She was chosen because she was so well rounded. She could shoot a gun, winning trophies in a rifle club in high school. She was also a champion skier, could play tennis and I would suspect excellent at anything she tried.
I so enjoyed her talk about how exciting being on the international stage was for a girl from a small town in the Colorado Rockies. She guarded the president's daughters, visiting dignitaries of the likes of Golda Meir and the Queen of Spain. She told us humorous stories about going to her first state dinner in her sorority formal (the only fancy dress she owned) and stopping along the way at a department store to buy a pretty purse with the main requirement being her gun would fit inside.
I also enjoyed her stories of guarding Jackie Kennedy and the kids when they travelled to Aristotle’s island of Skorpios . Of course the Greek gov. was their first line of defense. So Kathryn passed the time (which at some times could be long and boring) on a tiny nearby island visiting with a little Greek grandma who didn’t speak a word of English but always insisted on making her a cup of (strong ) coffee. She found out later that grandma never fixed a cup for herself because she only owned one cup.
At the end of her very interesting talk she told about running into Jackie years later in New York. During the short exchange Jackie actually said to her “ Kathryn you lead such and exciting life”.
Kathryn has written several books, her newest one DO IT SCARED will be out soon.
Kathryn sounds the ideal person to give a lecture. I would love to hear about her life as it couldn't be more different to my life.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds so nice to listen to this interesting woman, who led an exciting life! Would love to read her book when it is translated in dutch!
ReplyDeleteShe's quite accomplished.
ReplyDeleteDearest Janey,
ReplyDeleteLove that purse story, nobody would expect such contents... She sure was an alert and excellent Secret Service agent.
A warm and bubbly character that never will run dry on her own resources; that's for sure!
Glad you got to meet her.
Hugs,
Mariette
Goodness she has had an exciting life Janey, I can see how she would have been an entertaining speaker ✨
ReplyDeleteWow, that sounds like a fascinating talk. She did have a very exciting life. I just started watching "The West Wing" again for about the 3rd or 4th time on Netflix and that show does a good job of showing just how hard that job is for both men and women. That comment Jackie made to her is perfect.
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