Pete Hamill piece on the last hours of RFK

http://nymag.com/news/politics/47041/

Really enjoyed the heck out of this one.

 

loved it, too. 8)

question: weren't bobby's final speech words "... and now it's on to chicago AND LET'S WIN THERE?" then he made the "v" sign and went off to be shot. or as i recall as a then 11-year-old. ??? ??? ???

 

Extraordinary ... well, not for Hamill. But still, it is hard to believe that I draw a paycheck putting together the same nouns and verbs as a master like Mr. Hamill.

rb

 

he'd do it in spectacular fashion, too, as a columnist -- turning out the cleanest prose you've ever seen on deadline in 30 or so minutes. something to behold for a 21-year-old copyboy.

 

A bit too self-congratulatory for my taste. Please spare us the first person singular.

 

I think if you're in the room for something like that, you can say so.

 

Great story, excellent writing. Hamill was THERE; I think his first-person usage helped make the story what it is.
40 years later ... America is still around but the darkness Hamill referenced still exists.

 

Mr. Hammil and I have long disagreed on the inherent qualities of RFK, but screw that . . . it was and is a great piece.

 

oh, shew! I figured I would have heard something by now if they'd shut down the stadium.

 

Why would a first-person account of this be inappropriate, especially given his on-again, off-again connection with the campaign?

Great story.

 

You're right on the actual quote, but Hamill used ellipses to cover the last four words.

 

Perhaps the most knee-jerk, cliche -- and incorrect -- assessment of writing repeated in our business on a regular basis.