One one of our weekend trips early in our marriage, Kelly and I were waiting at the Boston airport for our flight back to Raleigh. I happened to look up from my Boston Globe long enough to see an older gentleman in a suit walking with an assistant up to the gate.
My jaw dropped. It was Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy. Before me was a living legend, one of the most powerful politicians in America. This man had seen so much history in his political life (and had so many triumphs and tragedies in his personal life).
I just stared at him because one does not approach a living legend unless invited. I kept a respectful distance as he finished up his conversation with his assistant and then boarded his U.S. Airways flight to Washington. I know Sen. Kennedy was holding up his flight but I still was kicking myself for not asking for his autograph.
Early this morning, Ted Kennedy succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 77.
Should we be as nasty about him as people were about Jesse Helms last year?
Nah, RIP Teddy!