10# More about your Dad at 16-17

Your Dad and I were very serious and talked of getting married a lot;  but he could never seem to hold a job for long.  In fact, one time we decided to run away and get married (like they did in the movies and books).  Shows you how immature we were!  We took a bus to Crown Point, Indiana;  at that time it  was known that you could get married under age, without parental consent.  It seemed like a very long , bus ride . We were only 16 or 17!  He, of course had  ID that said he was 18!  When we got there ,we found that you had to have the  marriage tests and wait for 3 days!  So, we came back, defeated.  Such stupid kids, we were ! 

Later, I was glad that we couldn't: I hadn't even graduated from high school yet!

Your Dad was always protective of his younger brothers, Paul and Michael.  Actually, all of the Kennedys were always over- protective of their siblings and later their own children.  Which isn't always a good thing.!  Children  need to face their own problems especially when they cause them.  Anyway, Paul, who was about 14, was hanging out with a wild crowd.  They had broken into some house and stole a gun!  Remember, his brothers, had no supervision and were barely required to go to school!  Anyway, Paul showed the gun to Gene  After yelling at him, he took away the gun .  By that time, the Police had traced the gun to their house and because Gene refused to involve his brother; Gene was arrested.    Since he had a record of juvenile problems - he was sent to St. Charles reformatory and later to Sheridan, which was better equipped to handle runaways.  Which his past records showed.
Life in those places was not good. , and from what your Dad has told me, Sheridan was one of the worst! Your father said that many indecent sexual things were forced on some of the boys and the guards were also guilty of them!

So it was no surprise when he escaped a year later.  I was hoping he would finish his time there;, and  he would be done with it but predictably ,  I welcomed him with open arms.