I last visited Kuwait in 1983. My company was then involved in developing and implementing a major computer system for the Kuwaiti government. I remember two things about that last visit. The water towers, two of them, now called the Kuwaiti Towers. I know, it seems a little odd that one would remember water towers, but these are no normal water towers. I guess you could call them designer water towers. They were and are architectural and design marvels. They guard the northern approach to the city as well as provide water to most of the central area of the city. I thought at the time that if you ever wanted to conquer Kuwait, all you would have to do...
Those of you who are weary road warriors know that travel is never easy and the unexpected is the rule. Cancelled flights, smelly seat mates, crying kids banging on your seat back are all part of the game. I have had the odd, pleasant travel surprise, but they are so few and far between that memory fades. I hesitate to relate my own recent travel saga because I know that all of you will be able to “top that”, but I’m inclined to proceed if only because if I don’t tell the story, S. certainly will. I think I can paint myself a far more sympathetic character that she would be inclined to do. Our air travel plan for this trip set up well. I quick trip to...
The image above is not exactly what comes to mind when one thinks of the lands rimming the Persian Gulf, but this skyline and others like it throughout the region have become the face of the “New Middle East”. Yes, I know they are protesting in Bahrain, Oman, Yemen and points south and west, and yes, I know that autocrats, kings, despots, and even some benign dictators populate the circles of power in many neighboring countries. We are on our way to Doha, Qatar and from there will proceed to Kuwait and finally to Dubai of the United Arab Emirates before we make our way back to Doha again for our flight back to Houston. I was watching the in-flight monitor as...
This subject entered my consciousness by stages. I’d become vaguely aware of the application of laws regarding apostasy, blasphemy and heresy in many of the Islamic states over the past several years. Visions of women being stoned, men being put to death or imprisoned for various offenses come to mind. Then the fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini calling for the death of Salman Rushdie for having the temerity to publish Satanic Verses, which is presumed to have blasphemed Allah, in some fashion, further framed the issue in my mind. I thought it strange, even a little “other worldly”, but paid it little heed because I thought Salman would advisably lay low,...
My father died on the day my first grandchild was born. His death and her birth are all of a piece. He had always been in my life, but I didn’t know him well, at least not as a son should know a father. Throughout most of my adult life I more or less ignored him. Of course, I did the obligatory things that one does, but with little interest or feeling. His gentle nature and lack of apparent drive or ambition had caused me to conclude that he was, at his core, a weak person. I, on the other hand, had already achieved things that he could never understand (or so I thought). We had no basis to relate, except that biology and my mother had conspired to...
After 30 years in the world of big business, Gary “retired” to pursue long ignored interests. While continuing his involvement in the corporate world by serving as a director of several public companies, he has, among other things, traveled the world in pursuit of the perfect bird photograph, served national and local charities as a director and donor, developed a personal web site as a platform for his writing on subjects of personal interest, and, occasionally, taken time to smell the roses.
Gary and his wife Sandra, shuttle between their condo in Dallas and their farm in Fannin county, Texas where they indulge themselves in organic gardening, long walks and entertaining friends and family.
