On the death of Desmond Tutu – 12/26/21

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I had the pleasure of meeting Bishop Tutu on the morning after his Nobel Peace Prize was announced, in 1984.

He was going to the Washington Post for an interview and I was going to my office next door.

As I am star-struck and given to chatting with strangers, I stopped to congratulate him as we strode past each other.

He clapped his hands and giggled, practically jumped up and down with joy, absolutely adorable.  “How do you know already?” he asked.

“It’s on all the news,” I said, laughing with this hero who helped end apartheid in South Africa. A perfect moment in my cache of memories.

When Nelson Mandela was released from prison a few years later, he too was interviewed by the Post and I was one of many who gathered nearby to watch as he entered the building, surrounded by bodyguards.

Working next door to the Washington Post was very exciting.