Bermuda Stories

Stories from the Road
November 24, 2013

The sun is shining brightly over the bay that separates us from the town of Hamilton, Bermuda’s capitol. The wind is up and sailboats are beginning to make their way through the harbor. I have just had sausage, eggs, and potatoes, so I am now ready to start the day. We have a tee time at the Hotel’s golf course for 9:30 tomorrow.

We walked a couple of miles into Hamilton this morning. It rained on and off as we looked at beautiful homes while dodging cars and motorcycles on the Island’s narrow streets. The people who live and work here are very friendly. I have been learning a lot about the island by talking to locals. Most of the people I chatted with were born in Bermuda and had no intention of leaving. They are the containers of the island’s history, and it is more fun talking to them than reading a book.

On the route back to the hotel I thought about JFK again. In college I was the private bartender for John Kenneth Gaibraith, the well know Economist. He was 6’7” tall and had a gloomy appearance that belied his keen intelligence, sense of humor, and charm. One night his wife called me to bartend at a party which Jackie Kennedy would attend. The Professor had been Ambassador to India under JFK, and he was a member of JKF’s brain trust.

I arrived at his Cambridge home early and began setting up the bar. No one was around, as the guests hadn’t arrived yet, and the hosts were upstairs getting dressed. At one point I saw a mass of pink coming down the stairs. Jackie Kennedy wandered into room in which I was working dressed in a pink bathrobe and matching slippers. I thought that if my mother, a Boston born Irish Catholic knew what was happening, she would have sold my brother and I to be there.

Mrs. Kennedy asked me,” Have you seen my magazines”, a line that is etched in my memory forever. I couldn’t speak at first, and then gradually said, “no”, while shaking my head from side to side. She then glided out of the room, while I stood there wondering if what I thought had happened, really had.

It is pouring out now, as we await the arrival of Barb and Chris Fullerton, a couple we met on a walking trip to France a couple of years ago. They are Bermuda residents and live not too far from our hotel.

Have a good evening.