Diamond Ring for Gordy

This last Saturday, 25 November 2017, there was a convention for Jewelry of Arabia.  Everything thing in the show glittered with Diamonds. This was a good opportunity to replace Gordy's wedding band, after all it has been 47 years since 21 Feb 1970.  For the 50th anniversary  a gift is gold, the 60th anniversary  gift is diamond but why wait?  Happy Anniversary Dearest.
Photos of the ring is to follow.  At the show we paid wholesale prices which is half of the retail value and we got a discount for buying something on the last day of the convention.  Below is the salesman that gave us a good buy on the ring

That Saturday was a busy day, we went to the Dragon Mall.  This mall is very large and reserved for shots that are for import, mainly from China but there was at least one Korean shop.








Dragon City was constructed on all filled land.  This artist rendition is what will be the final built out.  Right now most of the land is vacant but  there are many apartment buildings and a lot of road construction underway. 

Of course there was a lot of toy stores with all Chinese products.  There were many products but not many items I wanted to buy.









In the mall most of the stores were arranged by the type of products are being sold.  This is one of the many lighting shops.

 The mall must have been 50,000 SF with over 200 stores.  Gordy and I walked down each of the isles and racked up 10,000 steps for that day.








An update on my operation (sleeve surgery) and my weight loss.  I was 244 lbs and my chest at the largest was 56 inches.  I had prediabetes, high blood pressure, water retention and a few other issues that I will not mention here.  I had the sleeve surgery 28 February 2017, nine months ago.
I have was faithful to my diet until I moved from Jeddah to Bahrain.  I have not been over eating but neither was I trying to reach my goal.  Now that Gordy is here, now for 3 months, I am back at eating less than 1000 cal. a day and exercising at least 200 cal. a day.  After my first 3 months since the operation I was down to 208 lbs and my chest was a 46.  I dropped from 44 pants to 38 pants.  In the last week I have dropped down to 202 lbs and hope to break 200 by Christmas time.  I think when i am home in April I will be be down past 195 lbs and in at least 36 pants and maybe 34.  With only half a stomach I do not get hungry and if I do I will eat fruit.
I also hope to have a surgery on my hernia on my chest that is making me look fat when I am not really fat.  I have to loos weight to have the hernia surgery succeed. 

A day out in Bahrain shopping

The local weather is reported in metric in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. When the air temperature is 33 C is that good or bad? If you remember your high school chemistry the conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit T(°C) = (T(°F) - 32) × 5/9

Or you can look at a table and roughly know the temperature, 33 C is about 90 F

50 °F  10.00 °C About as cool as it gets
60 °F  15.56 °C
70 °F  21.11 °C  room temperature
80 °F  26.67 °C
90 °F 32.22 °C
98.6 °F  37 °C  average body temperature
100 °F 37.78 °C
110 °F 43.33 °C
120 °F   48.89 °C  Summer time temp
130 °F 54.44 °C
140 °F  60.00 °C  About as hot as it can get

Today the day time temp is around 90 F, and around 42% Humidity. We are to have rain in the next couple of days. When it rains in Dhahran on the east coast of Saudi Arabia it rains all day and there are lighting and thunder. I hope to go out in the evening and see if I can get a few good photos from the safety of my car.

The weather should remain good until April when it starts to get hot again.

Saudi Arabia is not on daylight savings, it gets dark before I leave work and it is night time when I arrive home. Sunset today is at 4:47 PM and Sunrise is at 6.03 AM. I drive home at 5 PM and drive to work around 5 AM. It takes less than an hour to drive to work and a little over an hour to drive home. I will arrive home around 6:30 PM to 7 PM. The drive is not to bad.

