A commemorative Postage Stamp for John Jr. at age three

2006-06-25T12:55:00.000-03:00

Postage stamp for John Jr. (rev). The stamp on the right is my contribution to the ordinary people of America. Albeit late, it is meant to commemorate the tragic loss of the son of an assasinated President, the late John F.Kennedy.

My personal thoughts behind the design of this commemorative postage stamp: The musical bar at the top of the stamp's image highlights the opening melody to that country's great anthem. The expropriated image selected of John Jr., represents a unique time and place in history. It shows a measure of his innocence at the age of three. It symbolizes the beginning of the trancendance of an era of decadence, of pride and prejudice, of black and white.

Primarily raised within the protective pillers and shadows of Lincon's monument, and within the presidential palace itself, newsreels and stills of a John Jr. and his father spash occassionally across the television screens and newspapers of America. It was a time, within the infancy of an emerging electronic media, the hearts and minds of young American families were entertained and captivated by the ordinary antics, curiosity, and at times home movie moments of a First Family, seen raising a family in the White House. We were all there crawling and squirming with John Jr. beneath his father's oak desk, adjacent to the Presidential seal of a country looking ahead and preparing for the twenty-first century.

Enclosed within the seamless walls of the Oval office we were educated into the extraordinary life and times of a President and his immediate family. We were hopeful with him that we/he can survive the centuries old domestic residue of racial, social, and political turnmoil - a credo of an ever evolving and adapted American Dream We were there, and we were all willing to ask what we can do for our country as a means to shape and forge our vision of what that dream meant. We were brought together under the wisdom and foresight of a President to reach out to the stars and take the first extraterrestrial step as earthlings onto a bigger stage, and into the realm of the truely unknown. For this, we were asked to shed our differences and see ourselves as being ready to act as ambassadors of a foreign planet called Earth.

So much was the dream of a President and the aspirations of all those who shared in his vision. A vision that a child of three had inherited on that cold and fateful day in November, 1963 when his favorite knight, within the realm and union of the American states, had fallen similarly into the shadow of the burden and glory of those who preceeded him. The P:resident's eternal torch is lit for others to follow, and if necessary to fight for. John Jr. and his travelling companion(s), on that fateful day, passed into this symbolic light, as do all free peoples of the world. This is how my design of this stamp is to be remembered.

In the design John Jr. is holding in his left hand the stringed words on the line of a kite which reads, "In God We Trust" similar to the words found on the face of the American penny. To counter-balance the image of John Jr., on the left side of the stamp, the image of a white star was drawn in on the right side to represent the kite itself, uplifted with a light simulated breeze sufficiant enough to keep it afloat, and parallel to the small statute of the boy's frame.

The haunting duelality of a child grasping the ropes of a toy kite, and the playful symbolic military pose of himself saluting is meant to relay the message that no child of any age should ever have to be exposed to symbols of conflict. Although it could be argued that the innocence and playfullness of a three year child poses no threat to his social and psychological develoopment during times of conflict, we need only look at what has happened in history to children who have already become victims. No child can ever become isolated and detatchment from the historical weight and burden symbols and gestures of this nature, and others carry.

My inclusion of a fluttering star-spangled banner beneath the image of John Jr. is meant to leave the viewer to imagine, from the perspective of a child's mind, that the banner itself is a sort of a magical carpet, where the journey to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness can be freely realized.

I also elected to isolate the image by satuating it with the colour blue with a slight value change from left to right. The darker blue represents the void of space itself in harmony and balance with the blue oceans of the world and the mysteries they represnt for exploration. Finally, the red stripe beneath the foot of John Jr., and running along the centre of the banner is meant to represent the life blood of all humanity - the "line" of all people's of the world - passing onto and guided by the stars to which only In God We must place our Trust.

AS A NEIGHBOUR...living in Canada
....I did not know much about the life and times of the late President, John F. Kennedy. I had not yet turned seven years old at the time of his death. I do recall sitting in front of a telivison set with family and friends and hearing the slow, methodical, deep rolling thunder, and rhythm of drums as they lead the open air funural march of the horse drawn casket of the late President.

I WAS THERE...
On that day, I was there, standing still, ALONE, seemingly forever - frozen in time and place. On that day, I too became part of the American psyche - shrouded then by the suffering of many of her children. On that day, I was there, beside John Jr, who was less than half my age.

For a moment, there were no boarders, no language barriers, no conflict. For a moment the citizens of the world must have felt humbled at watching a three year old boy come to grips with reality. For a moment, I was aware then, that John Jr. had the world in the palm of his hand. Even then, I wondered in my own mind, ...what would become of him? What if...? and so on, and so forth. Yes, even this seven year old's had nightmares long after.

FINAL THOUGHTS
John Lennon's renaissance to IMAGINE was short of providing us with the solution. A solution that might require us to simply fall back to our younger selves, where all children of the world share a common thread - the thread of innocence, of play, not war, of sharing, not taking away, of love, and joy, not mis-guided loyality for partisan, or religioius purposes, not greed and selfishness, but caring, loving, and even forgiving our neighbour.

For all the rational, common sense reasons that no race, culture, or religion has, and can ever have claim to, for all the wonders and mysteries of childhood, the long lasting images of peace and tranquility are those sustained and enjoyed by the innocence and untampered mind of the child in all of us. IMAGINE, how simple and effortless it was for John Jr. to cope with his world at the age of three.

Today, I celebrate a three year old. Tomorrow, I will begin to IMAGINE, what if?

PMO.

the PMO: [Prime Mail Online]

A commemorative Postage Stamp for John Jr. at age three