I wore a green T-shirt last week that says “KENNEDY –80” as in 1980… in yellow letters. It’s the oldest thing in my wardrobe. I’ve held on to the shirt through many moves and dresser drawer purges. I guess I knew I’d want to wear it again some day.
The morning when Ted Kennedy was having brain surgery I dug it out and wore it. All day. For good luck. In solidarity, even though shamrock green is not my best color and the letters are kind of lumpy and cracked. But it drew a few knowing nods and smiles. I didn’t have to explain the words or the occasion.

Ted Kennedy was in his 40s when he went up against Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination for the 1980 presidential election. I was in my 30s. I think that I was actually a Carter supporter but back then I was fascinated by everything Kennedy. I still am.

I picked up the T-shirt in 1979 on a trip back east when I was visiting my New England family. My relatives all have those strong Massachusetts accents, although theirs are more Car Talk than Harvard. And about half of them are Republicans, but they, too, have always gobbled up every bit of news about the Kennedys.

Sometimes I refer to him as Teddy, like he’s a big brother. Politically he is.

My brother-in-law worked for Boston newspapers and said the Kennedys were always good news even when it was bad news. Especially when it was bad.

Ted Kennedy has brain cancer. What a shock. I began reading everything I could about it and him, including the many tributes about his political legacy, although some of it seems premature, like they’re practicing writing his obituary.

Sometimes I refer to him as Teddy, like he’s a big brother. Politically he is. He’s been around as long I’ve paid attention to what’s going on in government. And I’ve always liked his politics. He’s been talking about national health care for a long time. And he cares about other things that you want Democrats to care about, like schools and the environment and women.
The role of elder statesman became him, as did that of Kennedy patriarch.

The guy is hardly Mr. Clean. People will never forget the scandal of Chappaquiddick and they shouldn’t because a young woman, Mary Jo Kopechne, died. The details of that tragedy are still murky and Ted Kennedy carries that stain. But he’s always done fine work and taken care of his family.

When I heard he’d had a seizure I assumed it was a stroke. When the doctors quickly said that wasn’t it, I naively, optimistically, wanting things to stay as they are… thought, “Oh good. No stroke.”
Then they said he had a malignant brain tumor. What a stab in the back. The man has done so much for cancer research and his own kids and ex wife have survived cancer. Isn’t that enough cancer for one family?

I realize that I am taking this personally. His time has been my time. Is the Kennedy era, as he lived it and as I lived it, now coming to a close?

There are good people ready to take over, but I want Teddy Kennedy around a little longer. When he went sailing after his diagnosis I thought, “He can’t be that sick or they wouldn’t let him out in the ocean.”
Now he’s made it through open cranial surgery. I’m keeping that T-shirt close by.
For Teddy and me.

Listen to the audio version of “Teddy’s Time” on the podcast page under Another Voice.

Tags: Juicy_Tomatoes, Susan_Swartz, Ted_Kennedy_brain_tumor

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 8:00 pm and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.