Remember how to convert Km to miles? On Km is about .62 miles so multiply 52.7 times .62=32.75 miles. The speed limit on the Saudi half of the causeway is 100 Km/hr (62 mph) and on the Bahrain side is 120 Km/hr (74.6 mph). There are speed camera on the Saudi side and no speed camera on the Bahrain side. When it rains the measurement is mm (millimeters). Remember 25.4 mm per inch? It is predicted to rail about 12 mm (1/2 inch) on Thursday. Ran is not something that happens often in Bahrain or in Saudi, when it does rain there is localized flooding and some loss of life. Underpasses are a trap if it is raining because they have not been designed with pumps or to divert the runoff. A underpass can fill up quickly to over six fee deep. It may take a couple of days for the water to be removed and it is best that you do not try to travel on flooded roads.



Yesterday I received this notice from the State Department,

November 21, 2017



The State Department warns U.S. citizens to carefully consider the risks of travel to Saudi Arabia due to continuing threats from terrorist groups and the threat of ballistic missile attacks on civilian targets by rebel forces in Yemen. This Travel Warning supersedes the previous version issued on March 29, 2017.



Terrorist threats persist throughout Saudi Arabia, including in major cities such as Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dhahran, and attacks can occur without warning anywhere in the country. Terrorist groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its affiliates have targeted both Saudi and Western government interests, mosques and other religious sites (both Sunni and Shia), and places frequented by U.S. citizens and other Westerners. On October 7, a terrorist attacked a Saudi government installation in Jeddah. Since May, sectarian issues in the Qatif region in the Eastern Province resulted in several attacks against Saudi forces conducting security operations there.

Saudi security forces continue to vigorously counter terrorist activities, having successfully disrupted multiple terrorist attacks and killed or detained several high-profile ISIS members. On June 23, Saudi authorities announced they had foiled an attack on the Grand Mosque in Mecca when a suicide bomber blew himself up during a security operation. On September 11, Saudi authorities announced the arrest of several suspects in possession of suicide belts and materials for construction of improvised explosive devices intended for use in an attack on the Ministry of Defense in Riyadh.

Violence from the ongoing conflict in Yemen continues to spill over into Saudi Arabia. In the past year, rebels have fired several long-range missiles into Saudi Arabia capable of reaching the vicinities of Riyadh and Jeddah, and they have publicly stated their intent to continue doing so. The most recent attack on November 4 resulted in debris falling near King Khalid International Airport north of Riyadh.

Speaking of money, the Bahrain's use the dinar and the Saudi use the riyal. per dinar to $0.27 per riyal.

The exchange rate in Saudi is $0.27 per 1 riyal, 10 riyal=$2.67 and 100 riyal=$26.67

The exchange rate Bahrain is $2.65 per 1 dinar, 10 dinar=$26.50, 100 dinar is $264.70

Gas is by the liter, 1 liter is equal to 0.264 gallons, 4 liters is equal to 1.05669.

Gas is $0.25 per liter or about $1.00 a gallon in Saudi. In Bahrain gas is $0.42 per liter or $1.68 a gallon. In the Georgia the gas is about $0.59 a liter or $2.37 a gallon. A tank of gas is good for about five days travel from Bahrain to Saudi and back. I try to fill up in Saudi when the tank is half empty and before a long holiday.

Speaking of long holiday, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and the consulate is closed. I am off work on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I will return to work on Sunday. I think Gordy is making the traditional holiday pizza.



We could have turkey and I found some at the local market but they were on the hoof so to speak. I am not up to speed as to preparing a turkey from the wild to the over. Best to have pizza.

Last weekend Gordy and I traveled to a local flea market. This market is under four large shelters. There were maybe 200 venders selling anything from used closing to live birds. There were a row or two reserved for animals, cats, dogs, chicken, pigeons and various parrots.



I was walking down the isles looking for photos but mindful not to talk photo of any woman and not for men either. I remember once when in Roma I took a photo of a gypsy and she demanded that I pay her. I give her a couple of dollars just to get away without have a spell put on me. This gentleman agree to pose for a photo and no cost. I will print a couple of copies and when I return to the market will provide him a couples of photos.





This lovely green parrot was hard to photograph, he kept cleaning his feathers. I took ten photos and only this one got him to look into the camera.

There were cages of birds of all sizes and colore.







In this photo I was able to photograph a rare chameleon parrot. This parrot has the ability to change the color of his father to blend into his surround.

