My Travels

Thursday, December 31, 1987

1987 Year in Review

Highlights:

Patrick Tyler Booth was born April 29, 1987 INOVA Fairfax Hospital. Falls Church, VA.

With Brother Jeffrey

I began my first overseas tour with the State Department as the Financial Management Officer (FMO) at the Embassy in Amman, Jordan. Major challenge during my tenure was monitoring the finances for the construction of a new embassy compound following the new security standards established by the Inman Commission. I was also went through an OIG Inspection during my second year. I remember the Management Inspecor, Maurice (Mo) Blaze on that team. Mo practiced the "Principal of Resonableness" in determining the seriousness of his findings in terms of making a formal recommendation for the team's Inspection Report. In fact, he influenced me to join the OIG as a Management Inspector later in my career and following retirement.

My boss was Anne Hackett, Administrative Officer. Anne was a native of Worchester, Mass., who earned a bachelor’s from the College of New Rochelle and a master’s from New York University. She was very experienced beginning her service in 1975 as Admin Officer in Istanbul and then Singapore, Djibouti, and in Washington with Africa Bureau then Director if Career Assignments Division. She was a distinct pleasure to work with not only professionaly as a mentor but also a dear friend. After Amman Anne was assigned as Management Counselor in Rome. Anne tragically died from complications of multiple myeloma in 1992 at the age of 50. Patrick Kennedy, the acting under secretary for management, said: “Anne’s ready wit, good humor, caring friendship, and devotion to her job impressed many of us, Americans and foreign nationals alike. This place just won’t be as much fun-Ñand the courtyards will be a lot quieter - without her.”

FMO Staff Jibran, Leila, Afaf, Ronnie, Rula, Helen
and Nizar with Ambassador Suddarth

There were plenty of opportunities for travel in country to Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba and Jerash. we also made road trips to Damascus, Syria for shopping in the souk. My family and I would make Courier pouch trips to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv travelling by road over the Allenby bridge about every six months. Security was an issue particularly during the first Intifada (1987-90) and Palestinian protests against Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

Petra

Jerash

I also ended up having regional resposibilty to provide assistance to our Embassies in Baghdad and Damascus making quarterly trips to review financial operations and providing technical assistance to the Manangment Officer and financial management staff.

I attended a Regional Financial Management Officer conference in Paris

Supporting trips by SECSTATE George Schultz working with King Hussein trying to establish peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Playing softball with Royal Jordanian sponsored team and travelling to Dubai for annual Middle East Softball tournament.

Coaching baseball with Jeffrey's team and playing softball at ACS.

U.S. Events:

·         US Supreme Court rules Rotary Clubs must admit women (May 4).
·         US Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr., retires (June 26).
·         Oliver North, Jr., tells Congressional inquiry higher officials approved his secret Iran-Contra operations (July 7–10).
·         Admiral John M. Poindexter, former National Security Adviser, testifies he authorized use of Iran arms sale profits to aid Contras (July 15–22).
·         George P. Shultz testifies he was deceived repeatedly on Iran-Contra affair (July 23–24).
·         Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger tells inquiry of official deception and intrigue (July 31, Aug. 3).
·         Reagan says Iran arms-Contra policy went astray and accepts responsibility (Aug. 12).
·         Senate, 58-42, rejects Robert H. Bork as US Supreme Court Justice (Oct. 23).

World Events:

·         William Buckley, American hostage in Lebanon, reported slain (Jan. 20).
·         Iraqi missiles kill 37 in attack on US frigate Stark in Persian Gulf (May 17); Iraqi president Hussein apologizes (May 18).
·         Prime Minister Thatcher wins rare third term in Britain (June 11).
·         Klaus Barbie, 73, Gestapo wartime chief in Lyon, sentenced to life by French court for war crimes (July 4).

Movies:

Best Picture was "Platoon". Best Actor went to Paul Newman "The Color of Money" as "Fast Eddie". Best Actress was Marlee Matlin "Children of a Lesser God". Best Supporting actor was Michael Caine in "Hannah and Her Sisters". Best supporting actress went to Dianne Wiest "Hannah and Her Sisters". Best Director Oliver Stone "Platoon". Best original score Herbie Hancock "Round Midnight".

