At the funeral for Senator Edward Kennedy, his son gave a very moving tribute.He commenced his statement this way:
“My name is Ted Kennedy Jr., a name I share with my son, a name I share with my father. Although it hasn't been easy at times to live with this name, I've never been more proud of it than I am today.”
He shared this story:
During the summer months when I was growing up, my father would arrive late in the afternoon from Washington on Fridays and as soon as he got to Cape Cod, he would want to go straight out and practice sailing maneuvers . . . in anticipation of that weekend's races.
And we'd be out late, and the sun would be setting, and family dinner would be getting cold, and we’d still be out there practicing our jibes and spinnaker sets long after everyone else had gone ashore.
Well one night, not another boat in sight on the summer sea, I asked him, "Why are we always the last ones on the water?" Teddy, he said, "Well, you see, most of the other sailors we race against are smarter and more talented than we are. But the reason why we are going to win is that we are going to work harder than them and we will be better prepared."
And he just wasn't talking about boating. My father admired perseverance. My father believed that to do a job effectively required a tremendous amount of time and effort.
Link
Ted Kennedy Jr Remembers His Father, Full Script, Boston.Com, 29 August 2009.
Related Ted Kennedy Stories
Edward Kennedy Turns Bumbling into a Blessing, SFS, 5 September 2009.
Ted Kennedy: We Carry On, SFS, 1 September 2009.
Ted Kennedy Legislating with Principle, Mutuality and the Luck of the Irish, SFS, 1 September 2009.
Ted Kennedy Remembered Most for His Giving Heart, SFS, 1 September 2009.
Text of Obama’s Eulogy at Kennedy’s Funeral Mass, Associated Press, 30 August 2009.
On Related Sites
Stop Off for the Finest Dates in All of Arabia on Your Way to Fujairah, Experiencing the Emirates, 6 September 2009.
Coming Second or Losing in the America’s Cup, America’s Cup in the UAE, 4 September 2009.
Dr Geoff Pound
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Image: Edward Kennedy guides a sailboat up to a pier in Hyannisport, Mass., while sailing with his wife Vicky off the coast of Hyannisport.