|
CHUCK LATHROP - Greetings to you all. It's been a long time! Not too long after graduation in May, 1969, I headed East or Southeast, to be exact to NE Georgia, where I'd spent the summer of '68 as a volunteer. With the exception of just about a year in New York City, the Appalachian Mountains were home to me until July, 1976. Referred to as America's domestic colony or its paleface reservation, those hills were full of lessons and teachers. In some ways I'm still a displaced adopted hillbilly. Between August, '69 and July. '76, I lived in Georgia, Western N Carolina and E Kentucky, working with the Glenmary Home Missioners as a volunteer, trainer, regional worker. The Catholic Worker was a diversion that got right to the point. And I ended up there due to a philosophy professor we had in Mountain View (whose name I can't remember!), who used to have the Catholic Worker newspaper, which he handed out. Taking absolutely nothing away from those years, '61 - '69, the Catholic Worker House of Hospitality, 36 E 1st St., New York, was the best school I ever attended. Living in the same house with the likes of Dorothy Day one indeed was a student. An amazing place, amazing people, amazing dent in one's life. Given my work with volunteers with Glenmary, the Maryknoll Missioners asked me to help get the Maryknoll Lay Missioners established, and so from '76 to '79, I was based in Ossining, New York. While there, I represented the Maryknoll Lay Missioners at a meeting in Rome in late, '78. What I didn't know was that things were going to take a big change while there. This was where the Italian American from Concord, California, met Mary Durcan the lady from Ireland, there for the same meeting. And to make a long story short, I moved east again, this time to Ireland, in October,'79, we married the following May and this island has been home since. We've three kids. Cathal, the eldest, is now a Californian: he emigrated that way 25 yrs and 1 day after his father emigrated this way! Our second, Orla, is presently finishing up university at Trinity here in Dublin and Michael, the youngest, is in his second year at the Nat'l College of Art and Design. After two short term contracts, I began working with the Irish Government's overseas development assistance programme 21 years ago and I'm still with the same programme, now with the Technical Section in Ireland Aid, Department of Foreign Affairs. There is a lot of travel, mainly Africa, Central America and SE Asia. Ireland's aid programme is small but has grown fast in the past three years. I've done recent stints in the Irish Embassy in S Africa and in Zambia with the aid programme, and this year will bring a longer (3 yrs +) overseas posting. The lessons and teachers continue. I took out Irish citizenship 22 years ago and now this Italian American from Concord, California, carries an Irish Diplomatic Passport! And me without an Irish root; all my Irish roots are in the opposite direction! |
|
|
|
UPDATE ON CHUCK taken from a
Sept 30, 2006 email: "I leave on Wednesday next for Dili,
Timor Leste, to take up the Head of Mission post at the
Irish Embassy in Timor and to manage the Irish bilateral aid
programme there. Good challenges and indeed I'll be on a
vertical learning curve for a good while. There has been
official Irish Government representation in Timor for six
years now, and I'm the third representative to serve there.
On my last visit, the US Ambassador was trying to figure out
how this Californian, with neither an Irish surname nor
accent, could be the Irish Government Representative - "It's
a long story", said I...! But, I must say too, the Irish
Department of Foreign Affairs is a fierce interesting
employer to work for! The family will be coming out on a
regular basis, and Mary will be able to join me after the
first year. It's a three year posting with the possibility
of a fourth year. Will keep you posted. Go peacefully, go well." 9/30/06 |
