POLITICO Playbook: What they're saying about the DNC convention cities

[DFW]

39. Chatting with RFK wasn't as exotic as it might seem if you know the background

My dad was a long-term (as in 50 years!) Washington correspondent for a one-horse town in upstate New York. He opened up shop in DC in 1950 when he was 28. As the DC scene grew, his work plus his connections from his parents led him to know LOTS of people. A cousin of his was Caroline Kennedy's tutor in the JFK White House. My brother and I had brunch with her and her husband (who is 91 and looks 71) last month in DC. He is a veteran of the Selma march and the whole 1960s civil rights campaign.

Since my dad's paper was in New York State, and he had been in DC forever, he had to know all members of the New York delegation to Congress (of both parties) as well as the governor and the Canadian Ambassador. I once played in a rock band as a teenager in DC with the son of the Canadian ambassador, and we used to rehearse in the Canadian Embassy Residence with unlimited (leftover) filet mignon and Canada Dry (of course!) soft drinks. Talk about stories! We called our band "The CLockwork Orange" three years before the film came out (we all had read the book), and got trashed for our "screwy name." Just ahead of our time, that's all! Anyway, for a couple of years, Joe II and Bobby junior were my schoolmates in DC. I freaked out Bobby Junior one time when I called in to his Ring of Fire show and said "Hi Bobby, it's been a long time."

As for Groucho, we can laugh about it now. To an 8 year old kid, it was close to devastating!