Posted on 11/22/2020 7:33:43 AM PST by Kaslin
The election fraud concerns are heating up. Whether you're on the Left or the Right, every now and then, it's useful to step back and acknowledge that anyone who is running for public office, as well as anybody who is merely a public figure, has a personal side, largely unknown by the masses.
Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Amy Coney Barrett, and untold numbers of individuals serving in the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives, governorships, state legislatures, or local posts, retire for bed each evening as you do, arise the next morning, and along with dozens of personal matters, make wardrobe choices, scheduling decisions, and so forth.
The Host with the Most
In October 1988, I was invited by a friend to attend a Democratic fundraising reception for a congressional candidate, running in Northern Virginia. I had voted for President Reagan in 1984 and was certain to vote for George H. W. Bush in November.
The reception was to be held at the home of Ethel Kennedy, now a widow for 20 years, in McLean, VA. Ever open to new experiences, I was eager to attend, although skeptical that the reception would actually be held within the walls of Mrs. Kennedy's home. I felt certain it would be held in the backyard, or in a special tent on grounds that were meticulously groomed for the event.
To my surprise, the event was held in her home and the hundreds of people who attended apparently were free to roam about the first floor without restriction. I found this to be totally amazing. Here was her home, called "Hickory Hill," that contained dozens of artifacts which current and future generations would clamor to see if they could.
History and Pop Culture on Display
Every room contained personal photos of Bobby Kennedy, Jack Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, Ted Kennedy and the entire clan, as well as awards, citations, plaques, and personal mementos. Guests could have pocketed their choice of the smaller mementos at any time. Presumably none did. More astounding to me, Mrs. Kennedy seemed completely unconcerned about the possibility.
As I strode about the grounds, I made my way down to the pool house. Between a couch and a chair, on a phone stand, along with the phone, was a roster of phone numbers, typed and inserted in a plastic sleeve. I looked at the list. Ted Kennedy's congressional phone number and his private number in Hyannis were listed. Jackie Kennedy's personal phone number in New York was listed.
Other family members, celebrities' and luminaries' personal phone numbers were listed. The paparazzi or any reporter could have cashed in simply by copying the numbers on the list and selling them to the tabloids.
This pool house, this back yard, this house, on a typical street in McLean, VA had no fences, no guard dogs, none of what I would have expected the widow of a historical figure – a millionairess – to have.
A Public Person
Ethel Kennedy was, you see, a public person, circa 1988. I thought about all the time and energy that I, and most people I know, spend to safeguard our privacy, to ensure no one is looking over our shoulder when we're doing something as simple as reading a newspaper on an airplane. It seemed inconceivable that someone such as Ethel Kennedy could be so open and people-oriented, and not need the barriers and protectors that most of us believe we need.
As the affair ended, I marveled when Ethel Kennedy stood at her front door and bade all guests a fond farewell. She shook my hand and thanked me for coming as if I had been one of the Democratic Party's most staunch supporters and honored guests. After the encounter, I realized that one of the greatest secrets to being a public person might be to occasionally let down one's guard.
Obviously, much has changed since that time, and politicians running for office, as well as public people in general, have to be on alert. One never knows what could happen, in an instant. Still, you have to marvel at the ability of those who brave the public arena and put themselves out there with the masses, with the supporters, with the potential nutcases, and with all that's going on.
It seems doubtful as a society that we will ever return to a time when public figures can move about relatively freely among us, but I sure hope that one day that is the case.
Went into a Kennedy house?
Did he get shots afterwards?
I know nothing about Ethel.
Don’t know if she was a good or bad person or in the middle..
I guess it was nice to open her real home to everyone
Ethel Kennedy wasn’t a “public person” any more than your local fast food joint invites you in the front door because they want you to feel right at home.
The Kennedy family was a business venture, filled from top to bottom with useless people who got into politics because it was more lucrative than selling cars at some faded used car lot on the outskirts of Boston.
Ethel Kennedy didn’t open her home to those visitors to be accommodating. She simply saw all those people as paying customers.
It’s an interesting idea. It humanizes people who are mostly just controlled images to regular people. The problem today is that most politicians and celebrities are so attached to their images that, even if they opened up, who knows if we would be seeing the real thing.
I was reading about Chuck Connors last night and the time he met Leonid Brezhnev. “The Rifleman” was Brezhnev’s favorite TV show and he was thrilled to meet “Lucan McCain.” Somehow I just never pictured Brezhnev sitting down of an evening and watching TV, just as I do. I don’t want to get any warm and fuzzy feelings about him from that, though.
There’s a story that ‘Game of Thrones’ is wildly popular among Chinese Communist leadership.
People used to be able to walk into the White House. Legally.
from link:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2014/09/23/people-used-to-be-able-to-walk-into-the-white-house-legally/
...once upon a time it was possible for just about anyone to stroll into the president’s home during an open house and partake in the free-flowing booze. Like that time people nibbled on a 1,400 pound block of cheese and ground the crumbs into the upholstery. Seriously.
When I was young people didn’t lock their doors at night - and kids in HS ‘gun clubs’ kept their guns in school lockers with their books...
I haven’t seen that, but my son is a big fan. I’ll have to ask him about it.
When I was a kid in the early 50s, we didn't have any keys for our house in a fairly large city. We sold it in 1963 and had to have a locksmith come in to make us keys so we could give them to the new owners.
Right about then, the neighborhood went to hell.
She probably drank the antifreeze from his car.
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