Lewis’s speech was about the occupation of Afghanistan by the then, Soviet Union.
Fortunately for me, three Afghani professors acting as tour guides, had been seeing me through my babe-in-the-woods like travels through New York City, where I had never been before.
At the UN, having seen me take copious notes , they asked me for my take after the speech. I told them, I had been mightily impressed. They told me that Lewis had made the EXACT same speech for the past three years, but nothing had changed in Afghanistan.
I called my Toronto Sun editors to tell them that I wouldn’t be sending in a write-up on the speech report. They informed me that meant there would be an empty space on the front page, and that if I couldn’t come up with something else, PDQ, I would be fired!
My professor friends urged me not to panic because they had a potential replacement story lined up to fill in the front page.
They walked me down the block to a coffee shop where real estate developer Donald Trump, unknown to me, had agreed to an interview.
Still shaken upon my arrival, he advised me, “I will speak slowly, you just have to take notes, before calling out to a passing waitress, “Please bring my guest a coffee”.
During the interview, Trump spoke passionately about the New York City Wollman Skating Rink, he wanted to save, which he ultimately did.
To me, President Trump is the same kind, gracious and passionate man he’s always been, an impression of him that carries through to the present day.
However, the America First President DJ Trump is not the only reason why I so much admire America.