I met Ted.

What struck me was that in a receiving line he did not break eye contact with me until I did, something I would not expect of a politician in a crowd - a technique used to convey to me his respect and sincerity. It left a strong and positive impression.

As a kid I met Bobby Kennedy once. A friend of mine’s dad was one of his personal attorneys and was beside him as he was gunned down at the Ambassador Hotel. He was never the same after that and started to drink heavily, all downhill from there.

Met the baby red headed one during a talk at the Coolidge Corner theater. Ultimately he’s an incredibly well presented politician. Fluid in speaking and addressing unexpected shifts in conversation, well dressed but in an expected way (not a lot of personal style). He seemed genuine and passionate about being a public servant. Either good enough at the charade to fool me or a sincere guy.

My grandfather was an Irish kid from Dorchester who was a Navy vet in the war and who after the war was the personal driver for any of the Kennedys when they campaigned in Massachusetts or Rhode Island. Fast forward 40ish years and I’m struggling, having got out of the Army myself and waiting 500+ days for my disability claim to be processed. My grandfather caught wind of this and, pushing 80, he made the hour long drive into Boston by himself to Sen. Kennedys office. He slammed the large stack of Kennedy thank you letters on the table and refused to leave until my case was fixed. I shit you not, money was in my account a week later. Miss that guy!

My father’s college roommate had a summer house next to the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port in the 1960s. My childhood memory is of the Kennedy clan cruising the neighborhood like a pack of wild dogs. It was my first exposure to a society that has a different set of rules for the powerful.

I met Joe Kennedy III and his twin Matt back in 2007 when I was interning at a political consulting firm. They were both late 20s at the time and were perfectly pleasant but had a rehearsed poise to them that seemed a bit unnatural.

Ted Kennedy’s first wife Joan was a regular at the spa I worked at during college the year after I met the Kennedy twins. To be delicate, I’ll say she had monthly skin treatments and let’s just say I saw a very stripped down version of her - no makeup and a latex glove filled with ice held up to her face to quell any post treatment swelling. She was always very sweet. One time she was onsite when we had a celebrity power couple in the house who required a police escort and motorcade upon arrival and were a general nuisance to all of the staff. Joan saw the madness when checking out after her appt and just giggled to me and the other receptionists and said under her breath “that movie Wall Street came out 20 years ago, I think the need for that level of security today is a touch over the top.” I guess Joan never saw Traffic, but I appreciated that she found the whole spectacle as ridiculous as we did.

Saoirse Kennedy once. The girl liked to party.

I have met many of them …. They are just regular people. Some just a little more eccentric than normal.

I worked at the JFK museum while I was a student at UMass Boston. Whenever a Kennedy showed up they were whisked by us to the family suite in the building. I did see Edward James Olmos once. I had no idea he was so short. The JFK museum is fascinating for the gifts given to a sitting president from leaders/countries around the world at that time. The rules changed after JFK so that extravagant gifts are declined. Jacqueline got a golden belt inlaid with emeralds the size of eggs from the Shah of Iran. It's gorgeous. I was lucky enough to work there when the museum curator brought us employees to see some things that are not displayed often. The museum is very careful about maintaining the pristine Kennedy image. I also happened to work a nursing shift in a Boston hospital during a time when a Kennedy ex wife was brought in. The MGH cashmoney floor was full, so she got put on my floor. I noped off that assignment and gave her to an older nurse so I never met her. Good times.

Met Ted at a Fundraiser in the early 90’s in Holyoke. He was pretty jovial and talkative. Had a good hour plus conversation with him and a couple buddies of mine. Was actually more down to earth and friendly than I thought.

I met Ted Kennedy and his son Edward in 1980 when Ted ran for president. I was 12. Kennedy was visiting area homes in NH of registered Democrats and he came to one in my neighborhood. He was also supposed to come to ours. He was running late so they canceled our house. The next day Ted sent his son and a campaign person to personally visit us and apologize ( Ted also called my parents) I have a vague memory of my family taking a walk with the son and we talked about his wooden leg because I was 12 and asked about it.

