Seven Villages, Janet Joakim

I was up dealing with the dogs at 1:30 AM and turned the TV on. The late night programming was interrupted with the news that Senator Edward M Kennedy died.

 I was surprised at how affected I was by this announcement. I woke my husband who came into the living room and we both watched some of the prepared pieces about Ted Kennedy’s history.

 For many of us, regardless of political party, this is personal. Ted Kennedy was our own local connection to Washington. We live in town he called his home. His family celebrations and tragedies came home to Hyannisport, miles from where we sleep. And, that is where he died.

 As someone involved in local politics, I have lost count of the times I have been in the Senator’s presence, be it intimate settings or sitting with others on stage with him.

 He was never unapproachable, and always listened. I have known other politicians who were not as willing to engage in conversation with anyone in any place at any time.  As a town councilor, I found that there was never been a time that he didn’t respond when we called.

 My husband’s family had a restaurant in town for 60 years that was opened b their family patriarch, his grandfather John Joakim, a Greek immigrant. Teddy knew the restaurant, the family, and remembered my husband’s grandfather. This personal connection was always important to us, as my husband’s grandfather was such a significant influence in our lives, a wonderful man with a positive perspective on life, who believed in the importance of community and was so proud to be a US citizen. 

 Teddy was the last of the three brothers whose effect on politics changed the course of our nation in so many ways. 

 He suffered through difficult times, some of them of his own making. He lived through tragedies and survived scandals. His legislative legacy should never be overlooked, and his ability to work with his foes needs to be replicated now more than ever. His death is an immense loss for our government and this country.

 Too many politicians these days are padded by their own personal wealth and supported by those whose mission is to protect their own wealth.

 The Kennedy’s have shown us a different course.

 They are a family with wealth and power, yet anyone who looks closely at how they lived their lives sees a family guided by empathy and an unending mission to give back.

 The Kennedy family has always represented the true meaning of public service, setting an example that I pray will continue: those who are lucky to have must help provide for and protect those who have not.

 People who have visited the Kennedy or Shriver homes in Hyannisport will tell you that these are not the ostentatious grand homes of the rich, but homes of people who had means, but enjoyed simplicity. Money was not to be flaunted. Wealth came with the responsibility. Care for those who are less fortunate. Give to the causes that have meaning to you. Volunteer your time in service to others. Consider public service.

 It was summed up when Maria Shiver quoted her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver two weeks ago, “What have you done today to better the world?”

 Does Teddy’s death leave a legacy of empathy or a loss of empathy?

 My favorite anecdote from today’s news coverage:

At his nephew’s funeral, Kennedy said, “We dared to think, in that other Irish phrase, that this John Kennedy would live to comb gray hair… But like his father, he had every gift but length of years.”

 Ted Kennedy, unlike his brothers and his nephew, lived to comb gray hair, and for that we are grateful.

 He has sailed his boat into the sunset and is at peace. 

 Now it’s up to all of us to live by his example, to move from the sidelines and get involved.

 What have YOU done today to better the world?