A BOY AND HIS DOG

Dear Senator Kennedy:

I met you once. You were speaking at a fundraiser. You are the only person I have ever heard speak who could make a cement floor vibrate with your voice. As you were leaving I watched you looking at a painting on the wall. It was one of many variations on a theme...JFK, RFK & MLK all in profile. As I watched you looking at it, I was hit with the realization of how difficult it must be to have a life as public as yours. These iconic images that grace the walls of thousands of homes across America are very real and tragic events to you. Faces that inspire us, but personal memories to you!

I have reflected often since that day on the sacrifice of public service. I think about it during every confirmation hearing that more closely resembles sharks in the water than statesmen entrusted with our country.

Truthfully, I think you have made many mistakes in your life. Mistakes both professionally and personally. That pretty much puts you on par with the rest of humanity. But unlike most of us, your life is minutely scrutinized for every mistake and every victory. I can't imagine what that costs you.

I think about you and that painting often when I watch the news coverage of the President. What an incredibly lonely job he has! I don't even want to know what it feels like to have the hopes, safety and best interests of over 300 million Americans scattered across the globe resting squarely on your shoulders....and yours alone. A responsibility magnified by the current economic collapse, two wars and an opposition party that seems more concerned with success of the party even if it is at the expense of the country.

So when I saw the photos of your present to the Obama children I was very touched. I love dogs and have two of my own. I am well aware of the importance of man's best friend to your mental health in difficult times. That's why my favorite photo was the one of a very happy President racing Bo through the halls of the White House.

I think your small, personal act of kindness may be the most magnificent gift you have given this country in your long and illustrious career. Because when times are really tough, when the most difficult decisions must be made....you have given the President a moment of refuge. And that tiny bit of escapism may serve us all for the best some day. Because dogs don't worry about world crisis, they worry about you. And regardless of whether you like or dislike the President, you want him at his best when making decisions.

Because of your kind gift, during that next crisis, for a brief moment, for the length of a 100 foot hallway...he can forget being POTUS and just enjoy being a boy and his dog.

Thank you for that Sen. Kennedy, from all of us!