Ted

I love this photo. It was on the Trib's website this afternoon. I can't recall ever having noticed that sculpture outside the Capitol, but it really does say it all today, doesn't it?

Well not all, I suppose, since I feel compelled to add my two cents. It's interesting that with public figures and close family members alike, we don't really fully appreciate them while they're here. So I've enjoyed reading and watching the coverage today. CNN just aired the recent HBO documentary, "Teddy: In His Own Words," and it was mostly excellent.

And I like this piece, especially David Brooks' part. He's a conservative, but something has been happening with him lately. Maybe teaming with Gail Collins is bringing out his softer side. Or perhaps, hopefully, he's just absolutely chagrined and mortified by the Palinization of his party.

Anyway, I have nothing to add to what more insightful people have already said, but I do have a few observations. Things I remember and things I never knew.

Like I had no idea he was a standout athlete in prep school and college. I mean, obviously, his physique in the past couple of decades only hints at that. But he was 6' 2" and 200 lbs. in his prime! The Green Bay Packers even made an overture to him after graduation. So I didn't know that.

I also didn't know about his near-fatal plane crash. The footage of him campaigning from a hospital bed for the 1964 Senate run was fascinating. I guess he endured lifelong back pain, just like his oldest brother John. And I didn't know that among the three brothers he was known as the most gregarious one. And I didn't really piece together just how much of an impact he had over his five decades of public service, but his fingerprints were on just about every advancement of civil rights, education and health care.

Things I do recall ... when I was a kid I remember another kid around my age (his son) losing a leg to cancer. I remember watching, live, the infamous and disastrous Roger Mudd interview in which he couldn't articulate why he wanted to be president. And I remember him at the '80 convention -- his defiant speech and his refusal to raise arms with Carter in victory. He was much-criticized for that, but I recall giving him credit for his integrity. (But then, I've always been kind of spiteful myself.)

I remember once seeing him hop out of a black SUV on Capitol Hill -- his broad back and shock of white hair. And his remarks at a ceremony at Arlington Cemetery honoring Bobby -- an anniversary of either his death or birth back in the late '80s which I feel lucky to have attended.

And I remember his testimony at his nephew's trial, and what a dignified and sympathetic figure he was. I recall especially where he recounted meeting the young women at the bar. He introduced himself and one of them sorta sneered, "Is that supposed to impress me?" Such a nasty and embarrassing thing! And on the stand he was a total gentleman, just saying that at that point the conversation had become unpleasant, so he turned to talk with his nephew. It's interesting that that was a sort of turning point in his life -- a transition to a more stable lifestyle.

Okay, time for Sam and Diane's take on ABC. Sadly, these great figures make me feel excessively lazy and unworthy. Though it's sobering to see how the youngest can advance (albeit, via tragedy) to patriarch status in a family. Should be a lesson in there somewhere.