Farewell to Camelot


Carolyn Besette Kennedy 1966 - 1999	John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. 25 Nov 60 - 16 Jul 99	Lauren Besette 1964 - 1999

The end of Camelot came at the controls of a sophisticated single engine aircraft, the Piper Saratoga HP. John F. Kennedy, Jr., was a fairly new pilot and was cleared to fly under Visual Flight Rules. Much is being made about his inability to pilot an aircraft using IFR, or Instrument Flight Rules.

Well before you can obtain your IFR rating, you must clear your VFR, or Visual Flight Rules, rating. You have to accumulate a certain amount of flight time before applying to upgrade your "ticket" (private pilots license) and it usually takes about a year of flight time for you to accumulate the appropriate amount of time. John F. Kennedy, Jr. had a little over a year flight time. It is unknown at this time how many in-flight hours he had accumulated. But it is known that he had taken-- and passed --his IFR written test.

Another thing that there is much speculation is why Kennedy would not file a flight route. Well, first and foremost, there is no requirement that mandates you file one under Visual Flight Rules. As the chart below indicates, the flight route that Kennedy was taking did not require instrument flight.

Flight Route that Kennedy Took

As you can see, he hugged the coastlines of Connecticut and New York for much of the flight, traveling over water ("feet wet") for approximately 40 miles of the intended flight route. And we are talking about someone who was hounded all his life by paparazzi. So why would he file a flight plan that had every potential of being leaked, whereby the solitude of flying a private aircraft could be made even more hazardous by paparazzi helicopters buzzing the Kennedy aircraft?

He obviously knew what he was doing as he had no trouble navigating the aircraft at least up until he started his direct approach. So with all the Monday Morning Quarterbacks second guessing what went on that caused him to lose control of the aircraft, I think that we should all take a step back and allow the professionals to conduct their investigation before judging that JFK Jr. was inept as a pilot.

John and Caroline dancing in the Oval Office

We all became aware of John and Caroline with their frequent visits with their father in the Oval Office. President Kennedy was truly delighted with his children and he showed that delight again and again.
We believe that what made that time so magical, so Camelot if you will, is the fact that during this period the White House had an abundance of children. It would not be unusual for the USMC Helicopter, Marine One, to land on the South Lawn of the White House and children scampering to greet the President and his party.
John Jr. playing with daddy

No matter how busy the job of the Presidency of the United States of America was back then, and it was every bit the job (if not more) than it is today, President Kennedy always had time to frolic with one or both of his children. I think that is part of what made the Kennedy presidency so special. He showed us that although he was the most powerful person in the world, he was still dad. Or daddy. And he delighted in his children. In the years since the Kennedy presidency, there have been other children in the White House, but there was a distinct difference--you never really saw them in the Oval Office, or playing on a swing set on the lawn of the White House. Nor was there ever another "Pony Macaroni" at the White House since Kennedy.

John Jr. under Dad's (The President's) Desk

John Jr. under Dad's (The President's) Desk

That may be part of the allure, part of the myth. This giant family who regaled in playing touch football on the lawn of the family compound, regardless of where they were in the political spectrum. President Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Senator Ted Kennedy all participated in the playing of sports. And you hardly ever saw the Secret Service. . .
Who can forget seeing President Kennedy busy at work, while son John Jr. played hide-and-seek under the very desk where his dad, The President, worked?
What folks may not know, although they probably do now, is that President Kennedy kept gum in one of his desk drawers for the children. Jackie Kennedy disapproved their children chewing gum, so President Kennedy made sure that he kept gum on hand so he could give them "treats."

Let's not forget the times that we were facing then. The Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, Civil Rights, The Cuban Missile Crisis. Any one of which threatened the security of the United States, nevermind all of this happening at the same time. And yet in the Kingdom of Camelot, there was time for children. Time for playing and paying attention to your kids. One partner worked while the other took care of home. Kinder and Gentler times? I don't know. I can remember having to practice getting under my desk in school in the event of an attack. An attack that would have vaporized us all under those desks! But I do look back on that period of time with bittersweet fondness.

