LARRY HYDE’s GOAL
THIS YEAR HE FINISHED visiting all 193 members of the United Nations
“On April 15, 2009, my plane landed at Dili, capital of Timor-Leste (East Timor in English), which joined the United Nations as member No. 193 in 2002 and is still its newest member.” LARRY HYDE reports. “Thus I achieved my long-held goal of visiting every independent country (i.e. UN member) in the world. The quest began (unknowingly) in 1960 when Robert McNamara (then my boss at Ford) sent me to Europe to scout for less expensive auto parts It blossomed later when I ran Jeep Corp. (One can sell Jeeps anywhere.) The travels multiplied after my retirement from full-time employment in 1986 and concluded in the past two years with trips to Afghanistan (via the Khyber Pass), Iraq (after the ‘surge’), Liberia (peaceful now in Africa) and Timor-Leste (also peaceful now). P.S. Since you asked, Timor-Leste is one half of the island of Timor – the other half is in Indonesia. It is also 400 miles north of Australia.”