Margaret Mitchell probably would have been as surprised as the Atlanta hosts were for a Vietnamese delegation visiting here last month when the visitors asked for an impromptu visit of 990 Peachtree Street where she wrote Gone With The Wind.
After an early morning appointment at the Carter Center and on the way for a tour of CNN’s facilities, Vu Xuan Hong, a member of Vietnam’s National Assembly and executive vice president and secretary general of the Vietnam-USA Society in Hanoi, asked if it would be possible to visit to the building Ms. Mitchell affectionately called The Dump.
Following this sudden request, the caravan of four vehicles filled with the delegates and their luggage immediately changed route to accommodate him.
Although the schedule was too tight to allow for a full visit of the newly renovated house, Mr. Hong said that he was satisfied to have had the opportunity to honor the author of the book which had meant a lot not only to him but to many of his fellow Vietnamese.
The visit was organized by the Vietnam-USA Society in Hanoi and the Washington, D.C.-based American Council of Young Political Leaders, which is represented here by Atlanta attorney Ken Cutshaw. To learn more about programs of the American Council of Young Political Leaders, call Gregory Simpson at (202) 857-0999; fax, (202) 857-0027.