``America's Royal family``
By Dr. Kofi Dankyi Beeko, MD - the Author - Ghanaian Chronicle Opinion | Wed, 16 Jul 2008
| 
 Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable. - By: roylexi.com  |
The biggest “turning in my brain” was, when I attended the funeral of a boy, who was a grown-up, but being the first child to have perished in the family, the funeral was going to be of low-profile, a process called “Suduo”, and Ashanti is where it is most-deeply rooted.
As we sat down the usual way for funerals, and thinking the bereaved father was excessively worried, because, it was his first son, who had died in an accident, which might have been prevented, if……, I tried to console him by drawing parallels. A parallel with the Kennedys would be worth drawing, anywhere in the world. So, I started by saying, “be comforted, God knows best. Look at the Kennedys………….” at which juncture he snapped in by saying, “The Kennedys are an accursed family.” His mien suggested, it was unfair to compare his plight with that of the Kennedys. “They are under a curse, he was not.” There was not much more to talk about, so I decided to let the activities around, settle the deal, and I would just take it easy.
When I landed in Europe , a novice, the mid-sixties, Edward Moore Kennedy was 38 years old. John F. Kennedy, the 35th US President had been assassinated just three years previously. Every book-stall was full of fresh books and magazines on the flamboyant ex-President, who had been succeeded by Mr. Lyndon Byrnd Johnson, the Texan, who ran with John, and became his vice, when they won what was said to be a controversial presidency.
What you read almost everywhere about John, the ex-President, was written by men and women, who knew him a great deal directly, or had read a lot about him. John had two brothers still alive. There was Robert Francis, born in 1925, and Attorney General, (1961-1964), appointed by his brother, the ex-President. There was, of course, as mentioned above, Edward Moore, the Senator from Massachusetts, the brash pretty-faced playboy, the spoiled last born of Joseph Patrick Kennedy, who since five years, had suffered cerebral stroke, and hence confined to bed, and aphasic, (unable to talk). Next talked about, other than the assassinated president was Edward.
He, was supported to a fault by four surviving elder sisters, after they had lost Kathleen Kick Kennedy in a plane crash over the Alps , shortly after World War II. Nothing was a secret about Edward. One weekend, he was seen at the Tennis-club with a new lady, he would not hide. The next occasion, a “Blondie” from Washington , and there was no need to hide that one either. They would be introduced to Senatorial colleagues freely.
He was married though, with two children, but a “soothsayer” had warned him, his marriage to his attractive but not so smart wife was a misfortune.
There was money, there was fame, and there was power. He was called a Kennedy, and even though of Irish descent, it did not hurt him any longer. He was in politics. His father was at one time America 's richest man, and at another, Ambassador to St. James Court , from 1937-1940. He had “major-financed” the electioneering of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the war-time,(World War II), three-term president, who died in office in 1945.
Edward, the Senator from Massachusetts , (as it was almost always added, when introduced, was equally being groomed to be president, only there was no hurry. First, there was to be Joseph Patrick, Jr. the Ambassador's eldest son. He died during a bombing action over Germany in 1943. John was successfully groomed into the presidency, but he too died violently in Texas , 23rd November, 1963 . The Kennedy's would always have a Presidential Candidate in reserve, it seemed. Edward could wait, because, Bobby was next in line, and he was only two years older than Teddy. Edward had survived a plane-crash, but with a very bad back, which allowed him to play tennis, (arguably not that bad). He was later to survive an automobile accident, in what became known world-wide, as the “death over the bridge at Chappaquiddick.” In that accident, the Senator was at the wheels of a Kennedy-type of vehicle, with a front-seat passenger called Mary Joe Kopeckney. The 26-year-old-lady was once the secretary of Edward's late brother, the former Attorney General, who had been assassinated in 1968, whilst running a very successful primary.
