Written in Time Read Online Free PDF Page A

Connally,” James Naile went on, “was sitting in the front passenger seat just in front of Jack Kennedy. He was shot, but he’s going to be fine. He’ll go on to become Secretary of the Treasury.” From one of the bookshelves, James Naile took what looked like a photo album. He opened it to a page showing a dollar bill. “Look at the signature.”  
    John Naile did as he was told. It was Connally’s signature.  
    “LBJ will serve out the remainder of Jack Kennedy’s term,” James Naile said as if reciting from well-learned rote. “The conflict in Southeast Asia is going to escalate into a full-fledged war that’ll last into the 1970s, with thousands of GIs killed. Six months ago, you asked me why I had Horizon Industries gearing up for increased production. What was my motivation for working on that rocket launcher? The answer is that I knew what would happen today, John. I knew Johnson was going to succeed Jack Kennedy in the White House and that he’d knuckle under to the people at Lakewood Industries and other companies like them who’ve been pushing for a war.”  
    John Naile looked into his father’s eyes. “And Lakewood Industries wants a war because it means big bucks. The shits!”  
    “Exactly, son. And if we let Lakewood Industries profit from the war that’s coming at our expense, God knows what Lakewood will push this country into in the next century. Our only choice is to compete for those same defense dollars, and at least give the American taxpayer his money’s worth and our GIs equipment that won’t let them down. LBJ will effectively rescind an order President Kennedy recently made which would have drastically cut American involvement in Southeast Asia. LBJ’s already being sworn in aboard Air Force One. By the time LBJ runs against Goldwater in ‘64—”  
    “Senator Goldwater? Barry Goldwater?”  
    James Naile nodded, took a sip of his drink. “Barry’ll be the Republican standard-bearer. Johnson will withhold information from the electorate about the actual status of the war and Barry Goldwater won’t call LBJ on it because Senator Goldwater’s knowledge will be privileged information he’ll have due to his position with the Senate Intelligence Committee. Barry will lose. LBJ will keep using ground troops, racking up incredible casualty figures. Civil unrest in the United States will come dangerously close to true anarchy. LBJ’s vice-president will be Hubert Humphrey, who will run against Dick Nixon in ‘68 after LBJ declines to run for a second full term. Dick’ll win, then run again in ‘72 and win again, even though he’ll be under investigation concerning a burglary at the Democratic national headquarters. Dick’ll eventually resign the presidency.”  
    John almost laughed. “The President of the United States resign? Come on, Dad!”  
    “There are interesting times ahead, John. Oswald— the man I just mentioned as implicated in the killing of President Kennedy? He’ll be brought in, but he’ll never get to trial. A nightclub owner named Jack Ruby—with apparent ties to organized crime—will shoot Oswald dead in front of the television cameras, live. We’ll tape-record that, too.”  
    “This is sick, Dad!”  
    James Naile nodded agreement. “Sick times, son. There’ll be a string of deaths, including Ruby’s own from cancer, and Dorothy Kilgallen’s. She will be the last newswoman or reporter of any kind to talk to Ruby. She’ll die from cancer, too. In years to come, Bobby Kennedy will be killed, and so will Martin Luther King. Throughout this decade and into the next, there’ll be rioting in the cities and warfare in Asia.”  
    James Naile pointed to the television screen as he continued. “Walter Cronkite there? He’ll retire from anchoring CBS News and be replaced by that young kid Dan Rather. We’ve got records of everything that will take place up until the mid-1990s. You can read through it all for yourself, John, and have