Laura Elliott grew up just outside Washington D.C., and came of age during the Vietnam War protests and Watergate, so she was very aware of history in the making. One of her first clear memories was of JFK's tragic assassination. Fast upon that came the killing of his brother Bobby and another man of eloquence, Martin Luther King. From her front door she could see the distant dark clouds hanging over the capital city as it burned with the agonized riots that followed his shooting.