The car tipped over the bridge, and the Senator was able to swim ashore, but his front-seat passenger was not so lucky. The issue was to plague Edward Kennedy, to the extent that, it marred his own chances, of running for president. He tried though. A stabbing in his right arm by a “lunatic assailant ” which almost killed him in 1972, took away all ambitions from him, as regards the Presidency. He got divorced, and his eldest son developed a bone cancer of his right femur (thigh-bone), and he got amputation, and radical radiotherapy.
Mr. Edward Kennedy has been Senator all along, and attempts to wrestle it away from him have all failed. May 20th, 2008 , Edward Moor Kennedy is diagnosed of a brain tumor, believed to be “glioblastoma multiforme”. You could call it “brain cancer”. This type of brain tumor affects mostly men, and mostly above the ages of sixty-plus. It usually grows very fast, taking large areas of the brain, and therefore, associated with severe rapidly developing deficits. These may include inability to talk, or understand speech.
Hemiplegia, (inability to move any muscles, confined to one half of the body), may confine the individual to the wheel-chair. Life comes very quickly to an end, because, pressure develops in the cranium, not compatible with life. The Senator is exactly 81 years old. He has been fit till today. He just developed convulsions, (epileptic attacks), -frequently, a tell-tale sign of such tumors in the brain. It fits into what the text-book says. Mr. Edward Kennedy recently came forward to give the Kennedy family's endorsement to Senator Barak Obama, in the on-going Presidential race in the Democratic Party in the USA .
That, for sure must be his finale. From Biblical times, individuals and families have been said to have been blessed, or accursed. They are too numerous to be mentioned individually. What is true of the Kennedys should be their roots. People of Irish origin, whose ancestors have suffered under the pangs of oppression for centuries. On coming to America , the Kennedys seem to have adapted in an impressive manner, at an impressive speed. The Kennedys are fighters, spurred on from a message coming from their Pattriac, J.P. Kennedy, (1888-1969). The message was simply this: “The world is full of problems, and a Kennedy must go out there, and solve them.” This is something, which all of us could emulate. There is an anecdote, which I feel everybody should know, and perhaps, think of deeply, when talking of the Kennedys.
They have been very adventurous. The first born of J.P., often referred to only as the Ambassador, was Joseph Patrick Jr. He was earmarked by his dad, to run for the Presidency of the United States . It would involve money, but J.P. had it, and you bet, plenty. Joseph Patrick Jr. had served his country as a bomber Pilot, and had flown missions from England over Germany , until in 1943, he was to return home, having finished his mission, with honor. Just then, there was the message that, a special “top-secret” bomber mission was to be flown on Germany . For that mission, they needed the most accomplished and experienced pilots. J.P. Jr. loved adventures, and he was readily succored to it. There was the Swedish-American Aircraft Electrician, who came in with the warning that, he had detected a fault in the electrical system of the super-bomber, and he needed at least two weeks to fix it. That proposition did not suit Joseph Patrick, the Pilot. Jokes from the Electrician that one would need a life-insurance to run that risk were brushed aside by the ambitious Super-pilot. Sooner than the suggested two weeks, the machine was made ready for the mission. So, J.P. Jr. took off. Observers on the ground watched the machine come down minutes later in “biiiig ball of fire.” Remains of J.P. Jr. could not be spotted anywhere. A presidential dream was gone for good. Was that a curse? I do not think so. Many a young man has perished that way, seeking adventure. When it is famous individuals, the world hears about it. That's all.
As we sat down the usual way for funerals, and thinking the bereaved father was excessively worried, because, it was his first son, who had died in an accident, which might have been prevented, if……, I tried to console him by drawing parallels. A parallel with the Kennedys would be worth drawing, anywhere in the world. So, I started by saying, “be comforted, God knows best. Look at the Kennedys………….” at which juncture he snapped in by saying, “The Kennedys are an accursed family.” His mien suggested, it was unfair to compare his plight with that of the Kennedys. “They are under a curse, he was not.” There was not much more to talk about, so I decided to let the activities around, settle the deal, and I would just take it easy.
