Every now and again, I feel the urge to write about a book I've read. Last week there was little I could do but read so I curled up David Nasaw's biography of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. It was quite a page-turner; it was also rather sad. Here's a guy who made millions; he was a real slick operator, but also very sad. This guy had everything but peace, happiness, maybe even love. I'm not sure he really loved Rose Fitzgerald; he probably considered her a business merger. When he died, he was a vegetable unable to move or speak. He had buried four of his children. A fifth, Rosemary, was also a vegetable thanks to Joe who authorized the lobotomy.
Joe Kennedy was ahead of his time when it came to his daughters. They all married, "late." Eunice was thirty. Kathleen married at the youngest age - 24. But Joe wanted his daughters to be educated and to have careers. And it happened. Joe Kennedy was a fascinating guy; too bad we will never know what was going on his mind as he sat dying those last years.
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