“The Grassy Knoll.” Now there’s a phrase that has made it’s way into American culture and history. There are grassy knolls all over our country, but only one gets to be called “The Grassy Knoll.” And I’m quite sure that no other grass covered hillock in America draws so many tourists and conjures up so many feelings of intrigue as the one and only Grassy Knoll of Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas.
In yesterday’s post I described my recent visit to Dealey Plaza, the place where President Kennedy was shot in 1963. The official account of his assassination blames a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, who supposedly shot the President from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository building. But many people believe that the official account of the President’s shooting is inadequate. On the basis of circumstantial, acoustic, and supposed eyewitness testimony, those who reject the official Warren Commission conclusion believe that there was at least one additional gunman on the Grassy Knoll, who shot in the direction of the President.

In the early morning when I visited Dealey Plaza, the Grassy Knoll was unoccupied. But when I returned in the early afternoon, it was covered by dozens of people. (See the photo above and to the right.) Most of these were tourists who were listening to three men explain the “real version” of the Kennedy assassination. Two of these men claimed to have been eyewitnesses. All there were extremely well-informed, and were equipped with photos, documents, and other bits of historical evidence. The aren’t in any way official, but simply people who are committed to passing along their version of the story. 
The Grassy Knoll itself, ironically enough, is no longer grassy in the place where, purportedly, a gunman (or two) fired in the direction of President Kennedy. So many people have trampled this small spot of ground that it has no more grass. It’s rather more of a grass-less knoll these days. (Photo: the “grass-less” knoll.)
I’m not overly fascinated by the intrigue surrounding the death of President Kennedy. I do find it fascinating, however, that so many people continue to be fascinated by the possibility that he was killed by more than one conspirator. Many are almost obsessed with this alleged conspiracy. I wonder why. Any ideas?