A Wish for Your 70th Birthday

It's said that a life can be changed in a day. Of course, the change is made in an instant but the effect may last a lifetime.

I often think of the day in the second floor suite at the Dorchester with the bay window overlooking London's Hyde Park, the day when Uncle Khalifa first demanded a radical change in our lives. I had barely turned 18 and you were 17. I stayed in the room while he excoriated you in Arabic until he saw the tears streaming down my face and noticed that I could understand the substance of his diatribe and sent me into the bigger bedroom. Do you remember?

It was years later when I realized that Uncle Khalifa was leading you with a bit in your mouth, or, as Danny O'Leary so aptly put it, "carrying you all the way."

You know something? I'm sorry for calling you names which should more properly be aimed at that old fart and his charge-de-affaires in the office adjacent to yours, the dirty double-dealing Khalid who ratted you out to Uncle Khalifa.

I'm sorry that you've not found the strength to overcome his hold over you and that's part of what I wish for your birthday. 

You're 70 years old now. Your book First Light sits on my shelf and my plan for the boldest change in your life is written on a sky-blue note card only 3" x 5" and a few bullet points that sits on my desk. It's called "Lead The Way" Campaign. You could do it. You could be a peacemaker. It could change the world in a moment. It would be the boldest step you've taken in your life.

I await your reply whilst wishing you a happy birthday and a huge change in your heart. Be the peacemaker, darling. Do it.