This is a photograph of several parakeets.

After the market we went to a local park and shot a few photos. This one I had to enhance the colors. This is downtown Manama, Bahrain





After the park we when shopping in the local mall. I know that I am not suppose to take photos of people especially woman but wanted to show what life is really like. If you notice one lady is wearing sandals and one sneakers. While their tradition requires their hair to be covered the feet are able to be shown. It is common to see painted toenails and henna art.

A little history of Bahrain, Bahrain is an island country in the Persian Gulf. The history of Bahrain dates back to ancient history. Bahrain was the central location of the ancient Dilmun civilization. Bahrain's strategic location in the Persian Gulf has brought rule and influence from mostly the Persians, Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Portuguese, the Arabs, and the British. Whilst the country had closest economic relations with Indians or South Asians for the longest time, much more than the Arabs themselves.




Bahrain Arabic: البحرين‎ al-Baḥrayn IPA: [aɫ baħrajn], officially the Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: مملكة البحرين‎ Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn), is an Arab constitutional monarchy in the Persian Gulf. It is an island country consisting of a small archipelago centered around Bahrain Island, situated between the Qatar peninsula and the north eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the 25 km (16 mi) King Fahd Causeway. Bahrain's population is 1,234,571 (c. 2010), including 666,172 non-nationals.[8] It is 780 km2 in size, making it the third smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore.[9]

Bahrain is the site of the ancient Dilmun civilization.[10] It has been famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries, which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century.[11] Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to convert to Islam (ad 628). Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was occupied by the Portuguese in 1521, who in turn were expelled in 1602 by Shah Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty under the Persian Empire. In 1783, the Bani Utbah clan captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur and it has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family, with Ahmed al Fateh as Bahrain's first hakim. In the late 1800s, following successive treaties with the British, Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1971, Bahrain declared independence. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a Kingdom in 2002. In 2011, the country experienced protests inspired by the regional Arab Spring.

My Father (cont.)

My father did not have a degree in industrial engineer and was self-taught. It could not have been easy earning a living back in the 50’s working as a draftsman or an industrial engineer. Back then I think a weekly salary would have been $75 a week.

In Atlanta we lived in Decatur on Conway Road. I do remember some things about the house. It had a furnace in the floor, and no AC. The house had a detached garage and a screened in front porch. My mother would site on the porch sipping lemonade and one day ask our maid if she wanted to take a break and have some lemonade. It must have been one of those hotlanta days because Gussie May said, “Yes.” A few minutes later the phone rang, and it was an unidentified neighbor said, “I do not know where you are from but here in the South we do not sit on the porch drinking with our help.”

My mother told me that none of the Baptist children could play with my sister and I because we were Catholic. When I was a baby and growing up in Atlanta I was fat, did not start walking till late in my twos, and did not speak. My mother was worried there was something wrong with me. She took me to a speech doctor to see if there was a reason for my tardiness in speaking. At one of the visits to the doctor, he noticed that my sister would cater to my needs. He would ask me a question and my sister would answer. When I wanted something, I would point to it and say, “augh”, and my sister would get want I wanted. I did not need to talk with my sister being around and being my “go for”.

Due to my late speech development, I was sent to speech school before I was in kindergarten, I was perhaps four years old. At this school I was Phonics to help me speak. At this age, I developed a studded when I did talk. Phonics helped me a lot to talk and to not studded. Phonics is a method for teaching reading and writing of the English language by developing learners' phonemic awareness—the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate phonemes—in order to teach the correspondence between these sounds and the spelling patterns (graphemes) that represent them. In a few months I was talking, reading and spelling all before first grade. I remember one day, Cheryl was trying to memorize her spelling words for that week. I was reading them faster than she could spell them, she got angry and yelled at me to stop.

In first and second grade the Catholic school taught Phonics and so I did not have problems starting off school

When we moved to St. Simons Island, when I was in the second grade, the Nuns at St. Francis taught Rote learning which is a memorization technique based on repetition. The idea is that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the more one repeats it. Some of the alternatives to rote learning include meaningful learning, associative learning, and active learning.

