Some time back, I recall the local opera company was threatening leaving town because it couldn't find a suitable home in Boston. The public's reaction bordered on shear panic-"don't take away our opera company," and "Boston can't be a cultural capital without the opera," along with cries of "the Mayor needs to do something fast to save the opera," etc. The fact was that most of the dire reaction was from folks who had never set foot in an opera house, been supporters of opera or in any way affiliated with anything more musical than American Idol DVD's. The nature of ordinary citizens is they only feel threatened when something is being taken away from them. Perhaps it is instinct, but they always want to hold onto what they have or perceive to have, and woe to anyone seeking to take it way, no matter what the reason or rationale.

Echoes of a similar situation occurred this past weekend when it was announced in headline news that Ted Kennedy, one of the most beloved and sometimes reviled members of US Senate, had been stricken with a serious medical problem. The Senator has devoted his life to helping the downtrodden of this world. If there is a person that is in need, he is their champion in the Senate. Kennedy is the first to stand beside the down-and-out - the mother in need of care for her children after the hurricane, the hero of peace who stands behind the troops no matter what the conflict, the refugees and disenfranchised. Ted Kennedy brought himself back from the political ashes of many controversies that would have slain other public officials. He has always stood tall when he knew others would throw mud and attempt to chasten him with threats of re-opening his past to public examination. In his later years, he appeared free from fear. He has come to grips with the fact that the Presidency will never return as a possibility and it this very outcome that has strengthened his will to help others. So, when his life appeared to be in peril, many who had not taken notice thought -- "This it can't be. Please don't take him from us."

Great folk singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell got it right when she sang the words: "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till its gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot." Simply put: we don't know or appreciate the greatness we have among us until it is taken away.

The reputation for doing great good will always outlive the dark. So to all the Ted Kennedy's of this world-the Martins, the Bobby's, the Jack's, the Nelsons... live on!