The brotherhood of man ...

My memory was tweaked recently as I listened to Nikki Haley being grilled about her qualifications to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. In 1957 I lived in NY City and I visited the U.N.often … never failing to feel awe struck as I gazed at the huge array of colorful flags surrounding the building. each one representing a member country. It was also the era of Dag Hammarskjold, the Swedish diplomat who served as Secretary General from 1953 to 1961 when he was tragically killed in a plane crash.

In 1962 my husband and I and our 3 children left the city and bought a lake-front home in Dutchess County, about an hour's drive from the city. It was there that we met a colorful neighbor with the nickname of Dr. Zika. He would come by the house, often on horse back, and we became good friends. It was quite a few months before we met his wife Margaret however.

Margaret was the Director of Administrative Services at the United Nations and it was part of her job to travel the world.. When we finally met her it was well worth the wait. What a fascinating woman she was ! She had been very close to Dag Hammarskjold and we spent many hours discussing his belief in the core values of the U.N., specifically universal peace and cooperation among nations. 

When Dr. Zika and Margaret moved back to the city she gave us a copy of the book that you see pictured here. In it she wrote: “To Ginnie and Dick, newly found friends who, like us, strongly believe in the brotherhood of man”. I am proud to say that I still feel that way … as difficult as it can be at times.