The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2019

12 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL to work longer before retirement. Further, our intellectual capital is shifting up the demographic ladder, and capturing this talent will entail re-engaging senior work- ers. State’s re-employed annuitant (REA/ WAE) program already acknowledges this reality. A deeper issue is whether our country is willing to be represented overseas by its full diversity of talent, including those with functional disabilities. Is a mobility- impaired cultural affairs officer any less effective than one who walks well? Is an economic officer who meets contacts at accessible venues necessarily less pro- motable than others in her or his class? Clearly, ability to do the job should be of paramount importance, but I believe that unfair presumptions about that still dominate HR decisions. State risks losing talent and diversity by de facto limiting its vision of who is a competent representa- tive of the United States abroad. When I tried to initiate a support group for people with Parkinson’s disease at State, I had little support from the Bureau of Medical Services and little response from colleagues—largely due to the unspoken fear that admitting to medi- cal issues is career suicide. I hope we can start to discuss these issues out loud. Paul Rohrlich FSO, retired Falls Church, Virginia Health and Gratitude I enjoyed reading theThanksgiv- ing email fromAFSA President Barbara Stephenson. It was an important messag e of gratitude for all members during this holiday season, and spoke loudly about the growing health of the AFSA organiza- tion for the future. I write frommy hospital bed at the Bangkok Hospital in Hua Hin, Thailand. I amnow inmy third month here, undergoing both diabetic analysis and, soon, my fifth sur- gery (amputations included) fighting against an aggressive diabetic infection. Although all my doctors have agreed that my situation is a direct result of my 30-plus years as a Type 1 diabetic, they also agree that by consistently focus- ing first and foremost on securing and advancing the best interests of the United States while leaving the care of my dia- betes as a distant (and often neglected) second priority, I constructedmy own medical dilemma. I hope active-duty Foreign Service members will take note of this. While my immediate future here is not yet clear, nomatter my situation, being a member of the U.S. Foreign Service has always beenmy top concern. Muchmore than a job, it was a calling. Answering that call, from the recruit level up to and across the threshold to the Senior Foreign Service, was never easy. But it was the greatest 33-year odyssey I could have ever dreamed of. Good luck to AFSA in nurturing many more national security odysseys in the future. Timothy C. Lawson Senior FSO, retired Bangkok, Thailand Coming into Their Own Thank you for Francesca Huemer Kelly’s article “Coming intoTheir Own ‘Write’—A Look Back at an FSWomen’s Writers’ Group” in the November issue. I was especially happy to see mention of Madeleine Meyer, who remains vivid in our memories. The quote about Madeleine meeting Mother Teresa complemented stories she told us about her encounters with Hitler, Mussolini and Ataturk. Whenmy husband and I were posted to Budapest, Madeleine related how her husband secured the job of military attaché there in 1953 by demonstrating to the ambassador his ability tomake a proper martini. Madeleine also recounted playing bridge with two Hungarian journalists the night before they were arrested for espionage in 1955 during the harshly repressive regime of Mátyás Rákosi. In an effort to divert the couple’s children, Mad- eleine went sledding with their 6-year-old daughter Kati Marton—who later became a journalist and author, and the wife of Richard Holbrooke. Madeleine could tell a story and mix a martini with the best of them. Beatrice Camp FSO, retired Arlington, Virginia Happy 100th Birthday, George Vest Ambassador George Vest turned 100 on Christmas Day 2018. I recently spent time with him and share here a few thoughts on the man I like to call “Mr. Foreign Service.” George Vest joined the Foreign Service in 1947 and achieved the rank of Career Ambassador in 1987. His mind is as sharp today as ever. He still lives in his old house in Bethesda; his lovely wife, Emily, died in August 2015. His was an illustrious career. After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1941 and entering the Army, Capt. Vest took part in the North African campaign as an artillery observer. In 1947, he joined the Foreign Service and was sent to Ham- ilton, Bermuda, where, among the British, he said it was the only time he ever wore “the proverbial striped pants.” His next tour was as political officer