A stock reply from a legendary American

Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy

Reference Date: March 17th






As an Irish-American, few people were as revered in my house as the Kennedy family. This American political dynasty has most certainly been touched by great triumph as well as great tragedy, and the current generation is continuing the proud legacy of service to their country set by their predecessors.

The "Old Guard" is still represented in Washington by the last remaining original brother, and a legendary Senator from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy.

I wrote Senator Kennedy a letter last St. Patrick's Day, and was pleased to receive a response from him almost a year later. However, when I opened the envelope, it contained an unsigned standard form reply chronicling his life. This is what it had to say:

Dear Mr. Lucas:

Thank you for writing to me regarding my job as a United States Senator. I appreciate your interest in my career in public service and my activities as a member of the Senate.

Growing up in my family, I was taught the importance of public service. My father served as Ambassador to Great Britain and my grandfather served in Congress and as Mayor of Boston. My brother Jack was elected to Congress in 1946, when I was 14 years old, and I found his service very inspiring.

My first actual experiences in politics involved working in my brother's campaigns for the Senate in 1952 and 1958. When he decided to run for the Presidency in 1960, I worked as his campaign coordinator for the western United States. After President Kennedy was elected, I went to work as an Assistant District Attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts, and in 1962, I made the decision to run for the United States Senate.

Since then, I have been honored that the people of Massachusetts have chosen to continue to elect me to serve them in the Senate. In that time, I have served as the Chairman of both the Judiciary and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committees, and also as a member of the Armed Services and Joint Economic Committees.

Throughout my 40 years in the Senate, I have been dedicated to advancing the causes that are of concern to the people of Massachusetts, and the nation. I have also tried to continue in the tradition of public service by my brothers to make the dreams and ideals of this country a reality.

Thank you again for writing to me about these issues. I appreciate your interest and I send my best wishes for the future.

Sincerely

Edward M. Kennedy


I sent him a thank you the next day