Juicy Kennedy Gossip From An Insider

They say that no man is a hero to his valet.

I've been fascinated with the Kennedys since I can remember. Caroline Kennedy is a few years older that I am, but I remember her from my childhood. How jealous I was of Caroline! She had a PONY. His name was Macaroni. Did you know that he was allowed to roam the grounds of the White House during the week?

Joseph Patrick Kennedy and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald married in 1914 and produced 9 children together.
1. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Never married. Died in WWII.
2. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (Jack) Married Jacqueline Bouvier. Children: Caroline and John F. Kennedy, Jr. (d. 1999 in airline crash during the week we were in China adopting our first daughter Madeleine) Killed in 1963 in Dallas, Texas, while President.
3. Rosemary Kennedy. Slightly mentally challenged-there are those who say she might just have been dyslexic--Highly functioning, working as a nanny/camp counselor, living with the family, was even presented at court to the Queen Mary (Queen Elizabeth's mother) until her father ordered a lobotomy without even consulting his wife. From that moment on, she was completely disabled, back to the mentality of very small child. Died a few years ago.
4. Kathleen Kennedy Cavendish. Shocked her mother by marrying a Protestant Englishman who sadly died only 4 months after their marriage. Killed in airplane crash, 1948.
5. Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Maria Shriver's mother. Married Sargent Shriver, who recently died from Alzheimer's disease. Eunice died a few years ago.
6. Patricia Kennedy Lawford. Divorced from actor Patrick Lawford, a member of the famous "Rat Pack" (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop). Died a few years ago.
7. Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy (Bobby). Married Ethel Skakel, fathered 11 children. Killed in 1968 while Ethel was pregnant with their 11th child, during a presidental run.
8. Jean Kennedy Smith. Only surviving Kennedy child. Widow of Steve Smith. Adopted 2 daughters from Vietnam.
9. Edward Moore (Teddy) Kennedy. Served in US Senate for 40 years. First marriage to Joan Bennett; three children. Divorced and remarried Victoria Reggie. Died last year from brain tumor. Presidential aspirations cut short by Chappaquiddick incident. He drove off a bridge and climbed out while his female companion Mary Jo Kopechne drowned. Father to three children.

We all know what happened to JFK. I remember telling Daddy that I had thought about it carefully and decided that I would rather have HIM than a pony and fame. I know he was very touched. Snort.



I have a friend, "Mary", who learned a lot about the Kennedys. She saw them naked. (I understand that with certain Kennedys this club could fill a football field). She was a nurse in Boston and cared for many of the Kennedys.



We were talking about women waiting years to get revenge on chronic womanizers and she said this:

Rose Kennedy went and played 8 holes of golf when Joe had his stroke. Didn't call the MD until much later. May well have prevented his extended strokes post original stroke. But that was revenge, not ignorance.

Joe Kennedy had a debilitating stroke on December 19, 1961.

Holy smokes!!!

I read Rose Kennedy's autobiography Times To Remember.

Ann Gargan, one of Joe's nieces, played golf with him that morning. Ann wrote:

On the morning of December 19, 1961, we were on the move again. We generally played golf about 8:30 but Jack was down in Palm Beach and was leaving for Washington in the morning..We dropped him off and went directly to the Palm Beach Country Club to play nine holes. We played the back nine. We finished the sixteenth, and Joe said he felt rather faint. His balance was all off...(they went home) I persuaded him to rest...He fell fast asleep, then awoke about five minutes later, coughing and unable to to speak, or to move on the right side....

Rose wrote:

That morning I had been at Mass. Then I had a few errands to do so I was home a bit later...Perhaps it was around eleven thirty that I arrived at the house. Ann came to me and, looking rather worried but not too worried (ed note: DUH?) told me that Uncle Joe was not feeling well and she had managed to get him to take a nap.

