Remembering Ted

Remembering Ted Kennedy. As a high school kid I saw him give a campaign speech for his brother Robert. I'll never forget it. His gag line was that Bobby always reminded him to remember who the candidate was. He was quite caught up in the ideas so he probably forgot and thought he was running himself. As a kid, not yet able to vote, I had to choose between Bobby and Gene McCarthy. The young, slim, dark haired Ted helped sway me toward Bobby.

Story qualifies as childhood tragedy. I got a little tired of the violence of hate in our society that year. Shaped my whole future. Don't like seeing these guys showing up at Democratic town halls or presidential speeches with firearms on display. If I had any guts, I'd show up at the next local Republican brandishing my Remington 30.06 to see if they really believe what they say about gun rights.