Ted Kennedy was our greatest senator, a warrior for the important issues of our day. He was not afraid to take on the big issues and fight for the rights of those who otherwise would have had no voice. Those battles will be discussed over the coming days as the details of his passing are covered by the news folk, but at this moment, it is his courage that I remember over the many years as I watched him mourn the loss of his brothers and so many other family members.
Like so many, Senator Kennedy was drawn to the sea, to the calming presence of the tide, and so he sailed and he swam and he watched the ocean every moment he could. He stated recently to Tom Brokaw that oftentimes, when he was looking out at the ocean, he would search for the faces of his brothers Joseph, John and Robert in the waves that mounted to the shore...and he indeed would see and feel their presence.
Years ago after a back injury, he had taken up painting during his recovery...and so it happened that he painted this watercolor of his parents' home in Hyannisport.
This seaside scene gives me a sense of comfort, knowing that Senator Edward Kennedy today is at his final rest. It reminds me of a line from my favorite hymn:
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be."
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