None of it registered much on me at the time. After all, everyone feels giddy or weak from time to time, and if there is someplace to lie down, in that case one sensibly lies downs, rests, naps, waits for Nature to take the healing course it usually does. It barely occurred to me there could be anything seriously wrong with him. True enough he was seventy three......And so when Anne told me....I went on with my usual schedule at the time of the day.

So I pressed my friend for more. She revealed that Rose was very standoffish, regal, snobbish, and unfriendly. She insisted on bringing her own silk sheets when she was hospitalized and demanded that the nurses change the sheets twice daily. Mary writes:

It gave us great delight to use Rose's silk sheets for the clinic patients when she wasn't there!!

Heh.

What about Joan, long suffering alcoholic and Ted Kennedy's first wife?

Joan was the sweetest person you would ever want to meet. She would play the piano in the rehab unit and was nice to everyone, regardless of status. I felt so sorry for her, we had to withhold notice of her last baby's birth, as Teddy was off skiing with "Susie Chapstick." She didn't belong in that family, she was far too classy, but she tried. To Ted's credit, he included her in every family holiday, even after he had remarried, family was important to all the Kennedys.

Okay, what about Ethel and Bobby?

Ethel adored Bobby, even more than her kids, when he died, she went to hell in a handbasket. No interest in life at all. Really Sad. She was not pleasant when her sons were jeep riding down at the Cape and paralyzed that girl that was with them. They were all at the hospital, and most were friendly, but Ethel was like Rose in that respect, we were there to wait on them, and we were to be invisible. The older teens were pretty much rich kids, spoiled, etc, Ethel's and Pat's especially.

The boys were seriously tamped down, cops, security, etc. However, Ethel's boys were not polite. Nor was she, at least at the hospital. At least to those of us peons in the ER. I really think Jean, Jackie and Eunice raised the only decent kids, mainly because they kept them from the Kennedys more than the rest of the kids.

But wait! Not only were some of the kids rude and spoiled, but a young lady has spent her entire adult life paralyzed because of a Kennedy auto accident. Her name is Pam Kelley. Please say a prayer or send her good thoughts.

Here's a story about Pam today: http://fatboy.cc/Pam Kelley.htm

Now Mary had some interesting things to say about Joe Kennedy, patriarch:

My father was a fisherman and clammer back in the 30's, 40's and 50's, Joe had a summer house in Cohasset, south of Boston, before they had the house in Hyannis Port (where I went to nursing school). My father and uncle were out clamming and Joe happened by, and was so interested in what they were doing, they didn't realize WHO he was, as he was really an everyday guy, never used his power, back then and interested in everything.

He didn't come from money and power like Rose. It was a long time before my father found out who he was. I can remember his saying, "The boys will have to go a long way to be like the old man." Joe never went to the Catholic hospitals in Boston, he went to NE Baptist, he was not as religious as Rose, who, frankly, was a bit of a fanatic.

And he was adored at the hospital, nurses walked out with their pockets full of tips (totally against rules, but you didn't say NO to Joe Kennedy) he wanted to talk to everyone, no matter what they did, always very interested in everyone. Jack and Bobby were like that, not Joe jr, he was more like Rose. History would have been very different if he hadn't been killed in the war, and he became president. I don't see how he could have run as a democrat though, with his leanings toward Marxism, etc. He was Joe's pride and joy, and his death changed him drastically. As did Kathleen's, and what he did to Rosemary. The younger ones didn't get the best of him after that, he wasn't the same person.

Thank you, Mary, for sharing your stories with us.

Every Teacher's Nightmare

Dear Students,

As the final grades go into the computer, we will have someone just like the kid in this video to deal with. It never fails.

Teachers have heard it all before. We know about your six dead relatives, your ex-boyfriend's sister in law's funeral, your devastating illness, your tire/engine exploding, the person who drives you exploding.

We know you are special and deserve extra time to turn in an assignment that the rest of the class turned in 6 weeks ago.

We know that such calamaties have befallen you that we weep for you at night, our tears slowly sliding down the beer can you forced us to drink in order to maintain our sanity.

