FIRST PERSON

to the platform.

Hoping to see Kennedy up close, I went inside and found a spot at the bottom of the stairs leading to the rotunda. A few people were already there.

Kennedy arrived and proceeded down the stairs from the rotunda. As he passed by me, I shook his hand, then sort of gave it to the religious brother standing next to me.

As the crowd quickly closed in behind Kennedy, I followed. Just then, someone pushed me three or four times in the back.

Getting angry, I swung an elbow. I turned, looked behind me and saw a black-haired man with large press credentials on his chest.

Gasping for air, the man asked me to help him to the speaker’s platform. I said “sure” and parted the crowd as only a young football player could do — with some force.

Bypassing security, we went right out onto the platform, where JFK stood just a few feet away. Only as the man thanked me did I realize that I didn’t belong there.

Returning to my friends was much easier with security clearing the way. Because my friends had seen me on the platform, they believed me when I told them that I had shaken Kennedy’s hand.

That night while watching the late TV news, I saw the black-haired man I had elbowed: He was Pierre Salinger, Kennedy’s press secretary.

About 17 years later, I watched as President Jimmy Carter left the Statehouse, heading toward his limousine on Broad Street.

With only a few people around, I simply stood near the sidewalk on the north side of the Statehouse. As the president approached, a Secret Service member quickly patted me down.

My co-workers on the 19th floor of the Rhodes Tower saw the “search” and kidded me later. (Of course, a lot had happened since I shook Kennedy’s hand, so the Secret Service was taking no chances.)

President Carter shook my hand and smiled, saying, “Glad to see you.” He then quickly continued, surrounded by Secret Service agents.

The exchange with Carter was especially memorable because the president had made direct eye contact with me and shaken my hand firmly.

He made me feel as if we were old friends.