Where Do You Know Senator Kennedy From?

Joe says:

I love living in Washington, DC.  Where else can you take your kid to his youth basketball playoff game played in a small, local boys and girls club gym on a Saturday afternoon in late winter and see Ted Kennedy?

We were standing in the gym doorway, my younger son and I, waiting for his game to begin, watching the finish of a younger division championship game, when I saw the Senator.  Truth be told it's really not unusual to run into any Senator, but we see Senator Kennedy out and about quite often.  At the movies, or picking up pizza, or getting Vietnamese food, anyplace around the neighborhood. 

He and I share a bit in common.  Most noticeably we share very large Irish heads.  He sat in front of us while we were watching Master and Commander in a theater back in 2003 and we had to move across the aisle because his head was so distractingly large and Kennedy-esque.  That's the reason why I grab the last row at picture shows.  Who wants a pumpkin head blocking their view when they've paid 10 bucks to see the screen?

I met him a few times in professional life when I was working on health care legislation and frequently met with his Senate staff, but he wouldn't know me.  I usually just nod and smile and say hi.  He usually does an obvious double-take when he sees me, though.  Do I remind him of a Kennedy?  My initials are in fact JFK.

It's probably just the similarly sized head.

But that's not the story I want to tell, running into Senator Kennedy.  I want to tell you about how embarrassingly stupid I can be, and it relates to Senator Kennedy.

My son has a teammate that he has known since they both were five years old.  They know each other not from school but through sports teams, and his family lives nearby.  The boys played baseball together for a couple of years on a team that I coached.  And they have played against each other in soccer games since then.  His parents are really nice and we've gotten to know them and they've helped us out by giving rides to games and practices when we've had schedule conflicts.  It was a real pleasure to connect back up with them this year when our boys joined the same basketball team, a kind of ad hoc, strung together team of players who lost all of their games this season against teams of boys who have been playing together for years.

Not only are the boy's parents truly devoted to sports, the boy's grandfather has always been there cheering his grandson on. Two grandsons, in fact.  They also have an older boy, just like us.  The grandfather and I have chatted with each other for years, and he's just the kindest and most incredibly interested gentleman you'd want to meet.  He is always there to catch the games, often arriving early, whether it's early morning soccer or basketball.  A tall man in his '80s, you can tell he loves sports and still enjoys golfing.  It's really remarkable and a total joy to see somebody who is so devoted to his grandkids' lives.  We often sat together this past basketball season, as we have in the past, and talked about, well, anything going on with our guys.  He takes a special interest in my boy's baseball playing, which he knows is really our singular sports focus.

I noticed that the grandfather was chatting with Senator Kennedy between games, and they looked like they knew each other well.  So I went over and said these dumb words to the man that I have known and chatted with at ball games for the last seven years:

"So where do you know Senator Kennedy from?"

And he answered:

"We served in the Senate together."

Gulp.

I consider myself a student of American politics, but I had no idea that the man I've been chatting with at games for years was a former U.S. Senator.  I felt like a rube who just violated some cardinal rule of living in Washington.

That's okay, he said.  It was a long time ago.  His daughter-in-law said that's okay.  Maine isn't one of the more prominent states.

But that's the last time I'm going to ask somebody how they know so and so.  From now on I'm just going to assume that everybody I meet might've been a Senator.

Come to think of it, that's another thing I love about living in Washington, DC.

Comments

[Cathy]

Well, Joe, you could have offset the social snafu by telling former Senator Hathaway your Google boning story. No, wait, then, he might think there was something wrong with you... :-)

[Mountain Mama]

I think you're being too hard on yourself. It sounds like you probably don't discuss politics much with the Senator and it was 30 years ago.

Take a deep breath. It's OK. :-)

[Joe]

I guess you are right, MM (not you, Cathy with your infernal boning reminders!) I did feel foolish though because I violated a couple of DC rules, when I think about it. One rule is noticing Senators. Don't notice them. They are just people, too. (Though I've warned my sons to keep their eyes open at the Larry Craig restroom at Union Station.) Senators shouldn't be gawked at, like celebrities. And here I am counting my Kennedy sightings!

The other rule is not noticing Senators. Gotta notice 'em. That might be an even worse violation than the first rule.

In the end, I've recognized that it's simply cool that I just know the guy as a special grandpa who makes time to watch his grandsons play ball. I hope that's me someday!

[Cathy]

Seriously, Joe, I agree with MM and you... I am sure he gets lack of recognition every day. I think he was extremely gracious in his response to you... that, to me, reinforces your very warm and appreciative sense and experiences of him. He sounds like a wonderful man, and I am sure he appreciated your honesty (why pretend?) and that you treat him as nicely as you do and weren't doing it because he was a senator ("celebrity"). You both get kudos for being decent human beings. :-)

[Joe]

Thanks, Cathy. That's really nice of you to say. I do feel like a decent human being.

And then I climb those narrow stairs and a thought springs into my head and suddenly I realize I am a filthy human being!

[Cathy]

Well, Joe, it's really Google that put that filthy stair-climbing thought in your head. Blame Google. You're still good...how bad could you be? You're best ball-game friends with a former senator! :-)

[Cathy]

P.S. to my last comment: I was just struck with a thought... Please don't say that there never was a Google question and that you blamed Google for the "boned" comment because you were too embarrassed to admit it was really your thought/question. heehee :-)