1953

Some of us dream the dreams. Others live them. Peter Bridges, in his book, Safirka, relates for us, in wonderful detail, his professional life as a career diplomat. During the course of his career, Peter lived and worked on four continents; in such places as Rome, Prague, Panama City, Washington, D.C., and finally, in Somalia, where he served as United States ambassador. In the book Peter paints a detailed picture of the life of an American career diplomat, and in so doing invites us into his dealings with heads of state, foreign diplomats, World Bank operatives, and even some cloak-and-daggertype characters. Peter invites your imagination to kick in and join him on some of his extracurricular jaunts through not-necessarily friendly territories, to wondrous beaches and to stricken cities. He shows how our governments relations have evolved with various countries, and explains why we have acted and reacted in certain ways. He offers some critiques as well as criticisms of our activities, and above all provides an easy-to-read panoramic view of his world for the past 40 years. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who has any interest in the mechanics of our foreign policy. And speaking of intrigue, travel and adventure, Dick Dunham certainly qualifies as an ambassador of a different sort. In a very fine article that appeared in the Valley News Jack DeGange relates a variety of stories about Dick and of his 40-plus-year career in the world of international sports. More than half of those years were spent as a member of the Olympic committee staff, a position in which he served as the USOC's liaison with the national governing bodies of each sport. He was charged with coordinating the selection trials where athletes competed for Olympic team berths, then managing training and development activities. He moved to Hanover, and has continued as a consultant and volunteer, devoting most of his time to national and international rowing. I'd sure love to read a book of your travel adventures, Dick! The Associated Press has reported that New Hampshire state Supreme Court Justice Sherman Horton has announced his retirement, after having served for 10 years on that court. He replaced David Souter, who eventually went to the U.S. Supreme Court. Sherman was the first appointed to that court in 44 years without ever having been a judge. At that time he said: "I don't think there are very many supreme courts in the country I would be interested in serving on, but I've always been taught, and always looked on this, as a super-classy court." Citing the mandatory retirement age of 70, Sherman said: "The court is going to undergo enormous change. Whoever's going to live with that ought to be on board to make those calls, and it ain't going to be me because I'm going to be out in February." Congratulations, Sherman, for a job well done.l would surely like to hear from you and news of your activities. Cheers!

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