The Foreign Service Journal, March 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2016 45 Dulles wanted to take the typed notes with him to the president’s reception. I finally told Dulles we could type a lot faster if he would stop interrupting. has been done to aid the blind in Burma, and after her scold- ing, [Prime Minister] U Nu invited her to stay in his guest house, which they are doing, with the rented air-conditioner breaking down every three hours or so. June 2, 1955 I have found a very interesting male companion—newspaper- man from Nevada—who will only be here a short time [Denver Dickerson, her future husband]. He’s going back home and run for the Senate! His father used to be governor of the state. We play a lot of Scrabble, and I must say I’m no match and must pick up on my vocabulary immediately. September 26, 1955 I find that people who travel around a lot—and this has helped me considerably—can take people as they come and appreciate the good things in them instead of always tear- ing them apart and being critical. Everyone doesn’t have to be American, a Democrat, or Catholic, just because we are. Resignation from the Foreign Service In late 1955 Maxine Desilet resigned from the Foreign Service and returned to America via India, Egypt, the Holy Land, Italy and France, and then on to New York City and Washington, D.C., before arriving at her parents’ home in Lewiston, Idaho. In 1956 she married Denver Dickerson. n notation at meetings of this level, but me and another secretary at the embassy who had worked at an international confer- ence in Geneva agreed to work together to handle whatever was required, without Phyllis. It was 100 degrees outside. The meetings began with Dulles and President Ba U and many other officials set up in a large school auditorium somewhere in Rangoon. There was no air- conditioning. I took notes with a pencil and remember the sweat running off my hand. At the conclusion of the meeting, we went to the embassy to type our notes. Dulles came to the embassy as well and was walking up and down near my desk, asking about every five minutes, “Are you finished yet, girls?” Dulles wanted to take the typed notes with him to the presi- dent’s reception. I finally told Dulles we could type a lot faster if he would stop interrupting. I told him I would bring the typed notes to him at the reception. So Dulles left. We managed to finish the typing and, after freshening ourselves, we went to the recep- tion to present the notes to Dulles. He reviewed them, nodded his approval with a smile, and shared a copy with the international press corps waiting nearby. May 17, 1955 Last night I went to a reception and saw Helen Keller. It was quite a moving incident, and we were all thrilled to finally see someone we’d heard about all of our lives. She sat on the stage with her companion, Miss Thomson, and gave a speech. Her voice is clear enough if you were talking with her alone, but over the mike it is not effective, so Miss Thomson repeated after her. Miss Thomson herself is a wonder, and how they do it is beyond me. They both looked quite trim, and while the mayor gave a wel- coming speech, Miss Thomson gave it to Miss Keller by tapping her hand. It was really a moving sight to see them, and Keller told the government people here that it was appalling the little that