Monday, Sep. 27, 1971
"There are some indications that he broke every rule in the book," boomed a loudspeaker. "But he broke some before they were on the books. In fact, there is evidence that the rules got on the books because of him." After that introduction, Lieut. General Jimmy Doolittle, now 74, whose record of rule breaking includes acrobatics at low altitudes, landing at a closed airport and buzzing a New Jersey gun club, was awarded honorary membership in the Air Line Pilots Association. At the ceremonies, Airman Doolittle, who became a hero in the 1942 raid on Tokyo, swapped tales with Astronaut Frank Borman, and offered two definitions learned during his harrowing experiences in the skies: "Anxiety," said Doolittle, "is something generated by a feeling that you might not succeed. Fear is something else--that's what you feel when you're in an inextricable position."
"The beauty of bowling," explained President Richard M. Nixon to reporters in the Executive Office Building, "is that it takes very little time, it's very good for the stomach muscles, and it doesn't cost much." Then the Chief Executive stepped up and let fly with his custom-made, personally monogrammed, 15-lb. ball--which rolled straight into the gutter. Undaunted, Nixon changed lanes and tried again, cleanly picking off all ten pins. "Let all political writers note," he declared, "that I did it in the right lane."
Grand Admiral Karl Donitz, 80, who is well remembered for his short-lived stint as Chief of State in Germany after Adolf Hitler's death, is not happy about his place in history. Interviewed in the German magazine Die Welt, the semi-deaf "Big Lion" of the Nazi war fleet talked about what he considers his real accomplishments: "I was able to prevent 1,850,000 German soldiers from falling into Russian hands. Historians even claim 3,000,000 were saved. My position would be different were I not considered the political successor of Hitler."
"That's the way mothers are," said Lieut. Jay Jennings, an armored cavalry officer stationed in Viet Nam. "I don't agree with everything she says. Do you agree with your mother on everything?" Lieut. Jennings had reason to be defensive. His mother is Martha Mitchell, loquacious wife of Attorney General John Mitchell. "My identity always catches up with me," complained the 23-year-old son of Martha and her first husband, Clyde Jennings. "When they find out who I am, I get static from the things she says. I have to show a great deal of humility."
"The Tupamaros looked like Ku Klux Klan men in their masks," recalled British Ambassador to Uruguay Sir Geoffrey Jackson, just released after spending eight months as a captive of the urban guerrillas. "They would have killed me, certainly, at any moment if there had been an attempt at rescue." Yet Sir Geoffrey insisted that he "never for a minute" felt that he had been abandoned by "dear old H.M.G." (Her Majesty's Government). His room was uncomfortable: "I slept on polyfoam padding, which was damp and after a while stank. I had a 2-ft. by 6-ft. space in which to exercise. There were also spiders there." Still, the ambassador emerged from his long confinement in relatively good health. Then why was his voice so hoarse? Explained Sir Geoffrey: "I have picked up what I can only describe as a blessed English cold."
Like many other children going to school, Lady Sarah, 7, and David Viscount Linley, 9, wore brand-new uniforms and posed proudly for the camera. There was something distinctive about their photograph, however. It was snapped by their father Lord Snowdon, who is known professionally as Photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones.
When the red warning light flashed on the instrument panel of the Israeli air-force helicopter, one passenger had good reason to be alarmed. Said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who suffered a broken back in a 1964 plane crash: "I've been through this before. Fasten your seat belts." The order was unnecessary; the chopper carrying the Senator and wife Joan Kennedy to a meeting with Defense Minister Moshe Dayan made a safe emergency landing on a beach south of Tel Aviv, giving the Kennedys an opportunity to stroll around and collect sea shells. Said the unflustered Joan: "It's nice to have the unexpected privacy."
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