So when Sarah and I entered her Uncle Jack's house, which was even more impressive than Sarah's, I was quite star-struck by everyone I encountered, not the least of whom was Jack Greenway, the most distinguished looking man I ever met.
Tall and dashing, impeccably attired in a tuxedo, Jack grasped my hand when Sarah introduced us and said, "Ah, yes, our Kennedy man!"
In just a few words Jack Greenway won me over and we would be good friends until his death thirty years later.
But I was completely aware of what was happening, that I had crossed over into a world I had never been in before and that it was quite a privilege as well as an honor to be part of such an important and prominent gathering.
So I kept quiet and listened attentively to everything that was being said. I knew enough to realize I was completely out of my element, but I was determined to fit in by not making any major gaffs and I did not, conducting myself properly to such a degree that Sarah complimented me at the end of the evening.
"I'm so glad you've enjoyed yourself," she said. "Everyone loved meeting you."
Yet at night's end, Jack Greenway made a point of giving me so much attention that when Sarah was ready to leave, she left without me, which was not a disaster since her house was just up the block from Jack's.
Frankly, I was stunned that such a prominent and important man would give me the attention he did, but I soon realized that Jack had taken a great interest in me even before he and I met.
He was very active in University affairs and knew all about the Kennedy show even before Sarah told Jack of my involvement in it. And he could not have been more effusive in his praise.
"You have done something for the University of Arizona," he began, "that no one has ever done. Your show has made the school shine on the national level and for that you will always be remembered. You have a great future ahead of you and I would like to be a part of that future."
To say that I was taken aback would be an understatement. I was on cloud nine. No one of such prominence ever spoke to me the way Jack Greenway did that night by the fireplace in his palatial mansion.
In time I realized that because of the Kennedy show, Jack Greenway took me under his wing and decided to be my mentor, a role he played with considerable effort as the years went by.
When I left that night, Jack turned to me and said, "You must come back for lunch. I have something for you."
I told Jack I would be delighted and a week later I arrived at his house for lunch which was served by the pool. After the meal, we retired to his favorite sitting area in the house which was flanked by an oversize window that overlooked the spectacular patio.
As Jack and I sat down he handed me a book, his copy of John Kennedy's Profiles In Courage which Kennedy had inscribed to Jack. He also gave me an article from the local paper about JFK's visit to Tucson in 1958 and Jack's role as Kennedy's host since Jack was head of the Democratic Party in Arizona.
Jack also told me an amusing story about JFK, who out of frustration because he could not find his cuff links, hurled his suitcase across the room, scattering its contents everywhere.
