Updated 6/4/99

Meet the Kennedys


Many visitors to this site, or members of my Mailing List,
have somehow or another met, talked to, corresponded with,
or had something autographed by a Kennedy family member.
This family truly seems to be friendly, down-to-earth, and kind-hearted.
This page is to tell stories, and share photographs.

Pictures are the most welcome, because they are the best proof that your story is for real.
I will NOT include your story if you do not at least give a valid email address.


Kelly went to the John F. Kennedy Profiles of Courage Award Ceremony. Even though she didn't have the opportunity to engage in a conversation, Kelly did take some pictures to share with us. She writes:
"We headed down to the reception right after taking the pictures of Max (he was engaged in a conversation with several people around him including Sen. Feingold). At the time I assumed they were heading down there also, but there must have been a private gathering in another room."



Heather meets Bobby Jr., Kathleen, Joe and
President Clinton. Hey, how'd he get in here?... he's not a Kennedy!!!

Read the story behind the pictures HERE


Bobby Jr. signed his book for

A postcard that I received from Bobby Jr.

This was in reply to a letter I sent Bobby, thanking him for signing my Riverkeepers
book, and to tell him that I hope to have him out to my work as a guest speaker someday soon.


Max's autograph from my copy of his book



Monica was an intern in Ted's Senate office and was on the Senate softball team the "Ted Sox".
Here is a picture of the team (Monica is the second one from the left in the front row),
sorry the picture isn't real clear:


Here is a memorial card with an picture of Michael (on the front), and an Irish poem that Joe read as part of his eulogy (on the back). Joe sent this to Monica after she wrote him with her sympathies:



kstrauss@pathcom.com has this story to share:

I just wanted to let you know that I was brousing through the web site as I follow the Kennedy's, particulary after meeting Ted Kennedy when I was on vacation in Hyannis Port a few years ago. We met him while walking the beach and him and his wife and another couple were just coming off his boat. We asked if we could take his picture and he invited us up on the pier and had his friend take the picture of me and my husband and him and his wife Vicki.

They were incredibly friendly and he recommended a place for dinner. I was just thrilled. After meeting him, we met a neighbor of his who is quite a famous artist in the area. He invited us up to his studio and gave me a signed card of a painting that he had done of Hyannis Port and Ted Kennedy's boat the Maya.



CapeCodGirl has this story to share:

Many summers while growing up, I spent much of the time in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. While I was there I saw Kennedys everywhere. It amazed me and still does how close this family is. On any given day you'd see the cousins together. It seemed that they all had formed friendships within their own family. It was quite a sight. They played together, laughed together, competed with each other like you wouldn't believe, but first and foremost, they're family. That's what I think holds the Kennedys together in times of tragedies. Their sense of family and faith is tremendous. It was a priviledge for me to see that. they set an example for me on what family really is. My family is close but they are as close as you can get ! The closeness is almost unbelieveable. It's an amazing thing to see. The Kennedys (and Shrivers, Smiths, and Lawfords) show something that is all too rare these days. They have their ups and downs like all of us. They are scrutinized far more than the rest of us though. That is unfortunate because their good far outweighs any bad they have done.

If you were residents, they were really especially nice to you. I wouldn't blame them for not wanting the media there (which they were at every opportunity !). I've met many Kennedys and each is different but has that same dedication to their family. The ones I met and knew were: Max, Doug, Rory, and Patrick. Well first of all, Max and his brother Chris were virtually inseperable. They were very close. The same with Doug and Rory. Max was allergic to horses, so he didn't ride. Rory was quite an equestrian, much like her mother. Patrick was small but he had a strong personality and had the ability to make everybody laugh. Max seemed to be very sure about himself in front of adults. He knew how to talk to them and felt at ease doing so. They all were very nice. This group seemed far less troubled than the others, because they were so young during the turbulent times of their family.

Mrs. Rose Kennedy was the dominating matriarch. She was a grandmother, yet she didn't put up with anything. I remember she used to ask her grandchildren to take their bikes and move them off the lawn and into the garage because she didn't want them to get ruined in the rain. She seemed like a very wise woman. Her voice had a soothing touch to it, something that put you to ease. They used to have a clambake for her birthday every year, it was a big event. Senator Ted Kennedy was very involved with the children. He was very committed to the relationship he had with them. I remember when Chris Kennedy ran his sailboat-rental business when he was 16. It was very successful. The business was staffed by his friends-including my brother. I wonder what the pay was ?!

