Meeting the Ambassador
I was in Ghana in 1974-76 and was there when Shirley Temple Black was the Ambassador. I had grown up knowing that she and I have the same birthday, April 23. On our birthday, April 23, 1976 I was in the capital city, Accra and decided to see if she would meet with me ( I had met her before at a Peace Corps dinner). I went to the American Embassy and ran the doorbell and was greeted by the Marines at the front desk. I explained that I was a Peace Corps volunteer who had the same birthday as the Ambassador and could I meet with her? It felt like being in the Wizard of Oz and ringing the doorbell for the Emerald City. They looked amazed, but made a phone call and after a few minutes, told me that I could come back at 2pm. I came back and I met her in her office and we had a lovely chatabout Ghana, her duties and what I thought of my experience for half an hour or so. With all the political unrest in the world, one could not just ask to meet with an Ambassador today.
