Nothing Is Ever Finished

 I was 17 and you were 16 when we were first in 1966 London together at the Dorchester Hotel after we left Bahrain in September on separate planes, both of us returning to school. I went back to Washington for a few months and then, a few days after my 18th birthday in Seattle,  you cabled me that a ticket for my return to London had been arranged.

I was tonight watching a movie about a writer named Colette, thinking about my early writing, about the gold dress I'd brought from Beirut and wore one evening when you and I and Danny O'Leary and your cousins went to Annabel's for dinner and disco dancing.

I was upset about Christine, a blonde German floozy who sat at our table and made googly eyes at you as we ate avocado pears with a piquant dressing. Later you danced with her on the tiny tiled floor and told me that it was a social necessity. 

Now I'm thinking again and this came to me while I washed my hands in the kitchen:

        You were fucking her when I was away.

         Of course you were, clear as night and day.

         I was 18 and unaware.

          She was in her 30s and couldn't care

          That you were a child

           Running amok, thinking you were wild.

           

Then there would be a war

            And Uncle, Shaikh Khalifa showed me the door.

           

Honestly, I need to find my diaries from those early days and link them to the wars which always happened in the years between our visits. We need to get together again to stop the wars. It's a bit Vonnegut. When will we next meet?

            

#Bahrain #HamadBinIsaAlKhalifa #CrownPrinceHamad #Annabels #DannyOLeary #TheDorchester #London #Seattle #ShaikhKhalifaBinSalmanAlKhalifa #LongestServingUnelectedPrimeMinister

         

     

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.

You Are A King, Still Taking Orders From A Prince

Wonders ceased. Danny O'Leary was 100 percent correct. I am going to explain that. I've been working on the explanation, even though the substance has already been posted.

A so-called king taking orders from 30 year-old Dasher Bear instead of sending out the sappers.

Right now, there's a Seahawks game on. I'll get back to this later.

At The Boltons

My guess is that you didn't know I'd been to your late and blessed mother's house in The Boltons. You know, the one next door to the late Saudi King Fahd's. The gigantic chandelier in the living room was beautiful, but, of course, ostentatious, as it belonged more suitably in a hotel or theatre lobby. (That's the problem with choosing interior designers who look only to the size of the budget rather than taste.)

Danny took me there the first time. I went with my daughter the second time. I wonder if the security video was kept. What do you think?

Retirement Age

You've reached it. Retire already. Take your cane to steady yourself as you walk away. You won't need your uncle or Khalid or Abdullah to carry you anymore. You can do it all by yourself. Prove Danny O'Leary wrong. He said that you'd have to be carried all the way.