On July 16 of last year, in our greatest national tragedy since the burning of the White House by the British in the War of 1812, in a loss more terrible than the sinking of the Maine, in an event more shocking than Pearl Harbor, the plane carrying John F. Kennedy, Jr. his wife, and his sister-in-law crashed at sea off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. To fill the startling void in news coverage of this important anniversary, we decided to catch up with some people who are commemorating the event.
We found Ms. Margaret Snapplewhite of Manhattan emptying hundreds of flowers from the back of her Ford Explorer onto the front steps of Kennedy’s former Manhattan residence. She told us her JFK, Jr., tale: "I was waiting in line for coffee in Tribeca one day when someone ahead of me really let loose. I looked up and it was John-John, grinning sheepishly. It was as if he was just a human being." She suddenly looked nonplussed. "Look, I don’t mean to imply that he was just a human being or anything. Just that he seemed like one at that moment."
At a news conference in Washington, Vice President Al Gore told reporters, "I was a true father figure to John-John. I was going to ask him to be my running mate this year. I still may." An aide tugged at Gore’s elbow, and whispered into his ear. Gore looked back to the press and said, "Forget that part about ‘Still may.’"
Ted Kennedy, rebuffed by his family in his efforts to permit media coverage of last year’s private memorial service, has told reporters that he is arranging a "JFK, Jr., Ashes World Tour 2000" in order to "allow the American people finally to achieve closure on this tragedy."
In conjunction with the anniversary, the Walt Disney Company presented plans for a JFK, Jr., Ride at Disney World. "The ride starts out smoothly enough, but the plunge at the end is a doozy," said CEO Michael Eisner.
Due to his long friendship with the Kennedy family, Stu’s uncle and Capitol Hill barber to the stars, Mort Morgenstern, garnered an invitation to a private family memorial on the anniversary. "I thought about scalping it," he told us. "Could of got about $1500 for that little invite. But nah, how many Kennedy memorials am I going to get a chance to go to in my life?" Mort looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmmm, I guess quite a few."
"Anyway, I sneaked a tape recorder in. Let me play you a little of Don McLean’s tribute to John-John."
"Don McLean, the guy who wrote ‘American Pie‘?"
"The very one. In fact, that’s the tune he updated for the tribute."
We listened with bated breath as McLean’s words reverberated from Mort’s tape deck and across the bow strings of all our hearts:
A long, long time ago I can still remember His bar exams used to make me smile But I knew if he had a chance He’d be more than a hunk in tight pants Or cover boy for this issue of Style
John-John’s looks made us quiver So much prettier than Uncle Ted s liver The bad news was on Today He’ll never see Y2K
And I can’t remember if I cried When I read about his mangled bride But something touched me deep inside The day that Junior died
Bye, bye, you hunk of a guy Flew your Piper to the Vineyard It fell out of the sky Left Uncle Ted drinking whiskey and rye Singing, "So much for my pledge to stay dry "So much for my pledge to stay dry."
You had to get to that wedding place Did you think were a flying ace? Just wait ’til tomorrow and try again
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick Please pull back on that throttle stick Cause if you go, the coverage will never end
And as I watched it on TV I started cursing NBC No anchor born in hell Could torment us all so well
And as search planes climbed high into the night The anchors gave us no respite On every network in our sight, The day that Junior died
We were singing…
Bye, bye, you hunk of a guy Flew your Piper to the Vineyard It fell out of the sky Left Uncle Ted drinking whiskey and rye Singing, "So much for my pledge to stay dry "So much for my pledge to stay dry."
July 17, 2000
2000, Stu Morgenstern and Gene Callahan