A bullet ended Camelot's reign over the White House,
but it did not end Camelot itself.
John Jr. Saluting President Kennedy's coffin

John Jr. Saluting President Kennedy's coffin

And the world fell in love with the heir-apparent to Camelot
with this brave little boy's salute to his martyred father.

The world mourned the death of President Kennedy who at age 47 will forever be a vibrant young man. Everyone alive at the time can recite where they were when they learned of the news that the 35th President of the United States was dead. Of Walter Cronkite choking back tears when giving the details from the hospital where the president had succumbed to his wounds. The terrible shock, the outpouring of grief was evident on the faces of a stunned nation, of a stunned world.

5 years later, another Kennedy was asassinated. Former Attorney General and then Senator Robert Kennedy [D-NY] had just won the California primary in 1968 when he was cut down. Robert had become the surrogate father to John and Caroline and it was more than Jacqueline could stand. "They're killing Kennedy's. That makes my children targets and I am getting my children out of here," she said at the time. She married Aristotle Onassis, a Greek tycoon, and moved her children out of harms way. After Onassis' death, she moved her children to New York City where they became a fixture.

John Jr. with Mom, Jackie-O

Jackie was determined to afford her children as normal a life as possible, shielded from the press that so hounded her. During the growing years, Jackie-O was successful in shielding her children. In later years, the press focused on her son as well as her. Afterall, he was the heir-apparent to Camelot.
The American public seemed to expect that "John-John", as the press mis-named him, (the Kennedy's never referred to him as John-John), would assume the reign that had been cut-off by an assassin's bullet.

John Jr. introducing his uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, during the 1988 Democratic Convention

John Jr. introducing his uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, during the 1988 Democratic Convention

And that expectation was brought to a frenzy during the Democratic National Convention in 1988, when he was introducing his uncle, Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy (D-MA).
When John was introduced to the crowd, not as a candidate, he received a two minute standing ovation. When he reminded the crowd that his father had stood at the podium a quarter century earlier to accept their nomination to the presidency, you would have thought that he had declared his own political intentions.
Camelot was back, and we were immediately transcended to a time when children peeked out from a doorway under a desk in the Oval Office. Where a president clapped his hands in delight as his children danced on the rug of the Oval Office. The world could wait; his children were dancing. Long live the King.

After graduating from New York Universities School of Law, Kennedy joined the staff of District Attorney of New York County [Manhattan] Robert Morgantheu. For the next four years he won every case that he prosecuted. He failed the bar exam several times, under the watchful eye of the New York Press. "Hunk Flunks!" read one of the newspapers. Imagine the pressure of just taking that exam. Now imagine that same pressure with the press watching your every moment. It's amazing that he remained composed and graceful--traits that he obviously received from his mother.

In the ensuing years there were many Kennedy news reports, none of them good. From drinking and driving, to rape charges, to cheating on their spouses, various Kennedy cousins were a constant part of the nations news. But you heard no such hijinx about John or Caroline.

John and Caroline at Jackie's funeral

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis died in 1994 of cancer. She died with her loved ones surrounding her and she did so at her NYC home, rather than in a hospital or hospice.
In one of her final public moments, she had fought -and won- New York City's plan to tear down Grand Central Station and instead she spearheaded the drive to restore this beautiful piece of architecture to its original grandeur. She was laid to rest next to President Kennedy and son Patrick at Arlington National Cemetery. And Camelot came that much closer to an end.

The media focused completely on John, rather than older sister Caroline. Paparazzi camped outside John's Tribeca loft and took pictures of him roller blading, or taking the subway or bicycling through Central Park always speculating the return of Camelot to the White House.

JFK Jr. debuts George Magazine

To the shock and surprise of the press, and the world, John F. Kennedy Jr., in 1995, decided, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," and called a press conference to debut his "Not So Politically Correct Magazine, George."
He started George, names after the first US President George Washington, to attempt to inject fun back into politics. Since the days of his father's administration, JFK Jr. noticed that young people, indeed most people, were becomming more and more cynical about politics and he tried to change that cynacism into activism. He interviewed a wide range of politicians and had some former politico's writing for the magazine.

