MM#314--Be Sure to Choose Your Shoes Wisely!

0:07 Welcome to the Theory to Action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time, to help you take action immediately and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life. Now here's your host, david Kaiser, flourishing life. Now here's your host, david Kaiser. Hello, I am David, and welcome back to another Mojo Minute. We thank you for listening to the Theory to Action podcast. We appreciate you being here. So today we are going to keep things rather lighthearted after a series of several weeks of very deep nuggets of wisdom.

0:48 We're going to keep things a little bit fun today, humorous, and I'm going to share a great story from a book that I had read back in college. The book is Johnny, we Hardly Knew Ya, by Kenneth O'Donnell and Dave Powers Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Now, who was Ken O'Donnell and Dave Powers? Well, to answer that question, let's go to the back of the book and read about the authors. Kenneth P O'Donnell, born 1924, passed away in 1977, was born in Worcester, massachusetts, on March 1924.

1:32 He was the founding member of what the press dubbed the Boston Irish Mafia, which also included Dave Powers and Larry O'Brien. His father was the famed Holy Cross football coach, cleo O'Donnell, and Kenneth O'Donnell became a bombardier pilot, a war hero and a graduate of the Harvard University, where he had played football with Robert F Kennedy. He was later inducted into Harvard's Football Hall of Fame and many of his records remain unbroken to this day Ken O'Donnell met John F Kennedy in 1946 and, through his relationship with Bobby Kennedy, became John Kennedy's top political aide. From that point forward, during the 1960 political campaign, he worked hand in glove with Jack and Robert Kennedy as they developed the Kennedy machine and drove it to victory.

2:24 Once in the White House, john Kennedy named O'Donnell Special Assistant and Appointment Secretary. Nobody got to see Jack Kennedy without first going through Ken O'Donnell. He was with Kennedy that fateful afternoon in Dallas, texas, in 1963. Dave Powers was born in Charlestown, massachusetts, in April of 1912. He is best remembered as a congenial, spirited and funny Boston Irishman who, along with Kenneth O'Donnell and the late Larry O'Brien, made up the original Boston Irish Mafia. He also happened to be one of the president's, john F F Kennedy's best friends.

3:06 The two met in the winter of 1946 when Kennedy, then a young and largely unknown congressional candidate, famously climbed the stairs to Powers' triple-decker house in Charlestown and asked for his help. The two formed an immediate bond. Powers was likely on Jack Kennedy's side from that night until the fateful afternoon in Dallas in November 1963. He had no particular duties with Kennedy, but Kennedy always knew that he had his back In the White House. Powers was named Special Assistant to the President and he had served to provide a much-needed humorous lift during some of the president's most difficult days.

3:49 After Kennedy's death, powers remained close to Jacqueline Kennedy, onassis and their children. From 1964 forward, he worked hand-in-glove with Mrs Onassis to establish the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and rightly went on to become its first curator. He and Kenneth O'Donnell penned the book Johnny, we Hardly Knew Ya, which has become a classic. Powers died in 1998 at the age of 85. Now let's set the stage and give you the context for this funny story. The time period is 1960 in the United States. John F Kennedy's run for the presidency in 1960 was nothing short of groundbreaking, marking a pivotal moment in American political history.

4:36 He stood on the precipice of change. As the only second Catholic candidate to vie for the high office of president of the United States, he was following in the footsteps of Al Smith's pioneering but unsuccessful bid in 1928. Kennedy's candidacy brought a lot of enthusiasm and hope, challenging the deep-seated religious barriers that had existed within American society all the way back to its founding. The 1960 presidential race was like a blockbuster in American history. You can only imagine Senator John F Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon both young, both dashing, both ambitious World War II Navy vets racing across the country to win the hearts and votes of the US citizens.

5:30 For the first time ever, tv began to play a major role. People could actually see and hear the candidates right in their living rooms, which was a total game changer. And guess what? The TV soundbite was born. Now come on election day, november 8th 1960, a whopping 64.5% of eligible voters showed up, setting a record, and Kennedy won by a hair 34.2 million versus Nixon's 34.1 million 49.7% to 49.6% with the Electoral College tallying up for 303 for JFK and 219 for Richard Nixon.

6:17 That's what you call close race Now Kennedy. His eventual victory not only shattered the glass ceiling of religious prejudice, but it also set a powerful precedent, underscoring the nation's evolving values towards religious freedom in its leader and in the country itself. Jfk addressed his Catholic faith and its impact on his decision-making during a very important address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association on September 12, 1960. That's where we pick up this story from the book.

