Closing the Book on Camelot

The first time old enough to vote
I proudly checked off JFK,
Perhaps for his torpedo boat,
Though hero worship soon gave way
To awe for sending men in space
And slowing down the weapons race.

The Cuban Missile Crisis scare
Concluded when he stood his ground.
The Kremlin wouldn’t take the dare;
His term continued upward bound.
Today his Peace Corps gives our kids
A world of quests when duty bids.

For such a history of success
He got my pass for later tales
Of helping movie stars undress,
Which, marriage, normally derails.
Did Jackie pull through unaware,
Or at some point no longer care?

I finally cared the other night
When half a century later heard
Of teenaged Mimi Alfred’s plight:
Besides consensual sex incurred,
On loan for oral acts he watched.
For me he’s now a cad debauched.