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 Kerry appeared with the cane at meetings with countries of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Malaysia. He said it had
been loaned to him by Vicki Kennedy, widow of Senator Teddy Kennedy.
"This cane has a history," Kerry joked at the start of one meeting
in Kuala Lumpur.
"This cane belonged to Ambassador Joseph B. Kennedy in England
during the war. And after the war, President Kennedy, before he
became president, used this cane when his back was bad after the
war," he said.
"And then Teddy Kennedy, who broke his back, used the cane," Kerry
said, adding that Teddy Kennedy had loaned him the stick twice in
the past after he had an operation on his knee.
 "So when Vicki Kennedy, his widow, heard that I had broken my leg,
she knew I was going to need the cane," Kerry said. "She loaned it
to me. So here it is. It’s – and the third time I’ve used it – three
times is lucky, right? No hard breaks."
Kerry, an avid sportsman, broke his right leg in an accident while
cycling a portion of the Tour de France route near Scionzier,
France, on May 31.
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He has maintained a punishing travel and work schedule while on
crutches following the accident, which came a day after he met his
Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, as part of marathon talks
that eventually brought about a deal aimed at curbing Tehran's
nuclear program.
Kerry has been keen to get off his crutches since, but aides were
taking no chances, hovering in the background with them at the Kuala
Lumpur meetings, just in case they were needed again.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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