When we moved to Saint Simons Island, we lived in a two-bedroom tabby house at 616 Brown Drive. I attended the catholic school in Brunswick, Saint Francis Xavier School. in Brunswick. I would ride the bus or ride with one of the families that would drive their children to school

I switch from Catholic School to public school in the second grade. It seems that I was not the perfect child and was always in trouble with the nuns. When I was in the second grade, 1956 it was it was a long-distance call from Brunswick to St. Simons. The nuns would send a note home with my sister asking my mother to call regarding my disruption to the class. My mother was working for Palmers Five and Dime making a dime an hour. The phone calls cost a dime, my mother could not afford keeping me in Catholic School.

It was decided that I would be better off attending Saint Simons Elementary School. The school was within walking distance or bike distance of Brown Drive. Our next-door neighbor was the Flanders, my mother’s best friend. Lloyd. Flanders was a school teacher at Saint Simons Elementary School and Dyson Flanders was a horticulturist for Sea Island.

Public school was teaching Rote learning. When I tried to sound out words and use Phonics I was discourage by my teachers. They wanted you to memorize ten spelling words a week where I was using to sounding out how to spell the words using proper English rules, I was forced to learn a different way.

My mother, sister and I moved to California in the summer of 1959. My father remained in Georgia to sell out house and would join us. At least this is what we were told. The truth was that my mother and father were having marriage problems caused by my father’s drinking to excess. My father started his own business when we moved to St. Simons Island, he sold spare parts to the two largest companies, the pulp mill and Concrete Products. They always needed belts, bearings, rollers and other machinery parts that would need to be replaced. This was a good business until someone else decided to do the same thing. There was not enough business for two suppliers and soon thereafter my father started a company to supply pre-engineered steel. This was a booming business until there was a steel strike a forced my father to close his shop.

The steel strike of 1959 was a 116-day labor union strike (July 15 – November 7, 1959) by members of the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) that idled the steel industry throughout the United States. The strike occurred over management's demand that the union give up a contract clause which limited management's ability to change the number of workers assigned to a task or to introduce new work rules or machinery which would result in reduced hours or numbers of employees. The strike's effects persuaded President Dwight D. Eisenhower to invoke the back-to-work provisions of the Taft-Hardy Act. The union sued to have the Act declared unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court upheld the law.



My mother, sister and I moved to California to live with my grandparents in Castro Valley, near Walnut Creek, California.

California was a little more advance in education and was teaching Phonics. After a year in third grade without Phonics, when I was tested in California, I tested low and it was determined I was not ready for the fourth grade. I repeated the third grade in California.



California was a great place. We lived in Castro Valley with my Grandparents in a house they built. It was a large house, with a basement, a second floor for the bedrooms, a true split lever ranch home. The house was on four to five acres with a fruit tree orchard, cherry, apricots, and walnuts. Also on the property were 20,000 pairs of pigeons the main source of income for my Grandparents. The sold the young birds called “Squabs” and the pigeon’s eggs. There was a large Chinese and Japanese population in the area that created a demand for their products.

I have good memories of being in California currently and only one bad memory which was poison ivy. There was a creek not far which I would play and on the banks, grew this non-descript green leafy plant that really got me good a few times.



After a year in California my mother could not live in the same house with her father. She had a job working for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), an American federal research facility in Livermore, California. While she had a good job, it was not sufficient for her to be truly independent and not live at home with her parents. It is for this reason we moved back to St. Simons Island.



When I started the fourth grade in the fall of 1960 I was seated in the back row, maybe because of my size, I was a year older and maybe other kids could not see over or around me. Sitting in the back of the room my teacher discovered that I was near sighted and need to ware classes full time. This help my grades improved but I lost my penmanship book sometime that year, or so I have been told, and my penmanship has never improved. When we moved back to Saint Simons Island we live on Peachtree Road, not far from the Crab Shack. A year later we lived at 1009 Marigold Court. This house was near Saint Simons Elementary that I could hear the first bell ring and arrive by the second bell and not be late. Apparently, there was a hole in the fence where I could slip through and save minutes off my travel to school.

