My Search for John F. Kennedy at Harvard (Concluded) & Update on my Kennedy Collection.

It was raining earlier this morning and I assumed it would rain throughout the entire day so I did not plan to go anywhere at all. I took a nap and woke up in the late afternoon to find that the sun was shining. My roommate came back from a trip to Cape Cod and was planning to go out again. I mentioned that since the sun was out that I would take the bus to Harvard. He then offered to drive me to the campus since he was headed in that direction. I accepted his offer. I quickly got dressed in casual clothing and grabbed my keys, my cellphone, my wallet, my camera, my COVID mask, and my 1961 Inaugural Hardcover Edition of “Why England Slept” by John F. Kennedy (which arrived in the mail on July 2) and we were on our way.

My roommate dropped me off at a sidewalk on N. Harvard Street within site of Harvard Stadium. I spontaneously decided to make a pit stop at Harvard Stadium since Kennedy also played football there. I went to a spot where I hoped to capture the size and scope of the stadium in a photo although I believe I did not do it justice.

Being there conjured up images of my viewing of the scenes of the 2000 movie “Gladiator” of Maximus (played by Russell Crowe) combating his opponents in the arena.

After this, I crossed the Anderson Memorial Bridge, and took right onto Dr Paul Dudley White Bike Path and soon found myself in front of Gore Hall at Winthrop House. I took photos of my copy of “Why England Slept” at various locations at that very site of where the young Kennedy wrote his thesis which became a book later on.

When I had finished, I then remembered Tom Acitelli's article that Kennedy was a member of the Spee Club, a "finals club while at Harvard." I was determined to look for the building that housed the club before leaving. The problem was I did not remember where the address was. All I remembered was that it was a brick building. I walked along the Dunster Street, Winthrop Street, Mill Street, Holyoke Street, and Holyoke Place and could not find it. Then I found it unwittingly at 76 Mt Auburn Street.

I admittedly was not sure I had indeed discovered the actual building until I searched for the location on the internet when I returned to the place where I live. It was confirmed that I what had found was indeed the site of Spee Club, where Kennedy had visited and had been in member of when he was a student at Harvard University. I felt relieved and I thought my search for John F. Kennedy at Harvard had been concluded for now.

Since I have returned and I decided to post this entry, I thought I should also share an update on my Kennedy Collection as well. Towards the end of June, I ordered these vintage WA Smith busts of President Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy made of chalk ware together for $12.00.

However, when they arrived on June 29, the bust of Jacqueline Kennedy had been broken with her head separated from her neck and missing pieces of her hair. Mercifully, the bust of President Kennedy had remained intact and unharmed.

I then used some superglue and did my best to put the bust of Mrs. Kennedy back together. The result is not perfect, but I’m glad I have them both to crown my bookshelf along with my Norman Rockwell replica print of JFK. Depending on the price, I’ll see if I can have the bust fully restored to its original glory.

Another item I purchased is a Washington DC picture frame, in which I placed a photo of myself with Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, John F. Kennedy’s sister, to also crown my bookshelf although it is off to the side.

Also, since the beginning of July, several more books on The Kennedys have arrived in the mail. The books are:

• “Robert Kennedy in His Own Words: The Unpublished Recollections of the Kennedy Years”
• “The Revolution of Robert Kennedy: From Power to Protest After JFK” by John R. Bohrer
• “Prelude to Leadership: The European Diary of John F. Kennedy, Summer 1945”
• “Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch” by Barbara A. Perry
• “Edward M. Kennedy: An Oral History (Oxford Oral History Series),” also by Barbara A. Perry

On July 6, I also received a copy of Nick Bryant's “The Bystander: John F. Kennedy and the Struggle for Black Equality” and I forgot to mention that my copy of “Kennedy and King: The President, the Pastor, and the Battle Over Civil Rights” by Steven Levingston also arrived on June 28. I wanted to take a photo of these two books together because they both feature President Kennedy and his link to the Civil Rights Movement.

I haven’t been able to put them in my bookshelf, along with “Robert Kennedy in His Own Words: The Unpublished Recollections of the Kennedy Years” and “The Revolution of Robert Kennedy: From Power to Protest After JFK” by John R. Bohrer, because I have run out of room in my “Kennedy Library.” I’m hoping to obtain a bigger bookshelf so I can add more books on the Kennedys. I am being mindful of my budget so have to find one at a reasonable price.

I also received a copy of “Dinner in Camelot: The Night America's Greatest Scientists, Writers, and Scholars Partied at the Kennedy White House” by Joseph A. Esposito, whom I recently became friends with on Facebook. He once held a discussion and a book signing at the Harvard Book Store on June 21, 2018. I regret not having attended when I had the chance. I hope that when this pandemic fully subsides, I hope that another opportunity will come.

The final book I wanted to show in my inventory is one I received in the mail on that day that I especially treasure. The book is entitled “The Kennedy Brothers: The Rise and Fall of Jack and Bobby” by Richard D. Mahoney.

The reason why I value it so much is because it was a given to me as a gift from my good friend Mai Lee. She and I had become friends via twitter since January of this year and we both supported a presidential candidate named Andrew Yang. We both share a mutual love for reading, writing, and learning. She also helped inspire me to update this blog. I am indebted to her for her friendship and I hope that if I ever write any books, I will dedicate at least one of them to her.

Speaking of books, since I ran out of space to add more books on The Kennedys, I will have to pause on ordering more books until a new bookshelf can be acquired. Until then, I will have to be content with this collection for now.

To concluded this blog entry, I wanted to share a quote that was spoken by President Kennedy and I dedicate it to my friend Mai Lee who has been an inspiration and a wonderful friend to me. The words are: “We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”