Kennedy Wives: Triumph and Tragedy in America's Most Public Family (34 page)

92.
“Look, Jack” . . . An insulted George Jr. . . . without a crew:
David,
Ethel
, pp. 8–9; Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 196.

93.
“It can’t be. I still have”:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 197.

93.
“If Bobby can’t treat Ethel”:
ibid.

93.
“Bobby took me to the top floor . . . suitable for the maid’s room”:
Kennedy, Rose to Ethel Kennedy, November 17, 1959, Box 14, RFKP.

93.
“No one appears to have . . . disregard for money”:
Leamer,
Kennedy Women
, p. 481.

93.
“Dad, I think you have . . . have Dad work harder”:
ibid.

93.
After conferring with his father:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 207.

94.
By November 1953:
Thomas,
Robert Kennedy
,
ch. 2.

94.
It was outside of the $500-a-month:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 209.

94.
“George Skakel was quite fond . . . questioned its safety” . . . Some said they smelled . . . shrugged off the concerns :
ibid., pp. 227–28.

94.
“what’s all this nonsense I hear”:
ibid., p. 228.

95.
“It was hard on everybody . . . he did it”:
Kennedy,
Ethel
, HBO, 2012.

95.
“There were no tears . . . only way they could cope”:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 233.

95.
“She does go to Mass . . . really tough things”:
Kennedy,
Ethel
, HBO, 2012.

95.
None of the children wanted the sprawling:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 235.

7. Hickory Hill

96.
The Georgian estate, which they:
Associated Press, “Kennedy Purchases $125,000 Estate for Virginia Residence,”
Boston Globe
, June 2, 1955.

96.
It was a beautiful, thirteen-bedroom:
Oppenheimer, p. 241; John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, “Ethel Skakel Kennedy,” www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/The-Kennedy-Family/Ethel-Skakel-Kennedy.aspx.

96.
George Brinton McClellan :
David,
Ethel
, p. 88.

97.
“During a recess, Cohn stormed across”:
Thomas,
Robert Kennedy
, p. 66.

97.
With McCarthy’s Communist hunts:
ibid., p. 70

98.
Bobby swung and caught him in the face:
ibid., p. 71

98.
“Senate investigators said today they”:
Associated Press, “Senate Probers Link Rackets to Teamsters Union,”
Boston Globe
, February 24, 1957.

98.
A Portland racketeer:
Kraslow, David, “Racketeers Tried to Rule City,”
Boston Globe
, February 28, 1957.

98.
A man emerged from the shadows:
Van Gelder, Lawrence, “Victor Riesel, 81, Columnist Blinded by Acid Attack, Dies,”
New York Times
, January 5, 1995.

98.
Once Bobby’s sights were turned:
Kennedy,
Ethel
, HBO, 2012.

98.
Instead, they sat in the principal’s:
ibid.

98.
“I think her inner Skakel came”:
Leamer,
Kennedy Women,
p. 506.

98–99
.
“I think it might’ve been a”:
Kennedy,
Ethel
, HBO, 2012.

99.
“What’s up there? . . . where he belongs!” the children would squeal:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
pp. 258–59.

99.
Later, daughter Kathleen:
Kennedy,
Ethel
, HBO, 2012.

99.
In three days, the two women:
Leamer,
Kennedy Women,
p. 506.

99.
“[Bobby] really wanted the children”:
Kennedy,
Ethel
, HBO, 2012.

99–100
.
Three of the children had Brownie:
Winship, Thomas, “It’s Just Like Circus to Kennedy Youngsters,”
Boston Globe
, July 14, 1960.

100.
“This lovely little girl”:
Kennedy,
Ethel
, HBO, 2012.

100.
Nobody looked tired in the . . . know how great Jack was”:
Kennedy,
Ethel
, HBO, 2012.

100.
Predictable charges of nepotism:
Dallek,
Unfinished Life
, pp.316–19

100.
“There was this salamander named”:
“Nephew Hands President a Slippery Issue,”
Boston Globe
, March 12, 1961.

100–101
.
“He had to be fed fish . . . kind of unusual”:
Kennedy,
Ethel
, HBO, 2012.

101.
“Then we got to the . . . a tie for first place”:
Buchwald, Art, “Judge Stays Impartial under Terrific Pressure,”
Boston Globe
, May 27, 1965.

101.
“We changed our clothes and the”:
Schlesinger,
A Thousand Days
, p. 591.

101.
“Rose Kennedy thought Ethel’s parties”:
Taraborrelli,
Jackie, Ethel, Joan
,
p. 105.

102.
“At 3 o’clock in the morning”:
McCardle, Dorothy, “Mystery Follows Dunking Party on Hickory Hill,”
Boston Globe,
July 8, 1962.

102.
“Any more . . . little more peace and quiet”:
ibid.

102.
“I mean whether conceptions”:
David,
Ethel
, pp. 90–91.

102.
General Maxwell Taylor, then:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 328.

102.
Ethel had hoped:
David,
Ethel
, p. 74.

103.
“Everybody was talking about Vietnam”:
ibid.

8. A Tidal Wave

104.
On Friday, November 22, 1963, as . . . never called the house before:
David,
Ethel
,p. 164.

104.
for example, Bobby wanted to wage:
Thomas,
Robert Kennedy
,
ch. 5.