My Father was Frank Francis Seaman

My father was Frank Francis Seaman.  What I remember about my father is what can be seen in some old photographs and what I have been told.  I know that he was the oldest of three boys.  The middle brother became a priest.  The youngest brother, Bob “Speedy” had six children, five girls and one boy.

This is what my mother wrote in her family history about Frank Francis Seaman.                                                                                                            

“Francis (Frank) Seaman was born June 4, 1910 in Columbus, Ohio.  His parents were Francis (Frank) Fenning Seaman and Adelaide Madeline Averback Seaman.  Frank Sr. was an engineer and artist carving religious saints and painting still life and famous sailing ships in oil.  The family were Catholic.  A girl was born to Frank Sr. and Adelaide April 18, 1915 in Columbus, Ohio, she died July 35, 1916.  Robert was born in Cleveland, Ohio July 22, 1912.  He married June Gorsuch and they had five girls and one boy.  John Ignatius was born November 12, 1919 in Cleveland, Ohio and became a Secular priest.  The Seaman boys all attended parochial schools.” 

“Robert became an engineer working for Robins and Myers in Springfield, Ohio where Frank Sr. was one of the head engineers.  Frank Jr. ran away from home twice.  Frank Sr. found him working in a hay field for a long day and the pay being and old rusty, broken 22 pistol.  Frank Sr. took Frank Jr. back home and put him to work in the shop of Robbin and Myers.  Frank Jr. didn't graduate from high school.  After many minor jobs in the plant, Frank Sr. had his son work for him in the drafting department.  Frank Jr. learned a lot from his Dad but never became a registered engineer although he earned a modest living being a draftsman.”

“Frank Jr. married Frances Markley August 16, 1931.  They had two children, Francis (Sonny) Markley born February 13, 1932 in Springfield, Ohio, who became an accountant and Jeanine Ethelyn born April 1936.  Frank Jr. and Frances were divorced in 1937.  Frances died in Oregon in 1964.  Frank Jr. married Ethel Armen Trout who had three boys by a former marriage.  They divorced in November 1946.”

“While married to Ethel, Frank Jr. enlisted in Navy during WW II.  He was never sent overseas but stationed at Livermore, California where he was a draftsman and in the Seabees.  After the war ended, Frank requested to be discharged in California.  He went to work in San Jose at Food Machinery Corp. as a draftsman in the engineering Dept.  He met his third wife here, who was also a draftsman, being Ruth Sierra.”

“Frank and Ethel were in process of getting a divorce while he was still in the Navy.  When it was finalized, Ruth and Frank were married in San Leandro at a Presbyterian Church on November 23, 1946.  They lived in a one room apartment with bath and very small kitchen until they purchased a nice three-bedroom home in San Jose, California.  Frank was very good working in the yard and we had the nicest landscaped yard in the neighborhood.  The first child, a girl, Cheryl Ann was born November 29, 1947 and the second child, a boy, Douglas Carl was born July 24, 1949.”

“Frank worked for Westinghouse in Sunnyvale, California and when Doug was four months old, Frank Sr. offered Frank Jr. a. job as manufactures representative for Robbin and Myers..  The main company being in Ohio and Frank would work out of Atlanta, Georgia, covering six southern states.  He would work with hoists and cranes and monorails.  He accepted the job as it was better paying than being a draftsman in California.  Ruth and children stayed in San Jose to sell the home and Frank went to work in Atlanta, Georgia and bought a nice home in Decatur, Georgia.  Ruth and children flew to Atlanta in January 1950.” 

“The children were being raised Catholic and when they started parochial school the neighborhood in Decatur completely ignored them.  They were treated like black people as at that time Catholics were not accepted.  Frank traveled all the time and was only home two or three nights a month.  It was a very unhappy time for Ruth and children.  We flew to California to visit the Sierras about two times during a seven-year period.  Frank announced one night that if he could earn Robbin and Myers all that money that he was going into business for himself.  After borrowing unknown amounts of money from my parents and his parents to be a free lance representative he lost these funds and took a job in Brunswick”.

