The Christmas my mother died, friends of my father who lived beside Carbondale, Colorado and were very wealthy ranchers , invited Dad and my sister and myself out to ski in Aspen.

I dreaded going I was 16 and wanted to be away from people in order to grieve Mom’s death—a suicide. Beside myself. I was the child closest to Mom . I pleaded not go to go but my dad said that going would be the best thing for all of us. Todsy I know I was in a state of post traumatic disorder. Mom’s mental illness had taken a toll on me, the grief

Extreme

When we arrived in Carbondale, I managed to cope. The family who invited us was beautiful and generous. We skied, had a picnic on a steep mountain at Aspen and skated under the stars on New Years Eve.

One night the family we were visiting, invited us to a swank eating place in Aspen called The Crystal Palace where the waitresses sang to their customers. I was awed by their voices and their talent.

We had been seated for a few minutes when I saw that the Kennedy’s were sitting at the table beside ours. In disbelief (Jack Kennedy had just died) my eyes flew from one Kennedy to another. The entire Kennedy clan was there : Bobby and Ethel, the Shrivers,

Teddy and Joan and several other family members.I was all eyes.

My dad told me to quite gawking. but at sixteen that wasn’t easy to do. Bobby was sad and imbibing heavily while Teddy lwas loud and boisterous. Teddy’s wife was right behind me, The entire clan was seated around the table The next day, I saw

Jackie alone in the snow standing at the bottoms of the slope.

Summing up my experience, it was a momentous moment at a time when the Kennedy’s were perceived as Camelot.

I am glad I went. It helped sand and smooth my enormous grief.Dad was right. A reprieve was needed

#Note I can barely type, I must have my phone checked. Something is wrong