I sat across from Rory Kennedy on flight from LA to Boston a few years ago. She was with her family and what I could gather she was fleeing the fires that were happening in Malibu at the time. They were also en route to Hyannisport for Thanksgiving. She was loud. She was entitled. Her husband was equally loud a row behind her. They were communicating as if they were the only ones on the plane. I heard all about their plans for the cape, how he didn't want to sing Christmas carols because he was Jewish. All kinds of weird family details. I wasn't eavesdropping, they were broadcasting. JetBlue has a policy about dogs remaining in their carrier for duration of flight, but half way through she's telling me to take my dog out... I politely declined but she forced the issue and sort of shamed me for being a mark for the rules. So I obliged. Woke him up, slid him out of the carrier, picked him up and presented him to her like a gift. She held him for two seconds kind of shrugged and handed him back to me and went on talking to her husband about something else. I was annoyed.

It's Massachusetts. There's 10 thousand of them. Ever met a Sullivan, O'Brian, or Smith?

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I’ve met Vicky Kennedy a few times. She was incredibly nice to me and our receptionist.

Met Joe Kennedy III when he was newly elected. I was a staffer to another Govt official and we had a couple meetings with him. He was friendly, professional, respectful to my boss who had been around a while, and even a bit self deprecating regarding his own family. Enjoyed meeting him; more than I can say about some other politicians I met in that job.

Once, we went to a couple of grateful dead concerts at RFK stadium. We toured the capital during the day. We were getting on the train that links another office building and capital there he was, getting off. Teddy, bigger than life. He was talking with a guy and he was deadly serious. Like someone was going to die serious. He was scary. But When he saw us his demeanor completely changed. He lit up and shook our hands like the Nicest guy you’d ever meet. Everybody must have these swings of emotion all the time, but with teddy it was like he radiated his mood. You could feel it on him.

He was old, but still handsome as fuck.

No, but I am Eskimo Bros with JFK Jr

I have not "met" Joe or Caroline Kennedy in the sense that I did not speak to them or shake their hand, but I have seen them speak in person and was relatively close to the stage. I was really impressed by Caroline Kennedy, who came across as a very bright, thoughtful, and principled individual. I do like Joe Kennedy, but he did not make much of an impression on me as a speaker.

The Kennedy from MTV was cool back in the day, but now she’s a crazy Tucker Carlson type. I know that’s not what you meant, but just saying…

I met Senator Ted Kennedy once when I was working in DC for MassPIRG, we talked about college affordability and other student issues, this was back in 2006-2007. Met his two Portuguese Water Dogs too, very nice dogs. I also was almost run over in the hallway outside of his office by then Senator Kerry who was taking a stroll. Senator Kennedy was a nice guy, took the time to hear our issues, he was backing the bill already, it was an easy sell. I would later go onto replace his water meter in Hyannisport years later when I worked for the water Dept. Beautiful compound, I’ve been in all of their houses down there. Lovely folks

I’ve met Teddy Jr. and his wife, and Ted Sr’s wife Vickie. The nicest people. I was at a social function and helped Vickie with something mundane, and she sent the most gracious thank you card afterward.

Years ago, one evening I met Kathleen, daughter of Bobby Kennedy, when she was a student at harvard. We were both in front of a house on Shephard Street in Cambridge where our mutual friend, Mary Robbins lived. We spoke briefly, expressing our disappointment that Mary wasn’t home at the time. I found Kathleen to be very nice, and charming. She did not tell me she was “a Kennedy”. I found that out later from Mary.

My great uncle is a Kennedy, but not A Kennedy. Uncle Dick is awesome. Flew a plane in WWII. I have no stories of his war involvement other than knowing he was a pilot, and he let me drive his boat once on Lake Winnepesaukee.

Met Ted in the early 80s. An engaging and nice man. His head was as big as a jack-o-lantern. Met Kathleen at the Farewell RFK Stadium event a few weeks ago.

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They eat babies and drink the blood of virgins.