"...and the dream shall never die!" -- E. M. Kennedy

The TV was full of tributes to the late Senator Edward Moore “Ted” Kennedy yesterday, and rightly so. A great American has passed. But I have my own memory of Ted Kennedy, and I’ll share it here.

First, the context: I used to be a political conservative, and this story happened several years before I became a flaming liberal. I was a single mother with a teen-age son when I dreamed—

I met Mr. Right! (every woman’s dream). As happens in dreams, I never saw his face, but he was always next to me. He was wealthy (hey! it’s a dream!) and bought me a gorgeous ring, flew me back east where his family was; we courted, and eventually married. The wedding was High Mass in some huge cathedral, then we flew to someplace warm and tropical for our honeymoon. Everything was perfect—but I still hadn’t seen his face. In the morning, I rolled over and gazed into the face of my beloved husband and it was, of course, none other than Ted Kennedy. I would like to say I woke at this point, but I didn’t just wake up, I woke sitting in bed laughing hysterically.

And so, I have extra special memories of Ted. And I will, truly, miss him.

My Gratefuls:

1. Medicare

2. Minimum wage

3. Living in the age of television

4. COBRA

5. Ted Kennedy

My Undying Dream:

That we will all come to the realization that all of our ancestors walked out of Africa and stop this color prejudice; that we will learn to find interest instead of fear and hate in people who speak differently, worship differently, look different from ourselves—think of the new recipes we could get, the new fashion ideas, and most importantly, the new Friends we could have.

My Wonderment:

That a man who buried his three older brothers, all killed while serving our country, could go on and face the fear that surely was there, and serve our country too. While I didn’t agree with everything Ted Kennedy did, I admire him greatly for facing his fears, for facing his shortcomings, and growing into one of the Great American Heroes of our day.

Sunset in the Horse Heaven Hills, Kennewick, WA

Dune Grass, Coquille Lighthouse, OR

Harvest Moon, Bastendorf State Park, OR