6:58 It was no time to bring it up, but I had to tell him then that we can no longer wait for a decision on whether to change the schedule to allow for an appearance at the minister's meeting in Houston. Tim May, the advance man, was under severe pressure from the clergymen who were demanding an immediate answer. Bobby was calling me constantly from Washington asking me when Jack was going to make up his mind by now. Tim was against it on the advice of Democratic leaders in Houston who regarded the ministers as a hostile group, and Bobby felt the same way. Lyndon Johnson and Sam Rayburn both told us to avoid the confrontation Quote.

7:42 They're mostly Republicans and they're out to get you, rayburn said. When we reached his hotel room, the senator began to change his clothes for that evening's speech at the Shrine Temple. He said to me what do you think? You know what I think? I said I think it would be a mistake. If you have to meet the religious issue, houston is not the place to do it. He went to the bathroom to shave. When he was finished shaving he came back in the bedroom and said to me tell them I'm going to do it. This is as good a time as any to get it over with. I've got to face it sooner or later. I could see that his mind was made up, so there was no point in further arguments when he came to a decision.

8:31 There was no second thoughts, no more wavering questions in his mind, and he wanted no continued speculation about whether or not it was the right thing for him to do continued speculation about whether or not it was the right thing for him to do. When we checked into the Rice Hotel in Houston, where the meeting was to take place in a downstairs ballroom, he was tense and nervous, well aware that most of us around him and most of his Texas friends were still convinced that he was making a dangerous move, exposing himself to the possibility of a humiliating harassment that might cost him the election. Luckily, there was a happy accident a few minutes before he faced the ministers that broke the tension and sent him into the meeting in a more relaxed and calmer mood.

9:12 I tried to keep away from him in our suite while he was dressing because he seemed as restless as a caged tiger. As I was pouring a bourbon for Sam Rayburn, I heard the senator in the bedroom calling, first quietly and then louder Dave, where are you, dave? Dave, dave, come in here. I went looking for Powers, who was nowhere to be found, and I returned to report that Dave was missing. I asked if there was anything I could do for him. Have you got a pair of black shoes that I could borrow? He said he was dressed appropriately for the occasion in a dark blue suit, blue shirt and blue and white striped tie, but the only pair of shoes in his room were brown.

9:53 I had no black shoes to give him. Well, it's too late now. He said I ought to send Powers back to Charlestown for this one. He got into the brown shoes and we headed for the elevator. In the elevator, holding the door open for the senator, was Powers, trying to act as if nothing had happened. The senator stared at Powers then, looking down at his blue suit and his brown shoes, and looked at Dave again. Dave stared off into space innocently as the elevator descended. "'dave, do you notice anything out of place in my attire', kennedy said". Dave cleared his throat nervously and said are those brown shoes?

10:35 Yes, kennedy said those are brown shoes, brown shoes with a dark blue suit. Thanks very much, dave. Well, senator, dave said they won't see your shoes on television. Besides, you know that most of the men in this country wear brown shoes. Do you realize that tonight, by wearing these shoes, you'll be sewing up the brown shoe voters? Kennedy broke up laughing, went off to face the Houston ministers in a much more relaxed frame of mind. Dave called after him. I hope all those nuns who pray for the Notre Dame football team are rubbing their beads tonight for you team are rubbing their beads tonight for you.

11:22 As a political junkie, all of my life I just loved that story and again, that's a story I shared in college as part of a speech. I still remember the professor, dr David Peltier, very good professor, american history professor, and he just loved that story as well. I think he was reminiscing back to his earlier days, remembering fondly John F Kennedy. So that speech was received very well, that story was received very well. So in today's very lighthearted Mojo Minute, be sure, when you are packing for an important speech, that you or your team packs the right color of shoes to match with your right color suit, because if you do, you know you will be living a flourishing life and if you don't, well then you won't be living a flourishing life.

12:16 I hope you enjoyed this lighthearted and humorous story. Happy Easter as we keep celebrating it for the next 40, 50 days, sorry all the way until Pentecost, and keep fighting the good fight. Thank you for joining us. We hope you enjoyed this Theory to Action podcast. Be sure to check out our show page at teammojoacademycom, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast, as well as other great resources. Until next time, keep getting your mojo on.