Super Bowl

Super Bowl XXI The New York Giants defeated the Broncos, 39–20, for their first Super Bowl and first NFL title since 1956. This was the Broncos' first Super Bowl appearance since the 1977 season. Led largely through the play of quarterback John Elway and a defense that led the AFC in fewest yards allowed, the Broncos posted an 11–5 regular season record and two narrow playoff victories. The Giants (14-2 record) were led by quarterback Phil Simms, running back Joe Morris, and their defense. The game was tight in the first half, with the Broncos holding a 10–9 halftime lead, the narrowest margin in Super Bowl history. The only score in the second quarter, however, was Giants defensive end George Martin's sack of Elway in the end zone for a safety. This began the Giants run of scoring 26 unanswered points through the third and fourth quarters. The Giants also posted a Super Bowl record 30 points in the second half, and limited the Broncos to only 2 net yards in the third quarter. Simms, who was named the Super Bowl MVP, finished the game with 22 of 25 passes completed for 268 yards and three touchdowns. His 22 out of 25 (88%) completion percentage broke both a Super Bowl and NFL postseason record.

World Series

The 1987 World Series saw the Twins defeat the Cardinals four games to three to win the Series. Twins pitcher Frank Viola was named as the 1987 World Series MVP. It was the first World Series to feature games played indoors, and the first in which the home team won every game; this happened again in 1991 (also a Twins championship, over the Atlanta Braves) and in 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks defeating the New York Yankees. The World Series win was the first for the Twins franchise since 1924, when it was located in Washington, D.C., and known as the Washington Senators. This was the third of four World Series played entirely on artificial turf, with the others in 1980, 1985, and 1993.

Sunday, December 21, 1986

1986 Year in Review

Highlights:

Applied for the Foreign Service as a Financial Management Specialist and passed the written and oral exams and was placed high enough on the register to be selected and available for worldwide assignment after medical and security clearance.

Playing squash with Roger Meece at the Fairfax County recreation center. Roger was a former Peace Corps colleague who ended up being Consul General in Nova Scotia and Ambassador to The Democratic Republic of the Congo.

U.S. Events:

US Supreme Court bars racial bias in trial jury selection (Jan. 14).
Space shuttle Challenger explodes after launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla., killing all seven aboard (Jan. 28).
US Supreme Court reaffirms abortion rights (June 11).
Senate Judiciary Committee approves William H. Rehnquist as Chief Justice of US Supreme Court(Aug. 14).
House votes arms appropriations bill rejecting Administration's "star wars" policy (Aug. 15).
Secret initiative to send arms to Iran revealed (Nov. 6 et seq.); Reagan denies exchanging arms for hostages and halts arms sales (Nov. 19); diversion of funds from arms sales to Nicaraguan Contras revealed (Nov. 25).

World Events:

President Reagan freezes Libyan assets in US (Jan. 8). US planes attack Libyan "terrorist centers" (April 14).
Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees to France (Feb. 7).
President Ferdinand Marcos flees Philippines after ruling for 20 years; newly elected Corazon Aquino succeeds him (Feb. 26).
Spain and Portugal join European Economic Community (Jan. 1).
Union Carbide ide agrees to settlement with victims of Bhopal gas leak in India (March 22).
Major nuclear accident at Soviet Union's Chernobyl power station alarms world (April 26 et seq.).
Ex-Navy analyst, Jonathan Jay Pollard, 31, guilty as spy for Israel (June 4).
World Court rules US broke international law in mining Nicaraguan waters (June 27).

Movies:

Best Picture was "Out of Africa". Best Actor went to William Hirt" as Luis Molina in "Kiss of the Spider Woman". Best Actress was Geraldine Page in "Bountiful". Best Supporting actor was Don Ameche in "Cocoon". Best supporting actress went to Angelica Huston "Prizzi's Honor ". Best Director Sydney Pollack for "Out of Africa". Best original score John Barry "Out of Africa".

