Celebration

Today I watched the memorial service for Teddy Kennedy.  Speaker after speaker told wonderful stories of Teddy’s love for life; of his generosity and genuine concern for everyone he met, whether a friend or a foe.  In that room (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, Massachusetts) there was so much joy and so much sadness.  Today was a day to remember the things and people that he loved so much.j

I came away from with a new respect and awareness of Teddy Kennedy as a person.  Today I came to love him and miss him even more.

I think, too, that in that room we were able to see that the dream will live on.  He instilled in his countless nieces and nephews, in his own children and grandchildren, and every Kennedy relative, the need and the duty to serve the American Public.  That’s Me and You.  I think each of us should bow our head and thank the Powers That Be for sending us Teddy Kennedy.  He showed that all of us, regardless of how imperfect we are, have the capacity and the duty to leave this earth a better place.

I think that the younger Kennedy generation has learned that lesson well and will make their uncle/father/grandfather proud as they follow in his footsteps.

What a wonderful send off.  What a beautiful celebration of a man’s life.

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“And the Dream Lives On…”

I’m still quite stunned at the passing of Teddy Kennedy.  I feel an emptiness inside that I haven’t felt in some time.  It’s a sort of hopelessness.

Like millions of Americans, today is the first day I have lived that there has been no Kennedy brother alive.   I grew up with Kennedy stories everywhere.  I remember having my own little “All the way with JFK” button that my dad got for me at a rally when JFK was running for president.  I remember his election.  I also remember the terrible day in 1963 when I was in second grade when JFK was killed.  I remember watching the coverage and I remember watching as Jack Ruby walked up to Lee Harvey Oswald and killed him.  And I remember watching as Caroline and John John visited the casket then the funeral procession and the eulogies.  I remember it all.  And there among the multitude of Kennedys was Teddy.  When I was in fifth grade I remember Bobby running for president and I remember wanting to go see him when he came to campaign in our town.   I remember fantasizing that one day I would marry Bobby Kennedy Junior who is a year older than I.  And I was awake on that June night watching the election returns when Bobby was killed.   I remember watching the train that took Bobby’s body from California to Washington D.C.  I remember the words and the voice and the emotion Teddy showed in eulogizing his brother.  Teddy became the face of the Kennedy’s then.  We saw him take charge of the Senate and I knew that as long as there was a Kennedy brother in D.C., there would be someone fighting for the rights and concerns of the Every Day Man.

I could go on and on but it’s all been said, especially in the hours since he passed.    I will probably have more to say at some point when I can collect my thoughts and put them into words.  For now, if you haven’t seen it, let me leave you with a link to Joe Biden’s words about Teddy which are probably the best and most sincere description I have heard of Teddy.

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