 

“After selling the home in Decatur the family moved to a very small rental house with two bedrooms on St. Simons Island.  The house was small but the location near the Atlantic Ocean was very desirable.  Ruth and children spent all free time walking on the beach with "Schutzie", the daschound dog.  There were less than 3,000 people living on St. Simons in 1957 and it was a very quiet and beautiful village and the ideal place to raise children.”

“After several years of Frank borrowing money from banks (of which Ruth paid off several loans) and finally moving into a nice three-bedroom home, Frank moved to Atlanta working as a draftsman and finally moving to Springfield, Ohio to live in his deceased parents home.  He was not well as he had been an alcoholic for many years and his health was deteriorating.  Ruth and Frank were divorced in 1967, as Ruth couldn't take anymore of living with this sickness.  At that time, it was considered a weakness.”

“Frank died in Springfield, Ohio on March 29, 1972 and interred next to his mother and father in Calvary Cemetery.  His children and daughter-in-law and Ruth attended the funeral, which was on the Saturday before Easter Sunday in 1972.  Frank's brother, Fr. John (the priest) presided over services in the funeral home.  Frank went back to his religion while in Springfield and received his final rites.”

Frank was only 62 when he died.  Fr. John asked the doctor what his health problem was, and the doctor said it would be easier to answer what was not wrong with his health. 

This is what I have been told or remember about my dad.
My father was married three times, once when he was young, maybe early thirties (August 16, 1931) and had two children, one boy “Sonny” and one girl. I never met them and did not know they existed until after my father had died. Seems like when my father died the little inheritance he left to his estate had to be split four ways and not just between my sister and me. I do remember someone visiting my father when I was maybe 12 and did not know or understand that he was my half-brother.

My father was married a second time (date not known) and divorce (1946), no children from that marriage but she had three children. I do not know their names.  My mother and father meet when they were working for the Food Machinery Corp.  I think they were married in 23 Nov 1946. My sister was born on 29 Nov 1947. I was born San Jose, California on July 1949. I will find the dates and make sure this post is updated.

My father was in the Navy twice, once in the 20’s but was discharge before any duty and the second time he was in the service in 1943 to the end of the war. He was a draftsman’s in the service which was a rating in the black shoe Navy, and was Fireman Seaman (his rating and last name). I was in the Air Dale Navy (Aviation), and my rating was Airman, Seaman (rating and my last name). My mother said he was in the Seabees, but I never remembered my dad talking about being in the Seabees.

I was told that my father was on the wild side when growing up in Springfield. He was brought up very strict Catholics. Back in the 20’s when he was young and going to Mass, Mass was in Latin. The priest would chant, Dominus vobiscum (The Lord be with you) and the reply would be “Et cum spiritu tuo” (An with your spirit), he and his brothers would be chanting, “My father beat your father in domino”.

I have a hand gun that I inherited from my father. I was told that my father worked all day pitching hay for the 25 cal five shot revolver (my mother said it was a 22 cal. but I have the gun and it is a 25 cal. This was during the depression and not sure what my father was thinking on doing but he kept the gun all his life. I remember on St. Simons Island playing cowboys and Indians using this real pistol. I do not remember if I had permission or not but most likely I took it no not knowing the difference between a real pistol and a toy.

Another story I remember being told was twelve, he got into the storm drain sewer system in Springfield. He would push up the manhole cover to looking at the oncoming cars. The cars would slam on their brakes not to hit the elevated lids. I am sure he was discovered, and his father handed out a very heavy handed punishment.

I remember going to Ohio where my grandparents lived, Springfield, I think. His bother Bob lived there took. We would go for Christmas and stay at Uncle’s Bob house and my sister and I would dispose one of our cousins out of there room while we visited. I do not remember any of our cousins being friendly. When I was 16, my sister told me why. Since my father was divorce twice, his third marriage was not considered legal in the eyes of the church and that my sister and I were bastards in the eyes of the Ohio Seaman’s. Funny what you remember after something is explained by the reality.