Super Bowl:

Super Bowl 20 was between the 1985 Chicago Bears and the New England Patriots. The Bears defeated the Patriots by the score of 46–10, capturing their first NFL championship since 1963, three years prior to the birth of the Super Bowl. It was played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. This was the fourth Super Bowl and, to date, the last time in which both teams made their Super Bowl debuts. The Bears entered the game after becoming the second team in NFL history to win 15 regular season games. With their then-revolutionary 4-6 defense, Chicago led the league in several defensive categories, outscored their opponents with a staggering margin of 456–198, and recorded two postseason shutouts. The Patriots were considered a Cinderella team during the 1985 season, and posted an 11–5 regular season record, but entered the playoffs as a wild card because of tiebreakers. But defying the odds, New England posted three road playoff wins to advance to Super Bowl XX. In their victory over the Patriots, the Bears set or tied Super Bowl records for sacks (seven), fewest rushing yards allowed (seven), and margin of victory (36 points).

World Series:

The 1986 World Series was played between the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox. The Mets won the series four games to three to claim their second World Series title and first since 1969. The series is best remembered for its Game 6, which saw the Mets rally from a two run-deficit in the bottom of the 10th inning, despite having two outs and no one on base. The Red Sox, who held a 3–2 series lead, were twice one strike away from securing the championship, but failed to close out the inning as the Mets won off an error by Boston first baseman Bill Buckner. Due to the Mets claiming the series in Game 7, the Game 6 collapse entered baseball lore as part of the "Curse of the Bambino" superstition that was used to explain the Red Sox's championship drought after the 1918 World Series. The 1986 World Series marked the second time in which the winning team lost the first two games of the series at home, following the previous series. It was also the first World Series to use the designated hitter only in games played at the American League representative's stadium, a policy which has continued since. Mets third baseman Ray Knight was MVP.

Friday, December 27, 1985

1985 Year in Review

Highlights:

Attended the Super Bowl at Stanford stadium January 20.

Moved to Falls Church, VA and took an interim job with Peace Corps Washington pending employment with the Department of State as a GS-12 Budget Analyst with the Office of the Comptroller.

2705 Westford Court

U.S. Events:

Ronald Reagan, 73, takes oath for second term as 40th President (Jan. 20).
General Westmoreland settles libel action against CBS (Feb. 18).
US Supreme Court, 5–4, bars public school teachers from parochial schools (July 1).
Arthur James Walker, 50, retired naval officer, convicted by federal judge of participating in Soviet spy ring operated by his brother, John Walker (Aug. 9).
US budget-balancing bill enacted (Dec. 12).

World Events:

Soviet leader Chernenko dies at 73 and is replaced by Mikhail Gorbachev, 54 (March 11). Under the slogans of glasnost and Perestroika, Gorbachev initiates a broad program of reform and liberalization. Background: Rulers of Russia since 1533
Two Shi'ite Muslim gunmen capture TWA airliner with 133 aboard, 104 of them Americans (June 14); 39 remaining hostages freed in Beirut (June 30).
PLO terrorists hijack Achille Lauro, Italian cruise ship, with 80 passengers, plus crew (Oct. 7); American, Leon Klinghoffer, killed (Oct. 8); Italian government toppled by political crisis over hijacking (Oct. 16).
Reagan and Gorbachev meet at summit (Nov. 19); agree to step up arms control talks and renew cultural contacts (Nov. 21). Background: nuclear disarmament
Terrorists seize Egyptian Boeing 737 airliner after takeoff from Athens (Nov. 23); 59 dead as Egyptian forces storm plane on Malta (Nov. 24).

Movies:

Best Picture was "Amadeus". Best Actor went to F. Murray Abraham in Amadeus. Best Actress was Sally Fields "Places in the Heart". Best Supporting actor was Hang S Ngor in "The Killing Fields". Best supporting actress went to Peggy Ashcroft in "A Passage to India". Best Director Milos Forman "Amadeus". Best original score "Purple Rain", Prince.

Super Bowl:

Super Bowl XIX pitted AFC champion Miami Dolphins against the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the NFL champion for the 1984 season. The 49ers defeated the Dolphins by the score of 38–16, to win their second Super Bowl. The game was played on January 20, 1985, at Stanford Stadium, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, the first Super Bowl played in the San Francisco Bay Area. This also became the second Super Bowl after Super Bowl XIV where the game was coincidentally played in the home market of one of the participants. The game was hyped as the battle between two great quarterbacks: Miami's Dan Marino and San Francisco's Joe Montana. The Dolphins entered their fifth Super Bowl in team history after posting a 14–2 regular season record. The 49ers were making their second Super Bowl appearance after becoming the first team to win 15 regular season games since the league expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978. With Marino and Montana, the game became the first Super Bowl in which the starting quarterbacks of each team both threw for over 300 yards.