For instance, former Senator Alphonse D'Amato(R-NY), after loosing a negative-ad campaign to [then] Rep. Charles Schumer, was chosen by Kennedy to write an advice column. There was no partisan politics involved. Kennedy simply thought that D'Amato would be good for the magazine. This was his way of being involved politically without running for office. He believed that when you enter public life, you have to do so wholly with total focus. He thought that entering politics later in life would afford him the time to do other things first.

Carolyn Besette and John F. Kennedy Jr.

Becoming a journalist did not stop the press from writing about him and especially about his romances. During the course of his dating Caroyn Besette, a public relations executive for Calvin Klein, there was an incident whereby they had a public arguement.
The press seized on the fact that the "fiesty Besette" had screamed at Kennedy and stormed off and it furhter frenzied on the public row by insisting that Kennedy had sat down by the curb and cried. Anyone in a relationship can empathize with both Kennedy and Besette. How many times does one feel like sitting on the curb and crying, or strangling the very life out of their partner at times? But we feel those feelings privately, while Kennedy was not permitted to do so.

Mr. and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, Jr.

Not only did Besette and Kennedy make up, but they pulled off the Wedding of the Century in total secrecy, prompting one periodical to display the picture to the left with the banner, "WELL DONE!"
In 1996, John F. Kennedy, Jr. wed Carolyn Besette on a secluded -albiet difficult to get to- island off the coast of Georgia. The man dubbed 1988's People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive and the most eligible bachelor of the century was now a happily married man. In introducing Carolyn to the media outside their Tribeca loft, he made a request of the paparazzi. He asked their indulgence in giving his new bride time to get used to living life in a fishbowl. Forever graceful and acomodating, Kennedy did not use body guards or police. He used reason and charm.

The Kennedy's share a moment

It was obvious that this very special couple was determined to lead normal lives despite all the media attention.
They went out to a variety of functions and on "dates" where they stole as private a moment as possible. One needs only to look at this couple to see how very much in love they were. They were young, vibrant and they had their whole lives ahead of them.
Much is said about the Kennedy Family being the closet thing to Royalty that the United States has ever had. While most understand that it is rhetorical to call them royalty, this particular Kennedy couple can only be described as regal. The addition of the gorgeous Besette as the wife of the heir-apparent to Camelot only served to feed the Camelot frenzy.

But Camelot ended in 1963; it just took the rest of the world 36 years to understand that. Camelot, or whatever we conceived Camelot to be, was not to be. Kennedy together with his wife Carolyn and sister-in-law Lauren plunged into the sea while piloting a private plane. As I sit here writing this, they have just announced the discovery of all three bodies in a large section of the aircraft submerged in approximately 110 feet of water.

Both the Besette Family, who lost two daughter's and the Kennedy Family who have suffered more tragedy than any other family issued statements relative to the loss of their loved ones.

Read the Besette Family Statement

Meet Lauren Besette

Read The Kennedy Family Statement

And so our nation has to deal with another untimely Kennedy death. John Jr. was 9 years younger than his father was when President Kennedy was cut down. The Besette family has to deal with the loss of two young daughters, both during the springtimes of their very promising lives.

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, devestated after mother's death, must now deal with the loss of the only surviving member of her Camelot-Kennedy family. It is widely known that she and John were close, speaking almost daily.

The Kennedy clan closed ranks as only they know how to do and Senator Kennedy had yet another eulogy to perform. That man has had far too much practice at euologies. We wish them the best and they have our deepest, deepest sympathy.

This has nothing to do with the POW/MIA issue. I felt it important to put into words the things that I did as John was a fellow NYC dweller--a fixture. Someone to run into and who was always gracious if you stopped to say hi. He would always talk to you and seem genuinely interested. He was one of the most accessible celebrities in a city of bodyguards.

The light that we all called Camelot flickered for a brief time. . . and sadly it went out.

Godspeed John.
Godspeed Carolyn.
Godspeed Lauren.

Godspeed Camelot.

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