Could John Have Spared Mary

[Jim Page]

As someone who grew up in the South and often heard people, usually of the lower classes, make remarks that "someone ought to shoot that SOB," usually when talking about John Kennedy or Martin Luther King, I feel that Mary Surratt was posturing to emphasize her passion for the Confederate cause.

Once the reality of what she had been a part of sunk in, I suspect that she realized the folly of such statements. I'm sure that she wished she had never heard of John Wilkes Booth and his fruitless scheme.

I clearly remember my granny scolding the propane-delivery man for saying such stuff in front of her grandchildren and how stunned that truck driver was that someone would upbraid him for that. My grandmother was a much-respected woman in her little town and what she said carried a lot of weight.

Many folks talk tough and regret it later. I'm pleased that I never hear people say such things today.

--Jim