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Kennedy had closet full of bulletproof vests

Teddy Jr. reveals fear his father lived with

By
KENNETH HAYNES,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Saturday, September 12, 2009, 2:37 PM
Updated Monday, September 14, 2009, 11:57 AM

 

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Ted Kennedy Jr.
Ted Kennedy Jr.

Ted Kennedy Jr., the son of the late U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy , reveals that his father kept bulletproof vests in his closet.

In a CBS “60 Minutes” segment, which will air on Sunday, Kennedy talks about the anxiety he and his siblings felt every time they passed that closet during his father’s ill-fated presidential run in 1980.

 “Most people keep coats and umbrellas in their coat closet. My father kept bulletproof vests in his coat closet,” he said. “Believe me, we would walk past that coat closet every day, fearful about some crazy person out there wanting to make a name for themselves, and that, I think, was in the back of our minds almost every time that my father would appear in public.”

The late Massachusett senator’s son also reveals how his father, who passed away last month at the age of 77 from brain cancer, sought forgiveness for his mistakes, and even wrote a letter a letter to the Pope in July.

 “His letter to the pope . . . just a few short weeks ago . . . every time I read that letter, I cry because he’s asking for forgiveness,” Kennedy Jr. says.

The senator’s mistakes include the infamous 1969 Chappaquiddick accident. Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Martha’s Vineyard, killing passenger Mary Jo Kopechne. The crash cost Kennedy his dream of becoming president.

The “60 Minutes” segment, which airs on Sunday at 7 p.m., will also include an interview with Jonathan Karp, editor and publisher of the former senator’s memoir “True Compass.”

The interview includes a video of Kennedy taken just before he died.

In it, he talks about a heart-to-heart conversation he had with his Irish-American father, Joseph Kennedy, while he was young:

“I had a sit-down with my dad. He said: ‘Now Teddy, you have to make up your mind whether you want to have a constructive and positive attitude and influence on your time, and if you are not interested, I just want you to know that I have other children that intend to have a purposeful and constructive life.’ It was very clear to me what kind of life I wanted to lead.”

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