But the senator’s condition took a turn Tuesday night and a priest — the Rev. Patrick Tarrant of Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass. — was called to his bedside. Mr. Kennedy spent his last hours in prayer, Father Tarrant told a Boston television station, WCVB-TV.

Mr. Kennedy had told friends recently that he was looking forward to a “reunion” with his seven departed siblings, particularly his brothers, whose lives had been cut short.

“When he gets there, he can say ‘I did it, I carried the torch,’ ” Mr. Delahunt said. “ ‘I carried it all the way.’ ”

His politics were not mine, but no matter how you look at it – a great man and one of the last of the that generation of Kennedys has passed on.

Rest in Peace.

What I didn’t know before is that Curling is really another name for sitting about kibitzing and drinking copious amounts of alcohol. Scotch, preferably.

And since I adore scotch, the Sidekick was told repeatedly, “Oh, there’s lots of curling clubs in Minnesota-er”.

Minnesota-er, of course, not Minnesota. Because this is Massachusetts, and they do strange things with the letter R when speaking.

Five fishermen lost at sea when their boat capsized in a storm were remembered as heroes Sunday in a memorial service that also touched on the question of whether fishing regulations may have unduly put them at risk.

About 300 friends, family and politicians including U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy filled the 173-year-old Seamen’s Bethel to honor the sacrifices of men who accepted the risks of the sea to make a living and feed others.

”Five more men of courage and determination have gone from our midst and will not return to shore,” the Rev. Kenneth Garrett, the church’s chaplain, said from a wooden pulpit carved in the shape of a ship prow.

”I often wonder what is the true price of a pound of scallops,” said Christopher Gaudiello, a fisherman who was a friend of one of the victims.

The Dec. 20 loss of the boat Northern Edge was the worst loss of life aboard a single vessel at sea in New England since six crew members of the Gloucester-based Andrea Gail died in the ”Perfect Storm” in 1991.

Swells reaching 15 feet high rolled the Northern Edge onto its side, spilling the scalloper’s crew into the ocean about 45 miles southeast of Nantucket. Lost were Capt. Carlos Lopes; Ray Richards; Glen Crowley; Juan Flores; and Eric Guillen.

Senator Kennedy was also on hand and spoke of the call of the sea:

Kennedy spoke of the passion his brother, former President John F. Kennedy, felt for the sea a passion he said the crew of the Northern Edge shared.

”The call of the sea is strong and irresistible, even with the knowledge of that danger,” Kennedy said.

For whatever reason, I have spent the last few days re-reading Sebastian Junger’s incredible novel The Perfect Storm. If you’ve not read it, you should – it’s a fascinating look at the lives that modern day fisherman lead – and the incredibly dangerous world that they work in.

I rapidly became disillusioned with the Clinton/Gore administration – first because of their broken campaign promises in some social areas – later because of their attacks on gun owners – and much later for the ethical issues that we’ve all hashed through far too many times.

By 1996, I was a Libertarian. By the time of the 2000 election, I was voting mostly a Republican ticket, but not always.

I personally disliked both Clinton and Gore by the mid 1990′s. I didn’t like many of their policies, their choices for officeholders (though I liked Janet Reno), and certainly not their ethics. And while I said some fairly nasty things about them – and still do – there are some things that I never did:

• Called them Nazis
• Wore shirts that said “Not my President”
• Openly advocated their assassination (as the Guardian newspaper did recently in the United Kingdom)
• Walked about stating that there would be “blood in the streets” and a “revolution” if they were re-elected in 1996

Yet, today, we hear the same things from the leftists – both in their approach to the current Bush/Cheney administration – and in their speeches/writings should Bush win a second term in office.

Why is this?

Have we lost such respect for the office of President of the United States that we have to resort to such hatred in order to get our point across?

I do not support the Kerry/Edwards ticket and have stated so repeatedly. In a few days, they may win this election. So be it. We ran the good race and lost. The world isn’t going to end, and I can live with this.

If Kerry becomes President and visits my town, I would try to see him, just as if a Republican were in office. I’d stand when he entered the room, I would defer and show him respect, and refer to him as “Mr. President”. See, he’s earned that respect because he was elected by my fellow citizens. I may not like him personally, but I respect the office.

The left doesn’t feel the same. And we’ll see that demonstrated if Bush is re-elected.