An American Icon

I was very sad to hear of Sen. Edward Kennedy's malignant brain tumor. Growing up in Massachusetts, I was fascinated by the entire Kennedy clan from the story of Camelot to all the tragedy the family has endured. As an intern at WBZ-TV in Boston I recall seeing the news reel on the shelf that was created honoring Rose Kennedy to be played the day of her death (she was 100 when I was in Boston and would die four years later in 1995). As cub reporters Eric and I met Ted Kennedy.

Here is Eric interviewing him back in the early 1990's.

Here is a picture of Eric and me with our friends, John & Sean, on a boat chartered by The Kennedy's after a "Media Lobster Bake" at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport.

On an idyllic New England summer day we were greeted on the front lawn by several members of the Kennedy family (from Senator Kennedy to Eunice Kennedy Shriver to Joseph Kennedy II). The four of us spent the afternoon sipping cocktails and dining on little neck clams, chowder, and lobster. We toured the compound that day and will forever remember seeing the Kennedy's overnight bags in the summer cottages, smelling antiseptic as we passed the wing where Rose Kennedy resided, and what it felt like to shake hands with so many legendary Americans.