Ted Kennedy

Having just heard the news that Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, I remembered a conversation I had with him on an airplane years ago. I had spent the weekend at his home in Hyannis and we were both headed for New York. I remember the turbulence was fierce and given I'm a nervous flyer, I guess I looked it. Sen. Kennedy kidded me a bit and seemed to be enjoying my discomfort. At that point I asked him how he could be so relaxed since he broke his back in a plane crash in 1964. He was very philosophical and said when your time is up, it's up. I was hardly reassured. As we hit another violent air pocket, Teddy nudged me and said "I want you to know what the NY Times will have as a headline tomorrow if this plane goes down. It will say last Kennedy brother and 110 others die in fiery plane crash." Then he laughed and so did I. I suspect we'll see some more humor and grace under pressure in the coming months.