Lucretia and I down in Beaufort last fall.

Lucretia and I down in Beaufort last fall.


I’m enjoying a well-deserved vacation with my extended family down in Beaufort, South Carolina. We got to see some incredible fireworks at Port Royal (the Marines cancelled theirs due to the sequestration, citing limited funds), and I’ve been spending time fixing up my boat, taking the grand-kids here and there, eating great food, swimming and just relaxing in the sun.
Three of my daughters just came back from their much-anticipated Teheran American School Reunion in Las Vegas, so I got to hear how amazing it was to reconnect with all their friends from forty years ago. The girls and everyone who lived in Iran for a time carries the memories of living in a foreign land and falling in love with the place and the people.
Really getting to know the Iranian people involves letting go of past misconceptions.
They are a warm and wonderful people — aside from a few bad guys.
But the memories grab on to you and won’t let go.

We get so insulated in this country. America is big and our borders are open to all kinds of people from around the world. Many of them speak English, so we never really get into the rich knowledge of another person’s culture. The best way to do that is to go there and live among them for a time.
Once you do, you are forever changed.
That’s what my book, Zehbel The Clever One is about: accepting change, and learning a new culture. Keeping true to who you are and what you stand for, even in the face of rampant corruption and the death of people you love.
We are more connected than we know, to everyone on the planet.
My story is a part of theirs too, and I have changed their lives as well.
Read Zehbel. It may shatter a few illusions, but the message is a good one.
Know who you are and what matters to you.
Stand by that, and pass it on to your family.