When I landed in Europe , a novice, the mid-sixties, Edward Moore Kennedy was 38 years old. John F. Kennedy, the 35th US President had been assassinated just three years previously. Every book-stall was full of fresh books and magazines on the flamboyant ex-President, who had been succeeded by Mr. Lyndon Byrnd Johnson, the Texan, who ran with John, and became his vice, when they won what was said to be a controversial presidency.
What you read almost everywhere about John, the ex-President, was written by men and women, who knew him a great deal directly, or had read a lot about him. John had two brothers still alive. There was Robert Francis, born in 1925, and Attorney General, (1961-1964), appointed by his brother, the ex-President. There was, of course, as mentioned above, Edward Moore, the Senator from Massachusetts, the brash pretty-faced playboy, the spoiled last born of Joseph Patrick Kennedy, who since five years, had suffered cerebral stroke, and hence confined to bed, and aphasic, (unable to talk). Next talked about, other than the assassinated president was Edward.
He, was supported to a fault by four surviving elder sisters, after they had lost Kathleen Kick Kennedy in a plane crash over the Alps , shortly after World War II. Nothing was a secret about Edward. One weekend, he was seen at the Tennis-club with a new lady, he would not hide. The next occasion, a “Blondie” from Washington , and there was no need to hide that one either. They would be introduced to Senatorial colleagues freely.
He was married though, with two children, but a “soothsayer” had warned him, his marriage to his attractive but not so smart wife was a misfortune.
There was money, there was fame, and there was power. He was called a Kennedy, and even though of Irish descent, it did not hurt him any longer. He was in politics. His father was at one time America 's richest man, and at another, Ambassador to St. James Court , from 1937-1940. He had “major-financed” the electioneering of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the war-time,(World War II), three-term president, who died in office in 1945.
Edward, the Senator from Massachusetts , (as it was almost always added, when introduced, was equally being groomed to be president, only there was no hurry. First, there was to be Joseph Patrick, Jr. the Ambassador's eldest son. He died during a bombing action over Germany in 1943. John was successfully groomed into the presidency, but he too died violently in Texas , 23rd November, 1963 . The Kennedy's would always have a Presidential Candidate in reserve, it seemed. Edward could wait, because, Bobby was next in line, and he was only two years older than Teddy. Edward had survived a plane-crash, but with a very bad back, which allowed him to play tennis, (arguably not that bad). He was later to survive an automobile accident, in what became known world-wide, as the “death over the bridge at Chappaquiddick.” In that accident, the Senator was at the wheels of a Kennedy-type of vehicle, with a front-seat passenger called Mary Joe Kopeckney. The 26-year-old-lady was once the secretary of Edward's late brother, the former Attorney General, who had been assassinated in 1968, whilst running a very successful primary.
The car tipped over the bridge, and the Senator was able to swim ashore, but his front-seat passenger was not so lucky. The issue was to plague Edward Kennedy, to the extent that, it marred his own chances, of running for president. He tried though. A stabbing in his right arm by a “lunatic assailant ” which almost killed him in 1972, took away all ambitions from him, as regards the Presidency. He got divorced, and his eldest son developed a bone cancer of his right femur (thigh-bone), and he got amputation, and radical radiotherapy.
Mr. Edward Kennedy has been Senator all along, and attempts to wrestle it away from him have all failed. May 20th, 2008 , Edward Moor Kennedy is diagnosed of a brain tumor, believed to be “glioblastoma multiforme”. You could call it “brain cancer”. This type of brain tumor affects mostly men, and mostly above the ages of sixty-plus. It usually grows very fast, taking large areas of the brain, and therefore, associated with severe rapidly developing deficits. These may include inability to talk, or understand speech.
Hemiplegia, (inability to move any muscles, confined to one half of the body), may confine the individual to the wheel-chair. Life comes very quickly to an end, because, pressure develops in the cranium, not compatible with life. The Senator is exactly 81 years old. He has been fit till today. He just developed convulsions, (epileptic attacks), -frequently, a tell-tale sign of such tumors in the brain. It fits into what the text-book says. Mr. Edward Kennedy recently came forward to give the Kennedy family's endorsement to Senator Barak Obama, in the on-going Presidential race in the Democratic Party in the USA .
