TRIBUTES

Maggie O'Donovan-Bolton

Former intern

I was an intern in Sen. Kennedy's press office in Boston in 1976-77.  In the process of getting my undergraduate degree in journalism from Boston University, I spent Fridays with his Massachusetts press secretary.  Since he wasn't often in Boston, it was Christmas time and I hadn't yet met him.  I was traveling from Boston to West Palm Beach to spend Christmas with my family, and it turned out he was also waiting for the same flight.  Steeling my nerves, I went up to tell him that I interned in his office.  He then asked why I was on the flight to Florida.  I told him I was going to visit my mother and father.  Without missing a beat, he replied, "I'm going to visit my mother too."  This simple response -- a show of his common touch -- has stayed with me through the years.  He could have asked me why I was interning, what work I was doing in his office, but instead he made a strong, human connection with me.  We were both going to visit our mothers.

My sincerest sympathies to Vicky and his entire family.