World Series:

The 1985 World Series had the Kansas City Royals against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Royals upset the heavily favored Cardinals in seven games. The Series was popularly known as the "Show-Me Series" or the "I-70 Showdown Series," as both cities are in the state of Missouri which is nicknamed the "Show Me State" and are connected by Interstate 70. The Cardinals won the NL East division by three games over the New York Mets, then defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to two in the NL Championship Series. The Royals won the AL West division by one game over the California Angels, then defeated the Toronto Blue Jays four games to three in the AL Championship Series. The Cardinals were seeking to win their NL-leading 10th World Series title, while the Royals were seeking their first World Series title. The Royals were completing one of the most successful decades by any expansion team, with six division titles and two pennants from 1976 to 1985. This was the first World Series in which all games were played at night. Also, this was the first World Series to feature television commentator Tim McCarver, who called the games for ABC with Al Michaels and Jim Palmer. (Howard Cosell was originally scheduled to be in the booth with Michaels and Palmer but was removed from his assignment just prior to Game 1 because of the controversy surrounding his book "I Never Played the Game". McCarver would go on to call a record 24 World Series telecasts with ABC, CBS and Fox. This was the second all-Missouri World Series; the first in 1944 was all-St. Louis series between the Cardinals and Browns (a decade later, they became the Baltimore Orioles). This was the second of four World Series played completely on artificial turf; the first was in 1980 and the others were in 1987 and 1993.

Thursday, December 20, 1984

1980 - 1984 Joint Action in Community Service (JACS)

I was a little apprehensive about coming back to California after nine years (six overseas and three in Washington, D.C.) following my Peace Corps service as a volunteer and staff. I recall that I answered an Ad for a Regional Director position for a private non-profit organization called Joint Action in Community Service (JACS). I remember meeting George Spellman, the Executive Director who coincedentaly was a former Peace Corps staffer and ended up getting the job and it just so happened that he was looking for a Regional Director for the Western U.S. covering California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii. As it turned out I was in the right place at the right time. I couldn’t have asked for a better job to transition back to the States, especially working with volunteers again and in a social services agency. I also achieved my dream of residing in San Francisco high on a hill (one of the steepest in San Francisco) oververlooking the city on 21st street in Noe Valley.

JACS was a national human service organization of community volunteers helping at-risk youth enter the workforce and become self-reliant adults. Local JACS Volunteers contact young adults when they return home from Job Corps - a federally funded vocational and educational program. Job Corps was started in 1964 as part of President Johnson’s War on Poverty to address the needs of low-income 16 to 24-year olds to gain a skill and become employed. There were 122 Job Corps centers in 48 states nationwide training 60,000 youth annually. JACS was started in 1969 and had 2,400 volunteers throughout the country to help graduates of Job Corps find jobs and begin careers. JACS had an annual budget of about $4 million, 98 percent of which came from its single Labor Department contract for Job Corps support services.

My job as Regional Director was to manage the program and oversee the recruitment of JACS volunteers in my region consisting of California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii. There were four Job Corps Centers in the Region: Los Angeles, Reno, Phoenix and Hawaii. My office was in the Federal Building in San Francisco and I had four staff assist me. Our mission was to travel the region conducting outreach to various businesses and community organizations not only to recruit volunteers but to identify resources for providing assistance to Job Corps graduates in job search, further training and counselling. Through these outreach calls, JACS Volunteers offer support and provide information about community resources that can help the youth meet their current needs for example with job search, continued education or training. I made a lot of contacts, particularly with the business community and service organizations. For example, in Los Angeles Rockwell corporation was a big supporter, rotary and Kiwanis clubs, and were also a good resource.