Now Hyannis Port still fills with Kennedys. The family is now bigger and continuing to grow! July 4th seems to be the gathering time. Once in a while you might see a game of touch-football. I think Hyannis Port is a sort of sanctuary for them. A place to get away from everything. Unfortunately, the media is not far behind. I once remember seeing a certain Kennedy which I won't name) stick a potato in the exhaust pipe of someone's automobile. It made a BLASTING sound. It was hilarious !!!! The driver must have been scared to death. Hey, you can't say the kennedys have a great sense of humor ! They know how to play a joke !

The Kennedys may be one of the most fascinating families in history, but when you get right down to it, they're just like the rest of us.

An encounter that Michele had:

I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in April. She was the guest speaker at a club that I am a member of in Washington, D.C. -- the American Newswomen's Club. If you closed your eyes and listened to Kathleen you could visualize her father. When you watched her you could see much of her father in her face. It was actually chilling the first time I heard her speak. She is a wonderful, sweet person who is doing so much good for the people of Maryland. I corresponded with her after the event and hope to attend another of her speaking engagements. Her views on this country are fascinating.



A story from scocan@ibm.net

I saw that Max was having a book discussion in Washington DC so like a normal Kennedy fan I bought myself a train ticket and went. Well I got there at 5:30 cause I thought I might not have been able to get in but there was no problem I just walked in went up stairs and set down in the second row right in front of him. C-SPAN had the first few seats but no one was in front of me. So he came in and he looked great. He was so funny and smart. There were about 30 people there. About the topic, he would read a quote from the book and then talk about it. He spoke about when he worked for the DA and his childhood and how the world would be different it his dad was still alive. He spoke for almost an hour, then a 1/2 hour for questions. When the floor was open to questions and I asked the last one but I don't remember what I said because I was so excited. Then I got my book signed and I asked him for a picture and he says would you like to be in it and of course I said yes. So I go behind the table and he goes you can get a chair or just bend down so I just bent down and he took my camera and gave it to some guy and he pulled me over and we took the pic. Later that night I went to the House of Representatives and there was Joe, to get a better look of him I moved over into the area for Congressman's family only but they didn't seem to mind. I started to look around and there is Pat walking around. Boy, they are total oppisites. Joe sat talking with friends while Pat sat there really paying attention. Then he got up to make a phone call and he was looking up and we made eye contact and he smiled at me. I stayed about and hour cause I wanted to get a picture of Joe but they had to stay till 2 A.M. so I left.

Then yesterday I was eating in the Capital and I asked the waitress if she knew what building Joe Kennedys office was in and she called Ted Kennedys office to find out. She found out where it was and then she says ya know Teds a really nice guy and asked if I would like to meet him. I go sure so say she calls again and tells me where to go. Now I'm on an underground train with like 5 Senators I was so nervous my hands were cold as ice. I go up to his office and there are pics og the family every where, books about them all over the place it was great. Well as it turns out he wasn't there but I was great. Then I went over to Joe's office so I could get House passes from him because I thought they would be worth something when he leaves Congress this year. He also had pics of his family all over, I asked if I could meet him but he was in a meeting and I couldn't wait cause I would have missed my train home.

A story from Lauretta:

I met Bobby Jr. this past April 1998. He gave a lecture on Riverkeepers at Illinois Wesleyan downstate. I have a friend who goes there so I went to see him and stayed with her. The lecture was great and I swiped a poster with his picture on it and asked him to autograph it for me, which he did. There were about 900 people around all trying to talk to him so we didn't say much, but then as we were leaving the hall, my friend and I happened to be walking down this hall with no one else but him and some kid who I guess was his guide or something. Anyway, we felt so stupid and we kind of lagged behind so he wouldn't think we were some crazy stalkers (it really was unintentional!) but he spotted us as he was walking out the door so he waited for us and held the door for us. He noticed that my friend had a camera and asked if we wanted to take some pictures, of course we did! So then we talked for about 5 minutes or so, I told him how much I liked his speech and admired his father and his whole family. He said that was always so nice to hear from young people. He was just really nice. He wasn't one of my favorite Kennedys before-- I mean he is a Kennedy so I did like him, just never thought much about him. But after that day he is one of my favorites for sure. He seemed so down to earth which I think is amazing, and he is certainly quite bright. Very impressive!



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