The banality of the banality of evil, oil on oil on canvas, 2013. An alteration to a thrift shop painting by the elusive British street artist Banksy.

On this, the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy, I was going to share some of my memories of that day. Because I’m old enough to remember. But then I thought: How boring! Not the event, of course. Incredible evil is not boring. But the answer to the question, “Where were you when you heard about (insert evil event here)?” often is.

I grew up hearing my elders tell where they were when they heard about Pearl Harbor. I don’t remember much about their stories. They were just regular people doing regular stuff on a regular Sunday morning a long time ago. But I do remember the shock and awe that still resonated in their voices decades later. Something terrible had inserted itself into their day-to-day lives and everything changed. It was like that when Kennedy was assassinated.

And again on September 11, 2001.

I’ve been to Pearl Harbor. And lower Manhattan before and after 911. And Dallas. Being a visual person, I’ve been struck by how banal these places are. Regular places where people do regular stuff. I’d been to Dallas and driven by the Book Depository building a few times before I realized what it was. This is where everything changed? I guess I thought that a place where incredible evil had happened would look, well, more evil.

Here’s some sketches I did of Dealy Plaza a while back. They’re pretty banal. Dealey Plaza sits on the edge of downtown Dallas. There are lots more exciting things to sketch in the neighborhood. It’s knowing that happened there that led me to sit a while and sketch.

The 6th floor window.

Dealey Plaza sketched from about the spot where the President’s limo was when Oswald opened fire

If you stand behind the picket fence on the grassy knoll—the place where some conspiracy buffs say another gunman stood—and turn around, you see this boring view.

The dusty little “Conspiracy Museum” where buffs constantly try to keep the banality of evil at bay.

“X” marks the spot.