1997 Year in Review

 Highlights:

• Last year in Athens.

• Attended a FMO conference in Charleston March 17-21 and then to Washington D.C. for the weekend.  Birthday must have been spent at Tommy Condon's Irish pub.    

• Assigned to the Regional Administrative Management Center (RAMC) as Director, FSN Payroll and Training Coordinator.  

• I distinctly remember seeing the news that Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on August 31st.  I was in temporary quarters having just relocated to Paris for an assignment as the Regional Finance Center.   

• September 2 moved into our apartment on Avenue Col Bonnet in the 16th. 

• My boss, Rob McAnneny, I had met when he was Management Officer in Nicosia, Cyprus and I visited him from Amman when the Beirut Support was there.  Rob was very social and cared a lot about his staff.  We had good times drinking at the embassy American Club and playing tennis.   We had  a lot of great parties at the RAMC building which was located on Rue la Boetie in the 8th arrondisement.  I found out recently that he was stricken with dementia.    

• Quick trip out to San Francisco December 5-9

• Annual leave December 22-30

U.S. Events:

·         US shuttle joins Russian space station (Jan. 17).

·         O. J. Simpson found liable in civil suit (Feb. 5).

·         Heaven's Gate cult members commit mass suicide in California (March 27).

·         US Appeals Court upholds California ban on affirmative action (April 8).

·         Clinton exercises new line-item veto (Aug. 11).

·         Timothy J. McVeigh sentenced to death for Oklahoma City bombing (Aug. 14).

·         Two convicted in New York Trade Center bombing (Nov. 12).

World Events:

·         Hebron agreement signed; Israel gives up large part of West Bank city of Hebron (Jan. 16).

·         Israeli government approves establishment of Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, a setback in   Middle East peace process (Feb. 26). Background: Middle East Peace Negotiations

·         US, UK, and France agree to freeze Nazis' gold loot (Feb. 3).

·         Hong Kong returns to Chinese rule (June 30).

·         Khmer Rouge hold trial of longtime leader Pol Pot (July 25).

·         Swiss plan first payment to Holocaust victims (Sept. 17).

·         European Union plans to admit six nations (Dec. 13). 

Movies:

The best picture was "The English Patient".  Best actor went to Geoffrey Rush in "Shine".  Best actress was Frances McDormand for "Fargo".  Best supporting actor was Cuba Gooding Jr. in "Jerry Maguire".  Best supporting actress was Juliette Binoche for "The English Patient".  Best director was Anthony Minghella "English Patient".   

Super Bowl:

Super Bowl XXXI saw the Packers defeat the Patriots by the score of 35–21, earning their third overall Super Bowl victory, and their first since Super Bowl II.   After four losing seasons, the Patriots' rise began in 1993 when Bill Parcells was hired as head coach, and the team drafted quarterback Drew Bledsoe. The game began with the teams combining for 24 first-quarter points, the most in Super Bowl history. The Packers then scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter, including Favre's then-Super Bowl record 81-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Antonio Freeman. In the third quarter, the Patriots cut the lead to 27–21 off of running back Curtis Martin's 18-yard rushing touchdown. But on the ensuing kickoff, Desmond Howard returned the ball a then-Super Bowl record 99 yards for a touchdown. The score proved to be the last one, as both teams' defenses took over the rest of the game. Howard became the first special teams player ever to be named Super Bowl MVP. He gained a total of 154 kickoff return yards, and also recorded a then-Super Bowl record 90 punt return yards, thus tying the then-Super Bowl records of total return yards (244) and combined net yards gained (244).

World Series:

The 1997 World Series had the Cleveland Indians facing the Florida Marlins.  The underdog Marlins defeated the Indians, four games to three, to win their first World Series championship. Game 7 was decided in extra innings on a walk-off single hit by Édgar Rentería.  Marlins pitcher Liván Hernández was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.

The Marlins advanced to the World Series by defeating the San Francisco Giants in the NL Division Series, three games to none. This was the fourth time in World Series history a Game 7 went into extra innings, and was the most recent occasion until the 2016 World Series, in which the Indians also lost in extra innings. The Marlins' championship made them the first wild card team to ever win the World Series.