Ted K. anecdote

stike

politics aside....

I have a colleague/friend that's a bit of a Kennedy-family Zelig. He's friends with the kids, and has known them for years, and kinda been on the fringes. Has some great stories.

Told me once after a weekend that he'd been out sailing on Ted's boat with ted's son and some others (not Ted, though, who was away), and (it was implied)that they had enjoyed a few adult beverages. Apparently they hit some relatively famous/obvious rock that everyone knew you were supposed to steer clear of. They decided among themselves before calling Ted in DC that they'd tell him they'd pay to have a diver go down and inspect the keel. they called him to fess up.

On the phone, they explained that, well, we struck such-and-such rock, but don't worry, we're going to send down a diver and check it out and we'll see what the damage is.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. And Ted said "well. that's all well and good, but... how will he be able to tell your damage from mine?"

Cpt'n Cook

I got stuck on a broken T bar for about 15 min right in front of a very young Sen. Kennedy on the opening day at the state owned Mt. Wachusett ski area. I got off and crossed country back to the slope, I think he waited it out. I think it was in the early sixties, I was much younger then too :laugh:

stike

my wife worked with a few friends "on the hill", and one of them had a dream (she said it was a nightmare...) about being married to Ted. my wife went over to his office and got an autographed photo from him and they framed it and gave it to her for her birthday.

don't know if you guys saw any of the footage of the wake, but there were some funny stories. again, politics aside (i grew up in NH, where it was sport to mock Ted), but that family has some great history, great stories.

Cpt'n Cook

I grew up here and went to school in Boston so they all have had a part in my life. I was just going back to school from lunch when I heard on a police car radio that JFK had been shot. It was a pretty somber ride home that day.

I think we are going to miss Ted here in MA.

Gator Bait

 
I grew up in MA and I have to respect their families dedication to public service. They did a lot to help those with a lot less then they and I hope Ted's passing is not the end of an era in that respect.

Gator

crghc98

My friend is a long time staffer in Boston. Was all over the TV this weekend. Thing I was amazed at was in all the years we talked about politics (and we certainly didn't see eye to eye) and all the times he could have mentioned some of these stories about Ted to maybe change my way of thinking about the man, he never did....

I truly get the impression Ted was sincere and wanted some of the stuff he did for individuals to remain private..I also understand now why my friend truly counted Ted as a friend and not just an employer.

stike

let me just say that most folks have absolutely no clue what a US senator REALLY does.

yes, legislation, sure. that's a portion of their work, but it's actually a small portion.

the staffers are in the trenches day to day, and they handle all sorts of emergencies for "regular" people. vet's issues (benefits, medals, lost records, burials, flags, etc.), immigration issues, phone calls to jump start things that have stalled.

they work tremendously hard for their constituents, and that stuff is all private and never usually gets out there. imagine 40+ years of that kind of work. yikes.

legislation aside, that would be a tremendous career

crghc98

It is amazing now to hear the personal touches Ted put on that kind of work...

stike

there's a lot of inertia in the world, and sometimes the only thing that will spur things on is "a call from the senator".

my wife worked a lot with veterans and their families. they'd call after "dad" died, and ask about a flag or something, and not realize that there were many other things they could be helped with.

medlas, records, benefits, survivor benefits, etc. etc. and sometimes they'd have a hard time dealing with the red tape. the senator's staffer would call... BAM. gates open. there's a lot of hard work taking place on the hill. like max has said, most of the work is done by staffers and career diplomats.