Steven, this is a P.S. to this earlier post I made to you during the discussions about JFKjr, and Caroline and Lauren Bessette.
A few days ago, I was talking with a couple of NYC people about the deaths, and the public reaction to it, and they made some comments I wanted to mention.
First, they both said that, in NYC, at least, it was no mystery why there was a lot of sadness.
They said that they, and others among their group of friends, and everybody in NYC, simply saw him around so regularly that he was a familiar fixture, one of the people, neighbors, one feels a certain connection to. They said, for example, that his main mode of transportation in the city was his bike. So he was seen around the city all the time. Also, they said that he was a regular in Central Park among the joggers-- but that he was unlike the other "celebrity joggers," in that "they" all jogged with big sunglasses and hats and scarves and other absurd disguises plus body guards or a retinue. He just put on a sweat suit and jogged like everybody else. He was in the streets all the time, too-- he walked places. He took the subway regularly, too. (This is VERY unusual celebrity behavior.) (I wonder if his banker sister-in-law would have used the subway in New York?)
He was a kayaker. (I think I mentioned that before, but I didn't know this story.) And there was a kayak club that is a sort of co-op downtown where he hoped to store his boat. He went in to ask about it, and was told by the people there that it was a co-op, and everybody who used it had to volunteer there once a week. They, of course, expected him to say Nevermind, but he said, Sure, he signed up, and did his stint every week like everybody else.
Just thought I'd mention these stories. |
