2009 Year in Review

 Highlights: 

• When we returned home and recovered from our inspection trip we had to finalize several drafts of the report itself and document our Work Sheets with evidence itemizing the condition, cause, criteria and effect. Working through January on the Banjul, Luanda and Ouagadougou reports was common.  

• No sooner had we finished one report we had to start the survey phase of the Winter inspection cycle as I was added to the Kinshasa and Brazzaville team at the last minute.  OIG policy did not authorize any lodging or per diem for Retired Annuitants (REA) who lived outside the Washington D.C. area.  Consequently I had to pay for my hotel and meals while up in D.C. for the survey phase of a given inspection.  I normally tried to stay no more than two weeks at a time.  I stayed in downtown Fall Church at the Inns of Virginia near Winter Hill Condos where I lived from 1984-87.               

          For photos and narrative see:  Bill Booth Travels Blog Kinshasa and Brazzaville

• Jim Millett called me out of the blue in late May asking if I would be available to go TDY to Cairo to fill in for the Senior FMO, Mazar Hasan, who was leaving.  My old student, John Bredin, the newly assigned deputy FMO was not due at post until late June.  The DCM was Matthew Tueller who I worked with in Amman where he was Political Officer.  Matt, a career Arabist,  went on to become Ambassador to Yemen and now Iraq. The Management Counselor was Dolores Brown who I inspected when she was DCM and Charge' in Tallinn, Estonia.  Dolores lost her husband, a brilliant young journalist, Graham Brown, to cancer at a young age and raised her two sons.  She went on to head up the Department's Retirement office.  Pat Lacina was the Administrative Officer who went on to work with the Office of the Executive Secretariat.        
  

Embassy Cairo Financial Management Staff

• I went back to Cairo (September 6 - October 2) to close out the fiscal year in advance of the arrival of the new Senior FMO, Richard Boohaker, my colleague from FSC/Paris.  Besides planning year-end procurement and obligating remaining funds, including representation, we had to get the approval of the ICASS Council for next year's budget.      

Favorite Memories:

• I got back from my trip to Kinshasa and Brazzaville just as construction of our new home was nearing completion.  Ernie Diloretti and his crew: Curtis, Bob and Miguel were great.  Doris used to bring them donuts in the morning as she kept on top of activities especially when it came to picking colors for painting the rooms.  The master bedroom had to be changed and I didn't much care for the color of the sun room.  We moved in March 17 and couldn't celebrate St. Patrick's Day because of the delivery of our household effects including furniture and 100 plus boxes as well.  Worked with Carolina Sound and Security not only for the security system but a new 42" TV for the sun room and sound system. 

View of the marsh behind our house at high tide

Finished construction and ready to move in 

• March 24th attended a Jazz concert at the College of Charleston featuring Associate Professor Frank Duvall, who played at our wedding.  We still see Frank often as he is the bassist with the Charleston Jazz Orchestra and plays piano with a trio at local restaurants around town.   

• I got back into tennis right away at the Family Circle Tennis center on Daniel Island and even started playing in a 65+ league with the "Hackers".   

• April 2-3 we travelled to Atlanta to visit David and catch the Chinese Terra Cotta Warrior exhibit at the High Art Museum.

• April 12-19 worked the Family Circle Cup tournament as an usher.  Sabine Lisicki (German) defeated Venus William in straight sets.  Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova (Russia) won the doubles.    

• May 23rd caught Jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton at the Cistern on the College of Charleston.  The next night we saw the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the Gaillard.  First act "Good Morning Blues", second Otis Redding songs and final "Revelations".   

• I left for Cairo May 29th and returned to the States July 3rd.for photos of the Pyramids, a "meet and greet" with President Obama and the Great Sphinx.  Plus a trip to the Sinai, Mt. Moses and Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheik.   See  Egypt Summer 2009 | Doris and Bill (dorisandbilltraveladventures.blogspot.com) 

• Summer Vacation in France including Paris, Chateaus and Wineries in the Loire Valley; Leonardo da Vinci's house in Amboise; Monet's house in Giverny; Normandy coast and Mont St. Michel. 

          For photos see: Doris and Bill Travel Adventures Blog Paris Summer 2009   

• During my TDY in Cairo in September I participated in a few Iftars, the meal taken by Muslims at sundown to break the daily fast during Ramadan.  One memorable one was at the Cairo International Bank, September 15.  I also managed to take a day trip up to el Alamein the famous WWII battle site in norther Egyptian desert.