104.
Ethel, naturally, shared her:
Kennedy,
Ethel
, HBO, 2012.

104.
After a beat, he put his hand . . . dark months to come:
David,
Ethel
, p. 164.

105.
“
That’s
the wife of”:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 356.

105.
While the rest of the family gathered:
ibid.

105.
“It was like a tidal wave . . . six months of just blackness”:
Kennedy,
Ethel
, HBO, 2012.

105.
“
Daddy became more withdrawn”:
Kennedy,
Ethel
, HBO, 2012.

105.
his friends credited her:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 358.

106.
“Whether I win or lose”:
Pelkey, Herbert, “‘Win or Lose, I’m Staying in NY,’ Says Robert Kennedy,”
Boston Globe
, September 6, 1964.

106.
“Three times, while standing . . . to keep him upright”:
Morin, Relman, “An Astonishing Human Storm,”
Boston Globe
, September 13, 1964.

106.
On November 3, 1964, he
. . .
won by only 700,000:
Thomas,
Robert Kennedy
,
ch. 16.

106.
Ethel and the children were:
Saltonstall, Pat, “It’s Back to McLean for RFKs (and Pets),”
Boston Globe
, January 10, 1965.

106.
“Under any foreseeable circumstances”:
Glass, Andrew, “RFK Not a Candidate in ’68,”
Boston Globe
, October 6, 1966.

9. Run, Bobby, Run

107.
“I have absolutely no . . .
EthelBird
”:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 373.

107.
And even a weakened:
Thomas,
Robert Kennedy
,
ch. 19.

107.
They also argued that Bobby:
ibid.

108.
The party was still going in:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 405.

108.
“with incredible grace and incredible bravery”:
ibid., p. 390.

109.
“go a long way toward . . . you’ve got to realize that”:
Thomas,
Robert Kennedy
,
ch. 19.

109.
Bobby insisted that it:
ibid.

109.
“Do you know what . . . more people hate Bobby than hated Jack”:
ibid.

110.
Kerry, then eight years old . . . Matthew Maxwell wrestled with him:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 411.

110.
“I do not run for the presidency . . . in this country and around the world”:
ibid.

110–11
.
“If Ethel Kennedy . . . since Teddy Roosevelt’s day”:
ibid., p. 413.

111.
“This is Kansas . . . all the fucking way”:
Thomas,
Robert Kennedy
,
ch. 20.

111.
He somehow had to:
ibid.

111.
But Bobby Jr., fifteen:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 421.

111.
“One of her rules was . . .
‘Yea, there’s Dad! This is great’”:
ibid., p. 420.

112.
After Washington newspaper:
Thomas,
Robert Kennedy
,
ch. 20.

112.
When Ethel was campaigning . . . then walked away:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 419.

112.
“Well, he didn’t deserve to be president anyway”
: David,
Ethel
, p.176.

112.
When Robert Kennedy’s name:
Thomas,
Robert Kennedy
,
ch. 20.

113.
“For those of you who are”:
ibid.

113.
Riots broke out in 110 cities:
ibid.

113.
“we embraced each other . . . who reached out to me”:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 417.

114.
“Don’t you just wish that everyone was black?”
: Thomas,
Robert Kennedy
, ch. 21.

114.
“Kennedy’s mood, often”:
Thomas,
Robert Kennedy
,
ch. 21.

114.
Ethel had made “Dutton Buttons” . . . and sharp Boston accent:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
pp. 430–31.

114.
“I plan to remain active”:
ibid., p.421.

114.
“I try to keep our family life happy . . . the children are well”:
ibid., p. 421.

115.
“David was chided and . . . but that was it”:
ibid., pp. 422–23.

115.
Because he wanted:
Thomas,
Robert Kennedy
,
ch. 21.

10. A Tremendous Amount of Presence

116.
Bobby was never able:
Thomas,
Robert Kennedy
,
ch. 20.

116.
Each night at dinner:
ibid., ch. 21.

116.
“These are my people”:
ibid.

116.
“He was being truthful . . . embraced by people of color”:
ibid.

117.
“The kids were constantly . . . got a kick out of it”:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 433.

117.
Ethel crouched into the backseat . . . standing, seemingly unafraid:
ibid.

117.
He had an abrasion over:
ibid., p. 434.

118.
“I’m not doing this in order . . . and let’s win there”:
“RFK part 1 Last Speech at the Ambassador Hotel,” YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXuHcQ1Mrqs.

118.
“Is everybody else all right?”:
Thomas,
Robert Kennedy
,
ch. 21.

119.
“Ethel Kennedy is standing by . . . tremendous amount of presence”:
Goldsmith,
Seven American Deaths
,
pp. 44–45.

119.
Five other people had been:
MSNBC, “Key Figures Associated with RFK’s Assassination,” NBCNews.com, July 9, 2013. Web, May 30, 2014. www.nbcnews.com/id/24895033/ns/us_news-rfk_40_years_later/t/key-figures-associated-rfks-assassination/#.U4vGmRZ2CVk.

119.
Two medics arrived . . . slipping into unconsciousness:
ibid.

119.
“he said something like”:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 442.

119.
Surgeons tried to remove:
ibid., p. 443.

119.
When Bobby was finally wheeled:
Kennedy,
Ethel
, HBO, 2012.

120.
“And the news just kept coming”:
Oppenheimer,
The Other Mrs. Kennedy,
p. 446.

120.
“If there’s one thing about our faith”:
ibid., p.471.