Edward M. Kennedy - 1932-2009

"Every American should have the opportunity to receive a quality education, a job that respects their dignity and protects their safety, and health care that does not condemn those whose health is impaired to a lifetime of poverty and lost opportunity."


He was the baby in a family of nine children. It should never have fallen to him to be the patriarch, responsible for a widowed mother and numerous nieces and nephews while he was such a young man, himself. His family suffered many more tragedies than most families. They were survivors.

But, it was the tragedy of Chappaquiddick that marked the turning point of his life. After a weekend of scrambling to protect his career and name, he finally presented himself to the local police and confessed all. It was messy, but you could say that it made a man of him. He spent the rest of his life, whether consciously or not, atoning for his horrible mistake.

For the next four plus decades, he worked tirelessly in the Senate. He wrote or helped to write hundreds of laws designed to help those less fortunate than himself. He championed the causes of, among others, civil rights, education, the environment and healthcare for all.

He was an unapologetic Liberal, and consistent in his actions. He simply never gave up, even after he was diagnosed with the cancer that would end his extraordinary life. He continued to work tirelessly until he could no longer go to the Senate and then he worked from home.

The Lion of the Senate will roar no more. It is truly the end of an era.


"For all my years in public life, I have believed that America must sail toward the shores of liberty and justice for all. There is no end to that journey, only the next great voyage. We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will live on in the future we made."


Bon Voyage, Teddy. Smooth Sailing.