We know that your parents/girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife/employer/kids will KEEEL you if you don't pass the class.

We know you'll lose your scholarship if we don't "give" you a B.

Listen up!

Although you may find this difficult since it will be the first time for many of your who stared into space as if awaiting the aliens spaceship to arrive or surreptitiously texted under your desk when you thought we couldn't see you, it will get easier with practice.

The requirements for passing the class were carefully explained to you, as carefully as they were explained to me when I was 8 years old. Yes, in my day. we were passed out stone tablets on the first day of class that we were expected...

Gasp.

READ ON OUR OWN TIME. I know!!! I know!!!! It's horrifying to contemplate.

We were supposed to sit quietly and take notes from the lectures, and if we missed a class, we didn't email the instructor to ask for a copy of his notes. We asked our friends for a copy.

We can guess your final grade after the first day in class with about 90% accuracy just by looking at the expression on your face and whether or not your eyes are spinning like a pinwheel or fixed upon us eagerly awaiting our every word.

But see, here's what we did. We know that you can "take it up the ladder" and sometimes win. This is one reason why we wish that we did not have to teach students like you. We tried to cover ourselves by grading papers in 3 hours that you took 3 weeks to work on so you can't claim you didn't get feedback. We created rubrics to give you feedback. We carefully documented notes to you encouraging you to come in for tutoring at the lab. We're ready for you.

Of course, we know that saying no will come back to bite us. It is so much easier to just say yes to everything you want.

This is extremely worrisome if we know we will see you again for classes for the next couple of years since you're majoring in our subject and that you can do untold damage to us on those ridiculous Customer Service evaluation quizzes.

Just understand this...we know you. We know what kind of a employee you will make.

If we are forced to say yes to unfair and burdensome requests, we will remember when employers want an evaluation.

If we can get away with it, we are not going to "give" you a grade, we're going to type in the grade YOU EARNED.

If we can't, and are forced to give you a makeup test or a special consideration know this....

Your employer won't. And when you look at your diploma on the wall one day, you will be ashamed of yourself knowing that you didn't REALLY earn it fairly.

Up to you.

Dear Karma, I Don't Think I Like You Anymore

DEAR KARMA

Lorrie sings:

Dear Karma,
I don't think I like you any more
How come bad people win
Good people suffer from their sin
Dear Karma,
I don't think I like you
anymore.

Karma sings:

Dear Lorrie,
I think that you better
Chill out
Things don't always go your way
Even if you pray and pray
That's life babe
And someday
I'll come through

Lorrie sings:

Dear Karma,
I don't like to wait oh..so long,
These people done me wrong,
That's why I wrote this song
Dear Karma,
Can't you hurry up?

Karma sings:

Dear Lorrie,
You ain't all that perfect yourself,
Look yourself in the eye,
And remember bye and bye
Them bad things
You did just might catch up.

Lorrie sings:

Dear Karma,
I think that you're being pretty mean
I've got a bad disease
It's brought me to my knees
My mom is slowly dying
And I am always crying
Dear Karma,
Why do I suffer so?

Karma sings:

Dear Lorrie,
Got to break some news to you,
That might make you feel real blue
But you don't
Run this universe.

Lorrie sings:

Dear Karma,
I guess I don't have much else to say
I just hope you really do
I just hope that you come through
& get all those people
who made me feel so blue

Karma sings,

Dear Lorrie,
Don't you think they know in
their heart
That they done you pretty bad,
And the universe is mad,
And one day,
Hard rain is gonna fall.

Lorrie sings:

Dear Karma,
No I really don't think
that they do
They don't have any conscience
They think you are nonsense
Dear Karma,
Can't you hurry up?

Karma sings:

Dear Lorrie
Stop all the complaining,
okay,
Just you try to do right,
and at the end of the long night
there will be
joy in the morning.

