My encounter with Ted Kennedy

When I heard of his death on Wednesday morning, I remembered that I really met Senator Edward M. Kennedy (1932-2009) once, i.e. I saw him “live“.
It was in the fall of 1995 when I studied American Foreign Policy and American Politics at American University in Washington, D.C. Part of the studies was a semester-long internship at some typical “Beltway institution.“ Following the advice of a college professor from Texas whom I knew and who at that time worked for the State Department in D.C., I did not end up in the Senate or with some lobbyists but at the offices of NBC News’ “Meet the Press,“ at that time present by Tim Russert. During the intership days I had to cut out a lot of stories from newspapers from all over the US that had previously been scrutinized and marked by the producers of the show. Another task was to register incoming calls from viewers. And photocopying, of course. Not too exciting all in all you might think.
The real perk was to be able to be present before and while the show was on air on Sunday mornings. It meant showing up at around 7 a.m. at the studio in case there were some last-minute photocopies to be made, etc., and to meet the guests at the door, and show them to the make-up room and the lounge. This way I met, among others, Newt Gingrich, Steve Forbes, Bob Woodward, Bob Dole, the Reverend Jesse Jackson (“Good morning, brother!“), Al Gore, and Ted Kennedy.
Though I don’t remember having exchanged any words with him or shaken his hand, I remember his spectacular, young second (?) wife and his daughter from a previous marriage and her family who accompanied the then sprightly 63-year-old with the typical Kennedyesque full shock of hair. The encounter wiht his daughter was slightly embarassing as she asked me: “Could we have a peek?“ (at the lounge where her father and Bob Dole were waiting for their appearance at the 48th anniversary show) and I understood: “Could we have a pee?,“ and sent them to the bathroom. After she had been to the bathroom door she didn’t make a fuss but repeated her request, and that was it, I thought.
The next morning, when I was on my way to the intership, the NBC studios were near the AU campuses so that I could walk there, I saw her in a car (maybe a light blue Saab) waiting at a red traffic light while I was crossing the road in front of her – and she greeted me!
I am not sure if by a honk or just waving her hand, but I really appreciated the gesture (and probably fell in love with her for a while).
So, this is in reality more a memory of Ted’s daughter than of the patriarch himself but for me a cherished one. And the only serious jobs I had after university both dealt with John F. Kennedy, one of Ted’s older brothers, and the Kennedy family. That’s why this American dynasty is special to me and why I mourn the recent deaths of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, and of Edward M. Kennedy.

(Due to enormous stress before an important exam, this will be the last entry for a while. This blogger will miss the therapeutical effects of blogging.)

A visit to the employment office

After an absence of about two years, yesterday I finally went to the employment office again as I had heard about a job offer of a public entity that "administers" a nearby mountain range and I wanted to know more about the offer.
The people attending those looking for jobs were more relaxed and friendlier than I remembered them though their workload has increased a lot recently. There was a long line of people waiting but about half of them only had to show up to affirm that they were still looking for a job; otherwise they lose their benefits. Quite a lot of them looked unemployable to my prejudiced eyes.
Then there was a woman who was astonished when she learned that as long as she is on benefits she cannot leave the country for more than 14 days.
Another came to complain either about her low wage or about the little she gets in unemployment benefits as she allegedly has to care for her grandchild, too, I could not hear her; but I heard the staff's response who explained to her that about 80% of the population, even people with university degrees, live on 1,100 EUR or less - working full time.
And I had thought people came to the employment office to enquire about jobs...
Finally it was my turn and I learned that they had not got all the information about the job offer I was interested in yet. They renewed my status as "unemployed AND looking for a job" and told me I had to return another day if I wanted to know more.
Not a really successful visit for me - but very interesting as to watching a piece of the social situation of this country.