That, for sure must be his finale. From Biblical times, individuals and families have been said to have been blessed, or accursed. They are too numerous to be mentioned individually. What is true of the Kennedys should be their roots. People of Irish origin, whose ancestors have suffered under the pangs of oppression for centuries. On coming to America , the Kennedys seem to have adapted in an impressive manner, at an impressive speed. The Kennedys are fighters, spurred on from a message coming from their Pattriac, J.P. Kennedy, (1888-1969). The message was simply this: “The world is full of problems, and a Kennedy must go out there, and solve them.” This is something, which all of us could emulate. There is an anecdote, which I feel everybody should know, and perhaps, think of deeply, when talking of the Kennedys.
They have been very adventurous. The first born of J.P., often referred to only as the Ambassador, was Joseph Patrick Jr. He was earmarked by his dad, to run for the Presidency of the United States . It would involve money, but J.P. had it, and you bet, plenty. Joseph Patrick Jr. had served his country as a bomber Pilot, and had flown missions from England over Germany , until in 1943, he was to return home, having finished his mission, with honor. Just then, there was the message that, a special “top-secret” bomber mission was to be flown on Germany . For that mission, they needed the most accomplished and experienced pilots. J.P. Jr. loved adventures, and he was readily succored to it. There was the Swedish-American Aircraft Electrician, who came in with the warning that, he had detected a fault in the electrical system of the super-bomber, and he needed at least two weeks to fix it. That proposition did not suit Joseph Patrick, the Pilot. Jokes from the Electrician that one would need a life-insurance to run that risk were brushed aside by the ambitious Super-pilot. Sooner than the suggested two weeks, the machine was made ready for the mission. So, J.P. Jr. took off. Observers on the ground watched the machine come down minutes later in “biiiig ball of fire.” Remains of J.P. Jr. could not be spotted anywhere. A presidential dream was gone for good. Was that a curse? I do not think so. Many a young man has perished that way, seeking adventure. When it is famous individuals, the world hears about it. That's all.
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``America's Royal family``
kmd | - | 7/16/2008 9:18:00 PM
multiple factual errors: no stabbing in his right arm, cancer in the wrong bone and wrong treatments for it, ignored his run for presidency in 1980, WWII mission itself was dangerous--never did succeed--but no electrical flaw ignored. Since you have access to the Internet, you should be able to find better facts than these--or you have been looking at the wrong Web sites.
``America's Royal family``
cmh | - | 7/17/2008 2:52:00 AM
kmd is right. This is a silly article full of basic errors. Here are a few more:*Franklin Roosevelt was elected president 4 times (1932, 1936, 1940, 1944) making him a 4-term president, not "three term," (although he did die during the course of his fourth term.
*Edward turned 38 it 1970, not during the "mid-sixties."
*Many, many, words that have been written to describe President Kennedy; "flamboyant" has never been one of them.
*Jospeh Kennedy Jr was killed in 1944 not "1943."
*John F. Kennedy was assassinated on 22nd November 1963, not the "23rd."
*Jospeh Kennedy Sr was appointed Ambassador to Great Britain in 1938 not "1937."
*Edward Kennedy survived a plane crash in 1964 and ended up not just with a "very bad back,...arguably not that bad," but with a broken back, from which he still suffers chronic pain and wears a back brace.
*Robert Kennedy was born in 1925 and Edward in 1932, making Bobby much more than "only two years older than Ted."
*It is "Mary Jo Kopechne" not "Mary Joe Kopeckney."
*Kopechne was born in 1940, making her 29 when she died in 1969, not "26."
*I don't know what "a Kennedy-type vehicle" means. I do know it was a 1967 Oldsmobile.
*Edward Kennedy's middle name is "Moore" not "Moor."
*The Senator is not "exactly 81 years old." He is 76.
*There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in the allegation that a "soothsayer" warned Edward Kennedy that his marriage was a "misfortune."
*It's Lyndon "Baines" Johnson, not "Byrnd."