This song was adapted from the following song by Rodney Carrington
(NOT SAFE FOR WORK OR CHILDREN)

Osama Is Dead And I'm Celebrating. Why Are You Shaking Your Finger At Me?

VJ Day was a day of unrestrained exuberance. In other words, people were THRILLED. WWII was over. Sixty million people died. People celebrated.



Do you think these people were less sensitive and caring than you are?



Do you think these people were barbarians? Do you think these people felt guilty about their joy? Do you feel disgust and shame when you look at them?



Do you remember what Osama bin Laden DID TO AMERICA?

He sent thousands of our people to a bloody death. Civilians. There were no trials for them. There were no "decent burials" for many of them. Many families considered themselves lucky to get a small piece of a beloved one's body to bury.





He carefully planned this attack. He giggled when he heard that the attack had been successful. He bragged about orchestrating it. He shot the finger to the hated "infidels."



He stole our husbands. Our fathers. Our wives. Our mothers. Our sisters, brothers, friends, daughters, sons. He took our towers. On September 11, 2001, thousands of people boarded planes and reported to work and never came home.

The initial numbers are indelible: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m. Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes. Time they took to fall: 12 seconds. From there, they ripple out.

* Total number killed in attacks (official figure as of 9/5/02): 2,819
* Number of firefighters and paramedics killed: 343
* Number of NYPD officers: 23
* Number of Port Authority police officers: 37
* Number of WTC companies that lost people: 60
* Number of employees who died in Tower One: 1,402
* Number of employees who died in Tower Two: 614
* Number of employees lost at Cantor Fitzgerald: 658
* Number of U.S. troops killed in Operation Enduring Freedom: 22
* Number of nations whose citizens were killed in attacks: 115
* Ratio of men to women who died: 3:1
* Age of the greatest number who died: between 35 and 39
* Bodies found "intact": 289
* Body parts found: 19,858
* Number of families who got no remains: 1,717
* Estimated units of blood donated to the New York Blood Center: 36,000
* Total units of donated blood actually used: 258
* Number of people who lost a spouse or partner in the attacks: 1,609
* Estimated number of children who lost a parent: 3,051
* Percentage of Americans who knew someone hurt or killed in the attacks: 20
* FDNY retirements, January–July 2001: 274
* FDNY retirements, January–July 2002: 661
* Number of firefighters on leave for respiratory problems by January 2002: 300
* Number of funerals attended by Rudy Giuliani in 2001: 200
* Number of FDNY vehicles destroyed: 98
* Tons of debris removed from site: 1,506,124
* Days fires continued to burn after the attack: 99
* Jobs lost in New York owing to the attacks: 146,100
* Days the New York Stock Exchange was closed: 6
* Point drop in the Dow Jones industrial average when the NYSE reopened: 684.81
* Days after 9/11 that the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan: 26
* Total number of hate crimes reported to the Council on American-Islamic Relations nationwide since 9/11: 1,714
* Economic loss to New York in month following the attacks: $105 billion
* Estimated cost of cleanup: $600 million
* Total FEMA money spent on the emergency: $970 million
* Estimated amount donated to 9/11 charities: $1.4 billion
* Estimated amount of insurance paid worldwide related to 9/11: $40.2 billion
* Estimated amount of money needed to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $7.5 billion
* Amount of money recently granted by U.S. government to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $4.55 billion
* Estimated amount of money raised for funds dedicated to NYPD and FDNY families: $500 million
* Percentage of total charity money raised going to FDNY and NYPD families: 25
* Average benefit already received by each FDNY and NYPD widow: $1 million
* Percentage increase in law-school applications from 2001 to 2002: 17.9
* Percentage increase in Peace Corps applications from 2001 to 2002: 40
* Percentage increase in CIA applications from 2001 to 2002: 50
* Number of songs Clear Channel Radio considered "inappropriate" to play after 9/11: 150
* Number of mentions of 9/11 at the Oscars: 26
* Apartments in lower Manhattan eligible for asbestos cleanup: 30,000
* Number of apartments whose residents have requested cleanup and testing: 4,110
* Number of Americans who changed their 2001 holiday-travel plans from plane to train or car: 1.4 million
* Estimated number of New Yorkers suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder as a result of 9/11: 422,000

I'm happy that Osama is dead.