Regional Staff, Coordinators and

Volunteers were Advisors

Anne McMillan, Sue Gartley, Bill Galloway
Bob Welch, Marlene Suggs and Myself

Personal Assistance Report

Completed by Volunteers

We published a quarterly Newsletter

LA Volunteer Coordinators Arlene
and Dillard Northcutt

Activities like a Job Fair

Corpsmen and Counsellors

Job Interview

Volunteer of the Year

Rafer Johnson was on the Board of JACS

Monty Stickles and Nate Thurmond at the Elks Club San Francisco

Speaking engagement at the Kiwanis Club

A nice bonus from JACS Executive VP

I did manage to get my Masters degree in Public Administration from U.S.F. The program inlcuded 36 credit hours and a Thesis which completed in three years.

One of the Highlights of 1984 was volunteering at the Democratic convention that was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco in July 16-19. Besides working the podium staff my main job was driving the convention staff to and from their respective hotels to the convention center. It really paid off since I knew my way around the city pretty well.

Passes to Convention Letter of Appreciation from
Convention Chair

Letter of Appreciation from Letter of Appreciation from

Gordon Wynne Richard Davis

Letter of Appreciation from Tim Davis List of Convention Staff

One of the benefits of working the convention was to meet former democratic presidents. It was serendipitous, but I was able to get a photo op with former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalind.

I also met Bill Clinton but didn't get a photo. All he wanted was to know where the camera was so he could be filmed at the convention.

Thursday, October 31, 1974

1970-74 Peace Corps Liberia

Highlights:

December 22, 1970 sworn into Peace Corps Liberia following 4 weeks of training, including one week for our "live-in" up country with a PCV couple. It took me a while to get fully acclimated to my assignment at the John F. Kennedy medical center in Monrovia. Since it would be more than six months before the hospital actually received patients, my job was "Director Purchasing & Stores". I was primarily responsible for ordering and receiving shipments of equipment, furnishings and supplies for the hospital. To run the hospital would require $3.6 million which was most of the budget of the whole Ministry of Health of the country. USAID funded the project and initially staffed the complex with 14 medical and administrative professionals and six PCV support staff.

May 4, 1971 President Tubman is elected for a 7th term. He died a couple of months later on July 23rd. His vice Prrsident William Tolbert succeeded him unitl his assassination in 1980.

May 22, 1971our Peace Corps Country Director Dale Chastain departed Liberia t staff. o take over the Peace Corps program in Ghana. The idea of the Peace Corps Liberia basketball team the "Funky Chickens" was all Dale's. The week before his departure the team travelled to Bolahun in Lofa county to play a school up there. We had a great time and even had a barbeque steak dinner on a hill overlooking the Liberia-Sierra Leone border. We even visited the popular cloth market in Koindu for Gara tie-dye cloth material.

Also in May we travelled up country to Buchanon, Jondeu, Lake Piso and Saniquelle in Nimba county. There is a Leper colony in Ganta where local people make fine wood carvings. There is also an American/Swedish mining company (LAMCO) in the area. BTW I had the best Indian chicken curry I've ever at their cafeteria.

My younger brother Chris (age 14) departed the U.S. on a cruise on board the P&O Orient line ship the SS Oronsay, with my brother Eddie in late June 1971 to London. The plan was, after a short visit in London, for Chris to fly down to Monrovia and visit me for a few weeks. Eddie planned to travel in around Europe and visit us later. Eddie never did make it.

July 26, 1971 the JFK hospital opened and admitted patients from the old government hospital.

August 26, 1971 Chris departed Monrovia after a very successful visit. Besides spending time in Lofa county with the Kennedy's Chris made some other trips in country. We visited our friend Joyce Rasmussen in Totota, Tubman Zoo and the BWI campus. We caught some movies at the Relda movie theater and ate out a lot of local chop restaurants. Chris also spent a day with Jim Heyburn (from San Jose) with his class at St. {atrick's High School.

Around the same time we received some very sad news that one of our dearest PCV friends, Marsh Ragno, was killed in a very tragic event in her village. Her passing was especially sad for Chris who had received a tye-dye shirt from Marsha. My father sent a note of condonlenses to the Ragno family.

November 15 - December 14 Plans made for a vacation trip through West Africa with David Franfort to visit Mali, Niger, Upper Volta, Ghana, Benin, Togo and Ivory Coast.