White House Diaries

Tuesday, December 21, 1982

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Word came that the growth was a form of skin cancer caused by the sun. But we are both re-assured. It is an easily cured form & in her case it was cleanly excised—no further treatment needed. Dan Ruge says he had one removed 10 years ago—no problem. King Hussein of Jordan arrived. I really like him. He is our hope to lead the Arab side & the P.L.O. in negotiating with the Israelis. He has some problems in order to keep the trust of other Arab States & right now Israel is proving difficult. I told the King this was a top priority of mine & we’d go all the way to bring peace to the Middle East & we’d stand by Jordan. They’ll be here until Thurs. so his team & ours will meet tomorrow & he & I will have breakfast Thurs. A.M. Up on the hill it looks like we wont get the C.B.I. or the gas tax but we have the continuing resolution so the govt. wont be shut down. Some pleasant phone calls for a change. I read a story in the Sunday paper about a young woman with a cancerous condition which has left her like a little girl although she’s nearing 30. She & her parents live in poverty. But she has a spiritual quality & a courage that is inspiring. In the story she expressed a wish for a color T.V. set. Kathy called dealers in Roanoke but we were too late—they had received calls from all over the country from people who wanted to buy that set—so she has one. I called her then to wish her Merry Xmas. I talked to her & her mother & father. This mornings paper N.Y. Times had a story of a 29 yr. old man (out of work for 12 months) wife & 8 kids, had applied for a job in N.Y. On the way home a 75 yr. old blind man broke his cane & fell between the cars of the subway. Young Mr. Andrews without hesitation leaped off the platform between the cars & rescued him. I called him—from his voice I knew he was black. I asked if he’d gotten the job. He said they’d called him to come for an interview & he was on his way there. I called the company—the operator said the manager & his mother were both on the phone. I asked if they’d read the story—they had. Andrews has a job.