My Son the President

The lights in the hall fade. The slide projector goes on, and there on the screen is a picture of John and Jacqueline Kennedy with a towering, dour man about whom 40 million Frenchmen may be right. Says the lecturer's voice of Charles de Gaulle: "What a wonderful leader for the French he has been. How he has sacrificed himself! The women don't make speeches in France, and Madame de Gaulle was quite surprised when I told her what the ladies do over here."

What is this? A professional travelogue? Yes and no. An amateur's vacation report? No and yes. It's the liveliest show on the Massachusetts lecture circuit. It's Rose Kennedy, talking about the places, people and events she knows, loves and remembers best--all for the benefit of charity. Billed as "An Evening with Rose Kennedy," she packs 'em in and sends 'em away delighted.

England Is Rainy. Last week, for example. Rose appeared before an audience of 1,000 in Maryborough, Mass., benefit of the town's Newman Catholic Women's Club. She flipped on a slide of Windsor Castle, delivered a capsule history of Britain's royal family, went on to urge her audience to go to Europe. "It adds meaning and enjoyment to life, especially for the younger people . . . You hear that places like Ireland and Switzerland are so cold, but it's not true. Don't load your suitcases down with heavy clothing. A couple of pairs of snuggies and a couple of sweaters will do. And before you go home, give them to somebody over there and fill up your valises with perfume."

Onto the screen came a sadly familiar figure. "That," said Rose, "is Mr. Chamberlain with his famous umbrella. It's so apt to rain over there; you should carry one of those plastic umbrellas with you when you go. Mr. Chamberlain's position was not understood in this country. He did the best he could under difficult circumstances."

There was a shot of England's Queen Mother. "After dinner one evening," recalled Rose, "the Queen and I left the men at the table and went upstairs. She asked me if I always got up to see the kids off to school. She said that she did but then went back to bed. I told her that I used to get up for the first six children, but when seven, eight and nine came, I said to myself that this could go on forever . . ."

A picture of Old Joe Kennedy and the kids with Pope Pius XII reminded Rose that "the Pope gaveTeddy his first Holy Communion. I thought with all those spiritual advantages Teddy might become a priest or even a bishop, but he met a beautiful blonde one evening, and that was the end of it."

Tiaras Are Heavy. Amid flashing pictures of Britain's royal family, of table settings for banquets, and of more interiors of Windsor Castle, Rose explained that "King George always signed his name 'George R,' never King George . . . Royalty wears white so they'll stand out . . . When dining with the Queen, the ladies always wear tiaras, but they aren't all they're cracked up to be; they're quite heavy on your head."

Rose went to Vienna to meet Mrs. Khrushchev when the President and the Soviet Premier met in 1961. Sure enough, there was a picture of Viennese banquet tables. "Mrs. Khrushchev," said Rose, "impressed me because she spoke English so well. She shows a lot of initiative and fulfills her position very well."

As for the kids in Washington, well, there were plenty of pictures of the White House, the President's office, the bedrooms, and dining rooms with food-filled tables. "That's an artichoke delight," Rose observed of one slide. "In this room, we have cocktails," she said of another. At one point, without a slide, Rose offered a "word to teenagers." Said she: "I know many of you mothers are appalled by the drinking that's going on among teenagers. Please, please tell them that to be sophisticated, to show that you've been places, you don't have to drink. The girl that does will lose her figure, face and looks. Mr. Kennedy never drank before making an important business decision. We were very fortunate in our family. My husband promised each of our children $1,000 if they did not smoke or drink until they were 21. The oldest boys, Joe Jr. and Jack, went through with it and the girls followed."*

And then it was all over. "That's it," announced Rose, whereupon the lights went up and the audience broke into a torrent of applause. Then everybody lined up to shake--as one greying matron put it --"the hand that rocked the cradle of the President of the U.S."

*Rose is not exactly right. Jack actually returned the $1,000. His explanation: "I drank some beer."

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