By David
In my last Swimwatch story I told you about Julie Reiser; an American who gives the place a bad name. But, I forgot to mention an episode that said much about Julie Reiser. During the period when she was in full flight, determined to see me leave the Aqua Crest Club, she went into the pool office to tell the pool staff about their despicable coach. For some time she relayed the purity of her American lineage and pompously revealed how she was a proud member of, what I think was called, the “Daughters of the American Revolution”. We should not, she told the Pool Manager, have foreigners teaching our children to swim. Sadly Julie was not aware that the Pool Manager was born in Jamaica and was as much a British Commonwealth foreigner as I was. As soon as Julie left the pool I was told about her pure and virile racism.
People like Julie have given the United States a terrible name around the world. It is an interesting fact that only 20% of Americans have a passport. In New Zealand the figure is 75%. 80% of Americans have no interest in how the rest of the world lives; no care or knowledge of the world they so easily invade. I hoped President Obama would change the image of the “ugly American”. That was his promise. Unfortunately, recent events suggest the “ugly American” has changed him.
Of course in a country of 318 million there has to be some special people. And that is as true of the United States as anywhere in the world. Take a lawyer friend who swam in the Aqua Crest master’s program. Intelligent, probably to a Mensa level, fun, cosmopolitan, generous, kind – in every respect an interesting and decent person. Alison and I went to his place each year to watch the Super Bowl, an occasion that was as much fun as the game.
Two other members of my Florida adult fitness program were partners Suzanne and Stewart. They were fine people. People who did their county proud; far more than the F-111, aircraft carriers and right to carry arms so valued by many in the United States of America. Sadly, they have both died in the three years since I left Florida. But while we were in Florida they made Alison and I feel welcome and at home; frequently inviting us to dinner or lunch at their exclusive Florida Sailfish Club.
Both were fascinating people. Suzanne was born into a world of privilege and money. Whereas you and I might think mowing the lawns or drying the dishes were normal childhood chores, Suzanne’s teenage task was to look after the polo ponies. Her first husband was a lawyer who defended many mafia family members. His work was sufficiently valued that the family gave him a Caribbean island complete with house and landing wharf. Suzanne survived an airplane crash by swimming about a kilometre to the nearest Nantucket Island beach. She came to New Zealand for a couple of years, living with her daughter in Dunedin.
But the person whose background remained a mystery was Suzanne’s partner the quietly spoken, gentle man Stewart. Only this week have I discovered the fascinating company we enjoyed. Here is his obituary published in the Palm Beach Post. Stop, pause and reflect for a minute on the contrast between the life of this American and the classless chaos of Julie Reiser’s existence. As Sir John Walker once said to me, “Some people have class, others only have arse.” I’ll leave you to work out which was which.
The Palm Beach Post – Obituaries
James Stewart Cottman World War II Veteran James Stewart Cottman, Jr. former Baltimorean of Delray Beach, Florida Deceased July 8, 2013. Buried at Arlington National Cemetery December 9, 2013. Born January 18, 1925 son of the late James Stewart Cottman and Edith Russo Cottman. A 1941 graduate of Boy’s Latin School and 1948 graduate of Johns Hopkins University.
Volunteered for army duty in 1943 at age 18 and had a distinguished combat infantryman battlefield record in the African, Italian, French and German campaigns decorated with the Purple Heart for bullet wounds from a German sniper near Grosseto, Italy; two Bronze Stars for bravery and other unit citations and honors for which he was humble his whole life. He served 20 months on front line combat as a staff sergeant infantry squad leader in the 36th Texas infantry division.
He studied for his master’s degree at Columbia University’s Graduate Studies Department of Public Law and Government. He taught for one year at Park School before entering the State Department where he distinguished himself in a thirty year career as a Foreign Service Officer. He studied at the American University in Beirut and was initially a Middle East correspondent before involvement in United Nations negotiations assisting Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and President Eisenhower in the early 1950’s. He served as Vice Counsel and Second Secretary in the embassy in Bangkok, Thailand for four years and was well versed in Asian politics from his participation in the formation of SEATO.
Another assignment was served in the embassy in Bordeaux, France where he met and married a famous decorated World War II French Underground Fighter, the Countessa Marie Antoinette Fleurieu. He served in the embassy in Geneva, Switzerland where his work focused on NATO member associations and projects. He was fluent in French and German and was well appreciated for his knowledge and skill in exercising the proper protocol in foreign relations. His family loved him for his great sense of honor, his expressions on the rules of the game of life, his superior intellect and his limitless capacity to tell amusing stories and recite poetry. He was a member of the Colonial Warriors, Florida Chapter; a member of Alpha Delta Phi at Hopkins; a second lieutenant in the Maryland National Guard; baptized in both the Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church. He is survived by his brother Brooke Powell Cottman of Cecil County, MD, three nieces Cindy Cottman, Susan Brooke Cottman, Virginia Powell Cottman.
Rest in peace Suzanne and Stewart. Thank you for your warmth, your class, your friendship and your hospitality during eight years in the United States of America.
