It was just an ordinary day. I was in Grade 9 and I was thinking about the sandwich I had made for lunch. Then the Vice Principal opened the door to our classroom. “Everyone down to the Assembly hall. There is an important announcement. ” We all packed up our books and marched down to the Assembly hall. We sat in silence waiting, until the Principal came in . She went up to the microphone and switched it on.
“I have some very disturbing news. The President of the United States had been shot in Dallas Texas.” Gasps! A murmur of disbelief! Then she continued “For the American students if you would like to call your parents please come and see me after lunch. Now everyone please go down to lunch and today we will not be speaking during lunch so we can listen to the radio news. “
We went to lunch in silence and sat in silence. My sandwich did not seem very appetizing. The radio chattered on. This was at a time when there were no cell phones, no internet and no computers in classrooms. We listened to the radio. Then it came. “The President of the United States, John Kennedy has been pronounced dead.”
The American students began to cry . The rest of us sat in stunned silence. This was not an “ordinary” day after all.
Have you ever noticed that when people are asked about where they were or what they were doing when some extraordinary event takes place they usually start off with “it was just an ordinary day….”
This week I.J.Khanewala has given us the photo challenge of “Ordinary”.
Here is an ordinary sight in my house. Biasini’s double bridle and girth are hung up over the sink waiting to be cleaned.
Another ordinary scene is the bridle and girth have now been cleaned with saddle soap and the bits scrubbed clean and the curb chain carefully attached to avoid loosing it .
When we drive up to where our daughter lives we take the 401 highway . This is the ordinary view out of the front of the car. My husband was driving and the little horse is my travel mascot George. The trip takes two hours.
Here is a London Call box. These used to be ordinary but with the advent of cell phones they are now not so ordinary .
Here is another thing that used to be ordinary for us and now is forbidden. This photo was taken as we drove to Florida in 2019. Little did we know what loomed in 2020. Now in 2021 the border to the USA is closed to anyone not deemed “essential” wanting to enter by land . You can only enter by air.
Ordinary denotes that which is “commonplace or standard”. But the truth is we may think something is ordinary. An ordinary day or an ordinary drive but we never know how an event in the future can make it extraordinary!
Thank you I.J. Khanewala for this challenge. Click here to see his challenge and links to other responses.
HorseAddict 
What a profound post Anne! It had me remember 9/11 and where I was when I heard the news. From that moment everything ordinary had changed. It’s like what we always thought of as normal changed with the pandemic. Now how do we define normal? It’s good that we still have our photography and yours is beautiful in this post.
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Thank you Anne.
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I love your take on the theme Anne.
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Thank you Rupali.
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Beautiful view captures from your ordinary trip, Anne. I love the Red phone box. 🙂
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Thank you Amy. I think the red phone boxes are a quintessential symbol of London just like the red double decker buses but now with mobile phones they are not seen so often as people do not use them much.
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Loved your story about JFK Anne – a great illustration of how instantly ordinary can change to extraordinary. Much like our memories of 9/11 I suppose. Everyone alive during both events can remember how they were affected and what they were doing at the time. Your images of Biasini’s bridle is a good reminder of how much work goes into being a dedicated horsewoman and is something I’d never thought of! Who knew washing was part of ownership?! And your red phone booth is a great reminder of something that used to be ordinary no longer is – like the availability of phone booths which are seldom needed now that we all “ordinarily” have cellphones! Terrific response to the challenge!
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Thank you Tina. 9/11 and JFK assassination are both “where were you when…” moments that are etched in our memories for life. Thanks for commenting.
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Insightful and thought provoking Anne. Well done.
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Thank you John.
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So very true! That mascot George is very cute 🐴😉
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He travels with me everywhere!
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♥ Well done, Anne. Love your reflections and photos.
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Thank you Ann Christine!
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You did a great job showing the ordanary things from our youth. Many today won’ t know most of those things. True about ordanary can change to extra ordanary later on.
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Sometimes an ordinary day can seem pretty dull, and other times, it can be great. When you’ve been away, coming home and taking up the ordinary routines, meals, schedules, etc feels comfortable and relaxing. That was a good idea you had, showing shots over the dashboard, I wouldn’t have thought of it, but it’s very true.
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I agree that sometimes ordinary can be just fine and enjoyable.
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That’s a wonderful lesson. The ordinary can change and the little memories,like the red telephone booth or driving across the border, can remain only in memory. I like the photos of the girth and bridle.
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Thank you. We have just heard in the news today that the border with the US is going to reopen for non essential travel. So that is good news. This was an interesting and thought provoking challenge.many thanks for hosting lens artists this week.
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Thank you for your kind words
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Ordinary days can be Ordinary
The Red Phone Box caught my attention.
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I have no idea what an ordinary day is right now
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You are not alone in that.
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