To quote my daughters, "HE STARTED IT!" He tore our country apart. Wouldn't it be nice to have that one trillion dollars spent already in the War On Terror back? Gosh, I'd love to have that money back. We could stimulate our ailing economy with that money.

Some of President Obama's most fervent supporters are distressed that many Americans are celebrating the death of this monster. But guys, he told you he was going to do it.

Thank you President Obama. Thank you President Bush. Thank you Navy Seals. Thank you troops & families.

HOOYAH.

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead. Joy At Justice; Immense and Profound Joy

When I was a child, the Vietnam War cast a long shadow over my life. The young man I used to watch backing out of his driveway from across the street is buried in an unknown jungle and his parents died soon afterwards because they saw no reason to stay in a world without their only son.

"When the war ends," I thought, "I vow to dance up and down the hallway, from one end to another."

And it did, and I danced.

When I heard that Osama Bin Laden, the very personification of pure evil, had been blasted into oblivion by brave Navy Seals I cried tears of joy. I especially enjoyed hearing that Donald Trump's silly little show was pre-empted by the President with some very good news for us.

I copied this from an unknown author:

Now I lay me down to sleep...one less terrorist the world to keep...with all my heart I give my thanks...to those in uniform regardless of ranks...you serve our country and serve it well...with humble hearts your stories tell...so as I rest my weary eyes...while freedom rings our flag still flies...you give your all, do what you must...with God we live and God we trust....Amen.

I wrote this:

Let us, just for one minute, put our partisan differences aside and join hands in a prayer of thanksgiving and a prayer for our troops. Let's thank two Presidents who both worked for this day, remember the 9/11 victims always, hope for peace and prosperity for all, and always remember that AMERICA IS THE GREATEST NATION ON EARTH.

Did I sound too "Jingoistic"? Don't know, don't care. I believe every word.

You've probably seen this floating around.



And I love this tribute to our brave warriors:



And I got unfriended today by someone who called me unchristian because I am happy that this monster has been killed.

I DISAGREE.

Yes, I know what Dr. Martin Luther King said. You know what I say? I wish his bodyguards had pulled their weapons and blasted a hole in James Earl Ray's head so big that his own mother couldn't have identified him. Dr. King might still be living, playing with his grandchildren and taking them to Easter Egg hunts on the White House Lawn of a man he put into office.

People. Hear me. When a rattlesnake slithers towards your child, you kill him. You don't fall to your knees and pray that the rattlesnake doesn't bite your child.

Adolf Hitler died on the same day many years ago. I looked it up on Wiki. SIXTY MILLION PEOPLE were killed during World War II.

I am glad that Osama Bin Laden is dead. I am glad that we cut off the head of a rattlesnake.

I now gladly yield the floor to another writer who said it more eloquently than I could.

Andrew Sullivan writes:

"I pray tonight for the souls of the departed who died that awful day, and
all their family members and friends. I pray for the souls of those great
Americans who resisted on Flight 93. I pray for all those who have died in
the two wars that followed this atrocity. As a Christian, I am also
required to pray for the soul of Osama bin Laden. Yes, even him. And,
although we should remain vigilant against Jihadist terrorism, we should
take the good advice of Winston Churchill:

'In war, resolution; in defeat, defiance; in victory, magnanimity'

And, yes, I am happy to use the word 'victory.' Not a final victory against
Jihadist terrorists. But a victory against this one, the man who set off a
decade of war and chaos, the symbol of them all. We need apologize not a
wit for the joy we feel. Not joy at vengeance; nor joy at death. Just joy
at justice. Immense and profound joy."

Immense and profound joy.

Yes.