November 22, 1963… “the day the music died”

I was 16 years younger than our newly elected President Kennedy and like many of my age group it was like having an older brother in that big white house in DC. We were filled with hope and enthusiasm and we actually believed if we followed his lead we could make the world a better place. When he started the Peace Corp I was fascinated by the concept and the only thing that kept me from joining up was being married with 3 children.

As I write this it is JFK's 100^th birthday and he is being remembered and lauded in many ways. I have my own fond memory and here it is:

In 1952 JFK was running for the US Senate in the state of Massachusetts and his mother Rose was one of his biggest backers. She decided to host a series of teas in and around the Boston area to introduce John, (or “Jack“, as she called him). I was in my Junior year at Boston University studying for a Journalism degree and our class received an invitation to attend one of the teas.

It was considered quite a coup to be invited so I was thrilled. I was not disappointed. Not only were Rose and John there but most of the rest of the female side of the Kennedy clan as well... serving tea and sweets and extolling the virtues of their brother and son John who was more than charismatic as he “played” the room, teacup in hand.

So, here we are, 65 years later and I can't help but wonder if we will ever hear that sweet music again. Playing off key and out of sync seems to be the norm with our current administration.