His head was as big as a VW

May 17, 2008

According to a report moments ago on Boston.com, Ted Kennedy is in dire circumstances and is being rushed to a Boston-area hospital. Here’s that link – though I suspect it will change in the next few minutes and hours, so let me know if this link goes awry.

As for my relationship with Ted Kennedy…here’s the quick recap.

I remember meeting Ted Kennedy (and this might be prematurely reminiscent as Kennedy hasn’t been reported dead yet) at a South Shore Chamber of Commerce breakfast about 13 years ago. I had started my writing company in 1992 and the most lucrative work I was able to get in the beginning was resume writing and catalog copywriting for MacConnection.

My other pursuits – writing newspaper articles and features for Community Newspapers and playing softball – didn’t pay that well, so I decided to try a business breakfast.

Ted spoke about community and sharing ideas and the challenges we all face when trying to make a buck. He was well spoken and a magnificent presence, especially up close. When I got his autograph for my grandmother (I still have the autograph, she didn’t want it), I was amazed at the sheer size of his noggin and the veins running through his nose.

You could have fit a pony keg inside his head with room on each side for ice.

If Ted Kennedy doesn’t pull through this latest medical emergency – as I write this he’s on a helicopter to the hospital – then we will have lost a great politician.

Regardless of the jokes I make about his freakishly large pumpkin, he has done a ton of great work for my home state. He was a super liberal, but he also kept common sense in mind when doing his work. And I can’t remember a time when he didn’t respond to the questions of anyone in his presence.

Unlike sports-team managers or Kennedy’s political compatriots, Ted always had the time to speak with the people.

I was one of those people and even though I have voted against him every chance I’ve had, I still will miss the man, his energy, his compassion, and his monstrous skull.

More to come..