A Passing of Note…

Dr. Zbigniew Brezinski on a long hot bus ride to Plains and being named National Security Advisor to the President. © 1976 Ken Hawkins/KenHawkinsPictures.com

June 1, 2017 – MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough had a nice remembrance of Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski in today’s WaPo. http://tinyurl.com/y79xqvqs and it brought back my first meeting with the National Security Advisor – to be – in 1976. I’d jumped aboard a stiflingly hot old bus for a ride to South Georgia -Plains to be specific – and found that the Dr. was to be my seat mate. We were both en route to see the newly named presidential nominee, Jimmy Carter. Having nothing of the foreign policy expert in my files, I asked to make a portrait. ” Do what you will” was his response, and as I raised my camera, he looked into the lens, heard the shutter fire once and then turned away as I continued. “Thank you”, he said and I knew my time was over (hoping the frame was in focus). He sat quietly for about 20 minutes, peering at the passing red clay landscape and then asked about the dark green ivy that seemed to be swallowing the South. “Kudzu” I offered and a several hour long conversation began, ranging from that invasive vine to the Nazi invasion of Poland on which Dr. Brzezinski was not only an expert…but a refugee. It was one of the most fascinating conversations of my life. I was sad to hear of his passing…