From: Martin Shackelford 
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 21:50:30 -0500
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A Gathering in Grand Rapids
by Martin Shackelford (October 26, 1997)

          All around Michigan, on the afternoon of Saturday, October 25,
groups of men gathered in front of television sets, eating pizza and
watching the Michigan-Michigan State football game.
           A similar scene could be found in a comfortable basement
recreation room in northern Grand Rapids, but there were no football
players on the screen.
           Here, a pattern of dashes represented segments of an audio
tape, a man fired an antique rifle in the Northern Michigan woods, a
honeydew melon exploded in a fan-shaped spray, a line of cars passed
through the streets of a city, a man on crutches told a crowd of newsmen
that "He fought with us like a wild man," a goat suddenly stiffened and
collapsed, the shoulders of a man in a car suddenly hunched up, police
officers examined a wallet and a revolver on a quiet side street, a
computer generated limousine appeared to come nearly  to a full stop on
a slight incline, and a straight red line passed slowly back and forth
across a map until it reached the corner of a building and jerked
dramatically.
            The men who paid close attention to these images were also a
somewhat different group from those gathered around other televisions
around the state:
--Steve Barber, the group's genial host, came from a musical background
and had influenced a government science panel.
--Greg Jaynes, who had traveled the most miles to attend, and brought a
generous assortment of gifts for everyone, had a valuable news page on
the Internet.
--Todd Vaughan, whose valuable contributions hadn't protected him from
vitriolic attack at a research conference, had worked closely with Steve
in the past.
--Russ Burr, a relative newcomer, had made insightful contributions to
Internet newsgroup discussions.
--John McAdams, a man clearly at home on a college campus, had numerous
bitter enemies who had never met him and a web page of diverse value.
--Martin Shackelford, a latecomer to the event, was a researcher
comfortable with controversy and with free-wheeling discussion.
--Dale Myers, a former radio personality, had done an important series
of computer graphics reconstructions.
--Tom DeVries, a neighbor well-versed in the evidence, saw a familiar
bumper sticker and stumbled upon the gathering by accident.
           Their common interest: intricacies in the evidence relating
to the assassination of President Kennedy. Originally planned as a
gathering of those who believed Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, the final
group was evenly split, half believing in a conspiracy.
           Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the gathering was its
lack of rancor, its emphasis on sharing, and the civility of its
discussions. Everyone contributed rare footage and photographs, no
voices were raised, and no one "changed sides," but we all learned things 
during the two-day gathering.

           New computer-generated animations by Dale Myers, likely to be
generally available sometime next year, made it difficult to dispute a
bullet striking Governor Connally just before Zapruder frame 223;
demonstrated that along a line which crossed the sidewalk north of Elm
Street and an area in front of the Texas School Book Depository,
spectators saw the limousine appear to come to nearly a complete stop,
due to a quirk of perspective; and showed the assassination as it might
have appeared to a number of other key witnesses (Charles Brehm, Howard
Brennan, Nellie Connally, Jackie Kennedy,  and Bill Newman).
         His attempt to use the animation to demonstrate the Single
Bullet Theory was marred by placement of the entrance wound on President
Kennedy's back at the lower neck, rather than the upper back position of
the autopsy photographs, perhaps two inches lower.
         A photograph showing FBI agent Robert Barrett at the Texas
Theater, and a film clip showing him at the location of the shooting of
Officer J.D. Tippit, made it clear that he was not the same man who was
seen apparently picking up something from the grass in Dealey Plaza in a
series of news photographs.
         Todd Vaughan explained what firemen had been doing at the
Depository after the assassination, which had been a puzzle to some
earlier. The police had requested their assistance in providing
emergency lights to aid in searching the Depository, rope to hold back
the growing crowds, and a ladder to assist in checking for possible
evidence concealed in Depository ceilings.
          Vaughan and Myers discussed with me the evidence in the Tippit
shooting, which Myers has studied in detail for many years. He made a
strong case that the gunman was first seen in the area around 1:13 p.m.,
and that the shooting happened at approximately 1:14 p.m., timing which
seem to best mesh the eyewitness testimony. Though not completely
convinced, I was impressed, and felt the reconstruction deserved serious
attention by those studying the shooting.
           Greg Jaynes provided us all with autographed copies of Robert
Groden's latest videotape, "The Killing of a President: A Video
Magazine," a forty-minute overview blending material from "JFK: The Case
for Conspiracy" and "The Assassination Films," his longer videotapes. It
is a good introductory collection for those who haven't yet acquired
copies of the key film footage.
           Controversial claims were challenged, a variety of evidence
was presented and examined, and the participants had a stimulating and
valuable experience. It was the kind of exchange that should happen more
often, allowing vigorous testing of everyone's assumptions, a greater
likelihood that untenable theories will be discarded, and a better
chance to see where theories are the strongest. I hope it doesn=92t prove
unique, as it's something we all could use.
           I welcome accounts from the points of view of the other
participants.