to have uttered the classic words:
"It's uh, very heavy". That's the sort of quote that can certainly come
in handy in quite a variety of circumstances, and I've found numerous opportunities
- some more logical than others - to sneak it into the conversation. Actually,
I've usually quoted Johnson as simply saying "It's very heavy", with
no hard copy confirmation of whether he really said it or not. Over the years
I've run various searches on the web in an attempt to find confirmation of this
wonderful quote. It made sense to me that such a classic phrase would be quoted
often on the web. Strangely, it isn't. The only wording I can find contains the
"uh" (which admittedly adds something to the phrase), and I can find
it only a few times, and those in not particularly authoritative circumstances.
One of the unclear aspects of this quote is that the references I can find for
it report that Johnson uttered it on September 24, 1964, which is of course three
days before the report was issued. Did he say this in a private ceremony? Was
he given the report before the actual release? Or is this perhaps simply a case
of somebody having his or her dates a bit mixed up? And perhaps, just maybe, wonderful
as it is, perhaps this is only an apocryphal story? Frankly, I don't know, though
I'd be happy to receive more precise information if anybody reading this does
know.
Go to: Taking to the streets