Сын экс-сотрудника американской строительной фирмы в Иране рассказывает о судьбе отца после революции

Back in the late 1970s, my father’s company in New York was hired by the government of Iran to construct housing projects in a few metropolitcan areas. At the time, the Shah was still in power. My dad spent a considerable amount of time in the country, supervising the construction and meeting with Iranian officials. He recalls sitting one morning in a cafe having coffee when he glanced a small article in a newspaper talking about some dissidents in the country who were threatening to overthrow the Shah. He thought nothing of it. There was no evidence of anything happenining and he was shocked when the government was overthrown. I can recall my dad’s enjoying his visits to Iran. He would travel with business partners and they enjoyed steam rooms, cold plunges, massages, and iced vodka. He brought home some beautiful rugs – including several prayer rugs – and vases andm most importantly, a wall mirror which still hangs today in my entryway. I cherish it. He often spoke about going to the Strait of Hormuz and seeing firsthand the geopolitical significance of controlling the waterway. I can recall him pulling out the world atlas to show us where it was situated. After the revolution, the new regime would not pay the construction costs and my dad ended up in The Hague in a bid to get their money. I don’t recall how that worked out. I just recall how surreal it was to think of my father testifying at the World Court. My dad died 12 years ago after a career spent in construction and real estate in New York City. He lived a really wonderful life. *** I’ve been thinking for a few weeks now about starting a small group of people in my neighborhood to get together to deal with eco-anxiety and come up with some ideas about how we can address the growing sense of doom and helplessness. After some thought, I decided to take the leap and post about it on my local Nextdoor. Based upon the response I saw to a proposed group to discuss aging, where over a hundred people wanted to sign up, I was concerned that would happen. I was thinking of six people perhaps, hosting it in my living room. Well, not one person expressed interest! This might have been due to my timing in small part (I posted Sunday afternoon). I have two friends who said they might be interested. But that’s not enough to form a group. I had been in a women’s climate crisis group a few years back which was moderated by two therapists and I found it so helpful. In my research on anxiety related to the climate crisis, I came across “climate cafes,” which began in Scotland in 2015. A Climate Café® is a welcoming, informal pop up space in a community – or a workplace, campus or school – to get together to chat and act on climate change. A Climate Café® is an inclusive space where everyone is welcome to join the conversation and get involved. There is no need to be an expert, all perspectives are welcomed! Community led, often the #ClimateCafe chat can be local in focus, but may be global too! There are now climate cafes around the world, including six in the United States. There is one in Monterey, California, I wrote to them to find out if any new cafes have started since they last updated the website. The other day I considered the idea of starting a virtual climate cafe here at Daily Kos. A place to report in and check up on one another as we navigate our way through these unprecedented times. What do you think? Maybe once a week? Do you think it would be helpful? *** I’m writing this on Wednesday as the horrific conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln make the news. Trending now on Bluesky. Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share a virtual kitchen table with other readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by to talk about music, your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper…. Newcomers may notice that many who post in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table and hope to make some new friends as well.