Me and Bobby Kennedy

"There is a beginning to the voyage and an end to the voyage, and this beginning and ending is part of the natural order of things." -Edward M Kennedy-

I want to preface this piece by unequivocally stating I did not know Teddy Kennedy, I never met the man but I did admire his dedication to public service although the Chappaquidick episode was inexcusable, the actions of a coward and drunk. With that said I also being a two-fisted Irishman I appreciate his lust for woman and the bottle, a Catholic by birth I am certain there is no God but should there be one then teddy will now have to atone I suppose providing God is not unduly occupied with the various wars and genocidal on-goings.

I did however, once meet Bobby Kennedy, I even shook his hand. A first grader at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic elementary school Bobby paid a quick visit as he campaigned for president on the way to his date with destiny in the form of an insane Sirhan Sirhan. The nuns brought us outside briskly, lined us up, Bobby rolled up got out and started pumping the flesh. I held my small 1st-grader hand out resplendent in gray slacks and blue wool blazer when voila' Bobby grabbed my hand and gave it a big squeeze. I recall a big horsey smile, a great shock of reddish-brown hair, then he was moving off down the line, gone...

Then this asshole Sirhan Sirhan shot him, no doubt asserting his second-ammendmant rights that seems to include blowing away your classmates, coworkers, random salsa dancers, your kids and most recently yourself.   

Of course all manner of right-wing fruit-cakes from Anne Colter to Rush Limbaugh will sorely miss the last Kennedy brother, who else to blame for two decades of colossal mismanagement of a great nation and its resources if not one senator rather than two Bushes, "the great" Ronald Reagan and that fatso Clinton.

But I digress, autumn always put me in a reflective pose, the long weekend has hints of summer but most certainly autumn, the days refuse to make up their minds.

Recently I received the Patagonia fall "alpine" catalog, I was relieved to see that despite nearly 10% plus national unemployment and knowing that over one million children in this country will return to school this autumn effectively homeless, to see that certain well-heeled yuppie white people are still out there impeccably attired enjoying any number of luxury vacations climbing and skiing, their perfect white teeth grimacing for the camera. Supposedly I am to "believe" in these activities of these folks, even donate to support them, hmmm...