What do JFK, Roosevelt, and Nixon have in common you ask?

My father recently got some pictures from his aunt that we hadn't seen before. Which lead to a story and the realization of an interesting odd habit in my family:

So, my family has had a few odd brushes with former presidents and their families.

When I was young I went to a friends beach house. While riding our bikes I managed to collide with a limo. The passenger happened to be Nixon.

But ladies and gents, that is not all.

Back in 61 my father got the chance to be a runner for the Kennedy campaign. See back then they needed people to run film to get developed. Well, my Aunt was dating a gent named W who was with the A/P. He helped my dad score the runner job. And then he got him a special pass to be out on the main floor. And then, the big score. Access to the Shrine auditorium on the night of Kennedy's acceptance speech.

So Dad was running film down a hall and managed to run into a sweet lil' ol' lady. Who just happened to be Eleanor Roosevelt. And then he had the honor of arranging all of the Kennedy children (cousins, nieces, nephews) for the big family photos.

The below photo is the one that started the conversation. From left to right, my Uncle Gary, My Father, his mother Flo (my grandma) my great grandma, W, and my great grandfather.

My aunt and W parted ways and shortly after she met my uncle G. They had 62 years of beautiful loving bliss together. On the night of the Kennedy acceptance speech W told my dad his biggest mistake in life was not marrying my aunt. Dad wasn't sure what happened to W but he was a good man who hopefully found true love.

Dad said that he spent a great deal of his childhood with my great grandparents. He said that Great Grandad was a good man. Not the typical old world Italian. He helped my GG in the kitchen, cleaned, and treated her like a queen. She was worth it. I wish I could have met him though.