I remember that my grandfather smoked a pipe and that the house smelled but not a bad smell. My grandmother was a good cook. We visited during the holidays which would explain the smell of food cooking. I remember that my cousins talked funny. One cousin would say, “Put some Earl in the skillet.” Which translated, “put oil in the frying pan.”

My grandfather Seaman was an artist and did sculptures in wood, clay and stone. He did watercolor and oil paintings, mostly of sailing ships. He also built model ships. When he passed away all his art work was given to the church. Prior to our last visit, my mother was given two painting, one oil of a still life (fruit in a bowl) and one watercolor of a sailing ship. She also got a plaster sculpture of a seated nun praying. My sister has the oil painting and the water color burned when my mother’s house caught fire by a lighting strike.

When my father died he had to brass pirates’ statues about 9” tall that were painted. My sister has one, I have the other. Funny about what we keep after a parent passes away.

I was born in California and when I was nine months old (my mother said four months), my father moved his family to Atlanta Georgia, this was in 1950 and Atlanta was the “Old South”. He said the South was fifty years behind the times and that he could bring them into the twentieth century by selling them hoists, cranes and monorails. My father got the job because his father was on the Board of Directors of Robbin & Myers.

According to their website, Robbins & Myers, Inc. was founded in 1878 as a gray iron foundry for bicycles and agricultural machinery. The founders were Chandler Robbins and James Myers. They started producing castings for motor-powered fans, and then in 1897 they introduced their own line of fans. By 1900 they had a successful line of motors, eventually encompassing sizes from fractional horsepower up to 30 HP. 1920 saw the manufacture of automobile starters for the Delco division of General Motors. They also produced motors for Singer, Hoover and Addressogrph-Multigraph companies and built the motors for the Norden bombsight during WW II. In 1929 the firm formed a hoist and crane division, 1936 a division to make progressive cavity pumps that were invented by Rene Joseph Louis Moineau and in 1949 Robbins & Myers, Inc. acquired Hunter Fan. By 1977 they had four divisions, small, highly engineered electric motors; Moyno brand progressing cavity pumps; hoists, cranes and monorail handling systems; and comfort conditioning products.

It was the company’s divisions mading hoists, cranes and monorails where my father became a salesman for Robbin and Myers in the early 50’s in Atlanta. I am sure my grandfather helped in getting the job for my father and I know that my father did not like being beholding to his father for a job. Sometime in the middle 50’s my father started a business as an industrial engineer. My father did not have a degree in engineer and learned what he knew when working for the Navy during the war and Westinghouse after the war. While in Atlanta, he took me to the office. I remember office smelled of strong chemical, ammonia. This smell was generated from developing room for blue prints. Ten years later I would be developing blueprints when working for Glynn County Planning Board and be exposed to that same pungent order.

In 2015 my wife and I was driving through Atlanta and we drove past an old brick building that looked like the building I remember from years ago. I did not have time to take a photo but on my next trip I will stop to take a picture of the building.                                          

Update on driving in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and attending church in Bahrain

This is an update from a couple of my pervious posts.

Driving in Saudi Arabia or Bahrain is driving defensibility.  One of my co-workers last week was stopped at an intersection.  The intersection was three lanes with one line a dedicated left turn and the other two lanes were through lanes. The co-worker was in the middle lane and was aligned to cross the intersection and continue down the road.  When the light turned green the left lane turned left, the middle lane (the co-worker), proceed across the intersection and the car in the right lane increased his speed and proceed in making a left turn.  When he did the co-worker car collided with the left turn car from the far right lane. 

This happened just a hundred meter from the entrance of the consulate.  The co-worker called for help to interpret the irate driver who had turned left.  When a traffic accident happens, the locals will get out of their car and act as of the accident was your fault.  When they find out you are from the US, well now they think they have the advantage.  They will call for the local police to arrive.  The local police only will file a report if there were injuries.  They local police will tell you to move your cars off to the side of the road.  In the meantime, depending on where your cars are stopped, traffic has backing up and everyone is honking their horns to get around the collision area.  The local police will call the traffic police who will arrive in 10 or 15 minutes and will take the statements of the two drivers and will proceed to issue a ticket.

