The Obama Girls, “Bo,” Ted Kennedy And What Might Have Been…
So, the Obama girls now have their puppy, “Bo,” a Portuguese Water Dog given to them by Sen. Edward Kennedy. Hmmmmmmmmm, Kennedy — water —. There are two times when I think of Kennedy and Chappaquiddick: (1) When I see or hear, in the same sentence, or close to the same sentence, the words “Ted Kennedy” and “water.” (2) And when I do not see or hear, in the same sentence, or close to the same sentence, the words “Ted Kennedy” and “water.”
The sometimes factual “Wikipedia” tells us that Portuguese Water Dogs “once existed all along Portugal’s coast, where they were taught to herd fish into fishermen’s nets, to retrieve lost tackle or broken nets, and to act as couriers from ship to ship, or ship to shore.”
Interesting. So, if Kennedy had had with him that fateful night a Portuguese Water Dog when he and Mary Jo took that drive, and he became the victim of “The Kennedy Curse” (the inability to drive straight while drunk), the dog might have gotten Mary Jo to shore while still alive and Mr. and Mrs. Kopechne would still have their daughter. In fact, since these dogs seem very intelligent, there’s no doubt Ted’s Portuguese Water Dog most probably would have been able to respond to such commands as: “Fetch! You get the young lady out of the car while I go to the motel to call some lawyers and find a place to rent a neck brace!”
ted kennedy’s car being pulled from water.jpgBut, alas, Kennedy, the night of that “accident,” did not have with him a Portuguese Water Dog. But, he owns three of them now, one of which is named — “Splash.” And yes, that’s the same “Splash” who, “Wikipedia” says, serves as the “fictional narrator in Kennedy’s children’s book called ‘My Senator and Me: A Dog’s-Eye View of Washington, D.C.’” That’s right, Kennedy wrote a book that is fiction - you know, fiction - like his story of what happened that night on Chappaquiddick Island.