On October 31, 2003, I covered a conference at the JFK Presidential Library in Boston for the Harvard School of Public Health newsletter. Universal health care coverage was topic of the day in Massachusetts, which was considering several plans for the uninsured. The half-day program included a keynote address by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, given to a roomful of insurance, health care and business leaders, plus people from patient advocacy groups, research organizations and universities. On a break, I caught Ted Kennedy chatting with the focus of my story, economist Robert Blendon, of HSPH. I wanted a candid shot but was too slow and ended up with a very self-conscious one instead, just before Kennedy left. That story, with cropped photo, is available here. The two men were standing in front of the huge bowed window in the library’s meeting room. From there, you get a spectacular view of Boston Harbor and, as you can see, it was a crisp, sunny fall day. If the scene looks familiar, it may be because, on that day, Kennedy was standing in the same spot where his coffin would rest almost 6 years later. The entire Kennedy family gathered last week in the same room to bid Ted a final farewell. http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/08/29/us/0829-KENNEDY_4.html
