The Kennedys

Where were you when President Kennedy was shot? A whole generation can recall that day in 1963, or so I have heard.

Where were you on 9/11? I am part of that generation who can tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing. There have been so many tragedies, and so many people can recount exactly where they were, what they were wearing, what they were doing.

I could not tell you what I had for breakfast, but I know where I was on any given date when something universally memorable happened. More or less.

When I got the call about Princess Diana, I was living in Englewood, it was a Saturday night, and my friend Leslie called to ask if I had heard. I, of course, had not. When Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut, was killed in the Columbia space shuttle disaster, we were going to friends in Teaneck for Shabbos lunch. Ironically, we were at that same person’s house, years earlier, when we were told that JFK Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette, (and her sister) were killed in a plane crash on the way to his cousin’s wedding in Martha’s Vineyard.

Okay, Banji, who cares? Why are you writing about this? None of this is funny. Allow me to share with you that I am a big fan of pop culture, well, until I got old — we will say 45. Anything before that, I can be quizzed on. Anything after that, crickets. Just crickets. That goes for pop music as well.

I do not know who is singing what now, but years ago, I could go toe to toe with anyone about who was singing Top 10 hits. Do they even call them that anymore? Record player anyone? 8 track? Bueller? Bueller?

Anyway, back to JFK Jr. I, too, was one of the lucky New Yorkers who got to see his beautiful self, riding his bicycle, with his baseball hat on backwards, right in front of the Great American Health Bar on 57th Street. What a sight. I mean, he was no Husband #1, but still, what a sight.

Like most women who came of age in the ’80s and ’90s, I was fascinated with John John. Of course, my heart always belonged to Rick Springfield, but JFK Jr. and his love life were fair game to the public. Not good for him, but good for the rest of us, who would live vicariously through People Magazine covers and the like.

When he got married, we marveled at the blonde who stole his heart. And when they were killed together, in a plane that he was flying, our hearts broke. Another Kennedy tragedy.

For those of you who think I should not be caring about what happens to the Kennedys with their antisemitic reputation (not all of them, only some) you are totally right. But it is still sad.

This led me to watch the show “Love Story,” on Hulu, about the lives of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. Me watching this led to a whole bevy of Google searches. This made me wonder if everyone who watches this series was googling in the same maniacal way that I was.

Did Carolyn really have such a close relationship with Calvin Klein? Who knew and, as my mother would say, “Who cares?” And she is right.

How old was Jackie Onasis when she died? Poor thing was only 64 years old. I am almost 64 years old.

Did Caroline Kennedy really marry someone from an Orthodox Jewish background? Yup, she did.

Whose wedding were JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette going to when they crashed? So glad you asked. It was his cousin, Rory Kennedy. Rory was born after her father Robert was assassinated. I did not know this. Ethel Kennedy was nine months pregnant when her husband was murdered. That is really sad.

The good news? That couple is still married, so JFK Jr. wasn’t killed for a marriage that failed. That gave me a little solace.

And did you know that Carolyn’s mom sued the Kennedy estate for wrongful death after the crash? She received between $15 million and $22 million. Or maybe less. Or maybe more. Google is not so clear.

What is the point of this column?

I watch too much television.

Banji Ganchrow deserves a pass on this one because she is a little rattled about the whole war thing and she is trying to ration her Klonopin. Thanks for listening and hope this column leads to some interesting conversations at your table. Or not…