                          

The campaign in the Western Desert was fought between the Commonwealth forces (including the addition of two brigades of Free French and one each of Polish and Greek troops) all based in Egypt, and the Axis forces (German and Italian) based in Libya. The battlefield, across which the fighting surged back and forth between 1940 and 1942, was the 600 miles of desert between Alexandria in Egypt and Benghazi in Libya. It was a campaign objective to control the Mediterranean, the link with the east through the Suez Canal, the Middle East oil supplies and the supply route to Russia through Persia. The cemetery contains the graves of men who died at all stages of the Western Desert campaigns, brought in from a wide area, but especially those who died in the Battle of El Alamein at the end of October 1942 and in the period immediately before that. The cemetery now contains 7,240 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, of which 815 are unidentified. There are also 102 war graves of other nationalities. The Alamein Cremation Memorial commemorates more than 600 men whose remains were cremated in Egypt and Libya during the war, in accordance with their faith. The Land Forces panels commemorate more than 8,500 soldiers of the Commonwealth who died in the campaigns in Egypt and Libya, and in the operations of the Eighth Army in Tunisia up to 19 February 1943, who have no known grave.

• Two night stay in Hilton Head in November including Kayaking on Broad Creek and hiking Pickney Island.  Had to visit our favorite steak restaurant Frankie Bones. 

 

 

Pinckney Island has about 38 acres of freshwater habitat, comprised of between 30 and 50 small ponds/depressions, ranging from one-half acre up to 4 acres in size. Many of these hold water throughout the year and provide excellent roosting and nesting habitat for colonial wading birds like egrets, ibis, and herons.  These birds nest on the small islands within the ponds, and the water surrounding the sites deters mammalian predators like raccoon from entering nests. Alligators patrolling these waters frequently provide an additional deterrent. Ibis Pond, which is just a mile walk from the refuge parking area, is a popular site for viewing wading birds and other pond life.

• Dick and Raine also visited in November.  Kayaking Charleston harbor looking for wild sharks' teeth from sand bar.

News of the Nation:
President Obama's First Year • Violence and Tragedy at Ft. Hood • Supreme Court Milestone: First Hispanic Justice • An Economy in Turmoil Shows Improvement by Year's End • DNA Test Not a Right, Supreme Court Rules • Health-Care Reform Takes Center Stage in Congress

News of the World:

Presidential Election Marred by Fraud in Afghanistan • President of Honduras Overthrown in Coup • Opposition Protests Presidential Election in Iran • U.S. Diminishes Its Role in Iraq • Peace Remains Elusive for Israelis and Palestinians • Taliban Gains Strength in Pakistan

Movies:

"Slumdog Millionaire" won the Oscar for best picture at the 87th Academy Awards.
Sean Penn won the lead actor award for "Milk," and the lead actress Oscar went to Kate Winslet for "The Reader." Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Christina"  and Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight" won for supporting actress and supporting actor.


Super Bowl:
 

 Super Bowl 43 played on February 1, 2009.  I was in   Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo at the Grand   Hotel. The Steelers (15-4) defeated the Cardinals (12-8)   by a score of 27-23, earning their sixth Super Bowl win,   which gave Pittsburgh the record for most Super Bowl   wins and moved them ahead of the San Francisco 49ers   and Dallas Cowboys. Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes   who caught 9 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, i   including 4 for 73 yards on their final scoring drive, was   named Super Bowl MVP.  

World Series: 

 The 2009 World Series was between the the   Phillies and the Yankees.  The Yankees defeated   the Phillies, four games to two, to win the   franchise's 27th World Series championship. The   series was played between October 28 and   November 4,  and watched by roughly 19 million   viewers.  The Yankees secured their World Series   victory by winning Game 6 aided by Matsui's   third home run of the series. He was named   MVP of the   series, making him the first   Japanese-born player   and the first full-time   DH to win the award.

Recap of 2009 Grand Slam Tennis Tournament Winners

·         Australian Open Men's Singles. Winner –  Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer

·         French Open Men's Singles. Winner– Roger Federer defeated Robin Soderling

·         Wimbledon Men's Singles. Winner –  Roger Federer defeated Andy Roddick

·         US Open Men's Singles. Winner –  Juan Martine del Potro defeated Roger Federer

 

·         Australian Open Ladies Singles. Winner – Serena Williams defeated Dinara Safina

·         French Open Ladies Singles. Winner– Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Dinara Safina

·         Wimbledon Ladies Singles. Winner – Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams
 

·         US Open Ladies Singles. Winner – Kim Clijsters Pennetta defeated Caroline Wozniacki