If you cannot speak the language then you need to find someone on your phone to speak up for you or you will be blame for the accident.  This turning left from the right lane is a common occurrence in Saudi Arabia and somewhat so in Bahrain.  In this case since some people from the consulate was present and was able to translate, the guy making the left turn was given the ticket.  On top of the ticket, it was discovered that the driver had no insurance.  Because of this a third legal office was called to the site to fill out a report.  This one accident took over two hours to resolve.  Damage to the co-worker car was bad but the car was derivable.  The co-worker leased the car and had to take the rest of the day turning in the damaged car and picking up a new rental.  It was lucky that no one was injured.

I had reported about crossing the causeway from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain and crossing the boarders daily.  Another co-worker wanted to go to Bahrain for the weekend.  He had a Saudi Visa but not a Bahrain Visa.  He tried to obtain an E-visa but failed because they asked for a return airplane ticket.  This requirement was odd because the co-worker was driving to Bahrain not flying.  He decided to take his chance and drive to the boarder and see if he could obtain a visa to Bahrain.  At the booth where they check your passport for entry into Bahrain, the co-worker was able to be issued a two week entry visa and proceed to Bahrain.  It only took a few minutes to be issue the entry visa.

I have also reported on how it was to driven in Bahrain or Saudi Arabia.  I will comment that my observation is, many Arab men are bullies when behind the wheel.  They are rude, impatient, drive like a race car driver.  They will not let you in when merging and will proceed down the shoulder to get one or two cars ahead of you.  Just like the guy making a left turn from the right line, it has been my experience that Saudi drivers are worse than Bahrain drivers. Many Arab men will drive large SUV and will bully their way in front of you.  They will drive over the speed limit and flash their lights and tailgating you if you are going the speed limit in the left hand fast lane.  It is not uncommon for them to pass you on the shoulder going 160 kmh (99 mph).  The speed limit in Saudi Arabia is 100 kmh (62 mph) and in Bahrain is 120 kmh (75 mph).  The local police in Bahrain and Saudi are not traffic enforcers so bad drivers are not caught and fined.  Yes, bad driver are breaking the law but no enforcement expect on change when driving in Saudi Arabia or Bahrain.  

The best thing a American can do is drive dependably and not to give into road rage.

Gordy and I are going to Catholic Church in Bahrain every Friday.  The Catholic Church has school and church at one location in Manama.  The church seats 1000 people on the main floor and in the second flood area.  There are seats and TV screens outside for people that cannot get into the church.  Parking is a challenge with the main street in front of the church becoming almost a parking lot.  We have found that we need to arrive at least 45 min to a hour before mass to find a parking space and a place to sit in the church.  The locals have found a business in providing parking for church goers and offering to wash your car while you are in mass.  I pay $7.50 for a wash and park.

The first Catholic Church built in the Persian Gulf in modern times was constructed in 1939 on land given by the Emir of Bahrain. Sacred Heart Church serves approximately 140,000 Catholics.

Bahrain established diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 1999.

In August 2012, the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia was created by the Holy See, with its headquarters in Bahrain. The largest Catholic Church in the Persian Gulf is to be constructed in Awali, south of Manama, the country's capital. The land for the church is being provided by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa due to a request from Pope Benedict XVI in December 2008, and will cover 9,000 square meters. It will be the headquarters for the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, and also open to other Christian denominations. Protests from various Islamist groups have occurred over the donation. Although Bahrain does have a small native Christian population, most Catholics in Bahrain are expatriates from India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, and Western countries.[3] Many parishioners cross the border from Saudi Arabia, where there are no churches and practicing Christianity publicly is forbidden. There are currently two churches in the country; Sacred Heart Church, Manama, and Our Lady of the Visitation in Awali in central Bahrain.