Sen. Robert F. Kennedy died on this date, 1968, victim of a shooting by a young Palestinian who said he killed Sen. Kennedy for political reasons,but may have done so as a memorable, mass-mediated way of attempting suicide. The assassin, who moved with his family to Pasadena at the age of 12, from war-torn Palestine (a country that no longer exists). He bought into the American dream, but then found he didn't have the wherewithal to make that dream happen for himself. He became so embittered that he gave up on life. If he couldn't have a fortune, he could at least have fame. He may have made his final play for it on June 5, 1968, when he went to a campaign rally after a Kennedy victory in the California presidential primary, confronted Kennedy in the pantry of the Ambassadro Hotel, and unloaded an Iver-Johnson .22 caliber into the back of Sen. Kennedy's head as Kennedy twisted away from him. With many members of his family looking on, including his wife Ethel, mother of his 12 twelve children, Kennedy finally expired some 24 hours later. He was 43. "They can gas me if they want," the assassin told Author Robert Blair Kaiser in his jail cell after a Los Angeles jury found him guilty of first degree murder and a judge sentenced him to death in the gas chamber. "But I achieved in a day what it took Kennedy his whole life to achieve. I am now as famous as he is." To this day, authors such as Kaiser try not to give the assassin his wish, by studiously refusing to name the little bastard, who ended up not getting the gas chamber, but a commuted sentence of life in a California prison.

MODEL: Despite malicious, unfounded calumnies about RFK (that, for instance, he was having an affair with Marilyn Monroe at the time of her death), Bob Kennedy was a straight arrow who was everlastingly devoted to his wife and children, and to the nation that he courageously tried to serve by running for the presidency. Bob Kennedy knew there were nuts out there, and/or malicious individuals who hated his brother and himself enough to assassinate both of them. Had he been elected in 1968, Bob Kennedy would almost surely have extricated the U.S. from Vietnam four years before Pres. Nixon finally did so, and thus would have saved thousands of lives, on both sides. Try to imitate Bob Kennedy's political courage: when you see your community needs leadership, don't wait for someone's invitation to go to work. Leadership is not delegated, it is seized.

Driven. If you were born on June 6, you are married to your vision. Implementing your ambitious goals consumes your every minute, often pushing aside those who would be close to you. Ruled by the number 6 and the planet Venus, you attract love and admiration.

Pushing the envelope. Your fanatical drive can lead to some extreme consequences. You can be really strange and come up with the wildest schemes. More advanced June 6 people learn to find a practical use for their odd talents and crazy ideas. Others must learn to be more pragmatic.

Take no prisoners. Being an Average Joe is not your style. You are a no-compromise, go for it type of person. Even if you are forced to wear a conservative face, underneath, there lurks a radical dreaming to be free.

Inspiring the masses. Your drive and vision can lift people up, motivate them to better themselves. Setting a good example and speaking eloquently also helps, especially if your message is simple, strong and direct. Sometimes your die-hard enthusiasm takes over and you blow way over the heads of your audience.

Some advice: Watch your energy to ensure that it doesn't consume you and others. Don't overlook the day's little tasks. Keep your dreams, but try to stay grounded and practical. Learn to share more.

Also born on this day: Ben Hunter (radio and tv personality) Kirk Kerkorian (airline founder, pilot) Thomas Mann (Nobel Prize-winning novelist) Alexander Pushkin (Russian poet, novelist) Billie Whitelaw (British actress, Beckett performer) Bjorn Borg (Swedish tennis player) Jimmy Lunceford (bandleader) Robert Englund (actor, "Freddie Kruger") Roy Innis (African-American activist) Nathan Hale (American revolutionary) Diego Velazquez (Spanish painter)