Party Time at Liz’s
WASHINGTON — I met Elizabeth Taylor on Oct. 3, 1980. On that day, a Friday, John Meek, my boss at Daniel J. Edelman, a Washington, D.C. PR firm, popped into my office. The conversation went something like this: “Hey, George, I’ve signed you up for a committee.” “What committee, John?” “Well, there’s this group that […]
Death in an Alley
WASHINGTON – The tailor slipped the jacket on me. He directed me to a nearby mirror. “It looks good,” he said. “How does it feel?” “Great,” I said. I was in a men’s shop three blocks from the White House trying on my first custom-made suit. It was spring, 1978. I was 28, single and feeling sassy. […]
Lunch with Idi Amin
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – The limo pulled into the Arabian Cleaning Enterprise compound on the outskirts of this Red Sea city and the unexpected guest climbed out of the rear seat. It was summer, 1982. Idi Amin, known as Dada to his family and friends and “The Butcher of Uganda” to most everyone else, towered […]
Every Day at Los Faroles was a delightful Molitov Cocktail
MARBELLA – Spain — I arrived at Los Faroles, an Andulucian restaurant on Spain’s Costa del Sol in January, 1976, 18 months late. My cousin, Los Faroles’s owner, Laurice Michel, whom I had never met, was short during our introduction. The conversation went something like this. Laurice: Your Aunt Claire told me you were coming […]
An Ill-Advised Photo Op Leads to Militia Vote: To Die or Not?
BEIRUT – I stood on an eerily quiet street in Ashrafiyah, a Christian neighborhood in East Beirut, during a truce day in the country’s 8- month-old civil war. At the opposite end of the street was an all-too familiar image: A group of armed militiamen were milling about their bunkered station – a circular pile […]
Norway or Bust
I’m often asked: “When did you know you wanted to travel the world as a correspondent and photojournalist?” My answer, always immediate, always surprises. “In third grade.” Well, that’s not completely true. The travel part is, at least to a particular country. The rest of it, I was clueless. I was eight years old in […]