George Jefferies, JFK, And The Love Of Money

Two different stories played out over the past few days that my readers doubtless have heard about.  Yet I wonder if anyone has made the connection between the two.  In the end, the stories say a lot about our country.

While resting and staying low while fighting a cold I was drawn into the legal quagmire of the Anna Nicole Smith burial battle.  Cable TV aired wall-to-wall coverage, and Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin who presided on the bench, was a character that John Grisham only wishes he could have created for one of his punchy reads.  The lawyers were swarming, and the various sides were seething.  Each person who took the stand stated his or her love and admiration for Anna.  Then with some more questioning the person on the stand was soon forced to admit they had made money from her tragic life.  They had taken money for interviews, sold photos, or allowed entertainment programs to abuse their close proximity to the celebrity.  After each one left the stand I felt a need to shower.  It was shameless and pathetic. The love of money and fame started this wretched tale many years ago, and it is far from over as I write today.

Now compare that story to the one of George Jefferies who took a home movie of a gallant President and his stunning and beautiful wife on a November afternoon in Dallas in 1963.  Jefferies made the film of President Kennedy and Jacqueline roughly 90 seconds before deadly shots changed Camelot.  After Jefferies learned the President was dead he had the film developed and allowed only very close family and friends to see it.  The film remained in a drawer in the man’s home until the footage was donated this week to the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas.

In this messed up country today one needs to ask why Jefferies did not make hard cold cash, and get some fame along the way, by releasing the video?

“I probably could of but in the first place I never thought about it and I don’t think it’s right. Now, I love money, but I don’t think it’s right to make money on the President Kennedy’s death,” says George.

How utterly refreshing!  How humane!  The difference between how Jefferies reacted in 1963, and how the cannibalistic tribe performed on national TV from Florida this week should make us all wonder where our society is headed. 

The film from Jefferies is remarkable for its rich color and clarity.   Not only does it make me yearn for Camelot, but also for a time when most of our society was more polite.