Now that's a coincidence! My next door neighbor's father was with the
Embassy, packed up the family and scooted right about the time the Shah
left!
I don't know the neighbor's maiden name but could find out if you'd be
interested.
I was on the USS Harold E. Holt (FF 1074) Gonzo Station during the blockade.
MMC

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"MMC" wrote in
:

I've lived in a few different countries (3 Balkan, 3 African, 1
Central American) and visited a bunch of others without the benefits
of a good expat community and a couple that did (2 Middle Eastern),
and it makes a world of difference.


Me, too! I lived in Tehran, Iran from 1977 to 1979, leaving 28 days
before
the Shah did. (Gunfire at breakfast just down the street isn't any fun at
all.) I loved Iran, beautiful place. The scene out my apartment window
was of Mt Tochal to the left and Mt Damavand, the highest point in the
Middle East at 18,000+ ft to the right, the snow blowing off it when the
temperature in the street was 100F. Most Americans have no idea how VAST
Iran is. I worked for the Iranian Air Force. Built IAF it's main
calibration laboratory in support of the SIGINT/ELINT mission keeping an
eye on the Iraqi and Afghan borders from mountain top monitoring posts and
C-130's full of equipment. Too bad I'll never be able to go back. My
apartment building looks like I left it on Google Earth, but Doshen-Tappeh
AFB looks rather deserted on the sat photos.

I worked on US Navy ships in Bahrain and have touristed Kuwait, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia and the Emirates a bit.

Larry wrote:
"MMC" wrote in
:


Now that's a coincidence! My next door neighbor's father was with the
Embassy, packed up the family and scooted right about the time the
Shah left!
I don't know the neighbor's maiden name but could find out if you'd be
interested.
I was on the USS Harold E. Holt (FF 1074) Gonzo Station during the
blockade. MMC




I may have met him, but not at the Embassy, unless it was the Australian,
New Zealand or British Embassies. As just a plain American, I wasn't
allowed inside the US Embassy. You had to be retired military with an ID
card before you were allowed almost anywhere beyond the front desk.
Nothing like being treated by your own government bureaucrats like some
kind of illegal alien traitor. Even the US Embassy people listened to
the British Embassy's telephone recorded messages as to what buildings
and theatres to stay away from. British Intelligence was more than just
a job title and pension in Tehran.

Hmm...Holt. That rings some bells. Was she ever in Charleston for
tender service from USS Everglades (AD-24) at Pier Papa? I worked in AD-
24's calibration lab from '66 to '69 before getting shore duty at
Minelant's Mineforce Support Group, where I built the predecessor to SIMA
Charleston's cal lab from '69 to '71. I collect Navy ball caps, lots of
them. I may have an FF-1074 ballcap, but it's not in my display that ran
out of room long ago. I'll have to dig through the cabinets and look...
(c;

I worked for Pan American (Airlines) Technical Services under the primary
Rockwell contract with the Iranian Air Force at Doshen-Tappeh AFB in
Tehran. I built Iran its first calibration lab in '78 from a little
trailer lab I inherited from someone who didn't appreciate "unlimited
funding" from our esteemed IAF general. It was frustrating as hell to
get anything done in the 4 hours you actually worked each day, the other
4 hours spent waiting for the SAME soldiers to check the SAME roster from
the SAME building just inside the front gate waiting for the SAME Air
Force people to get to the SAME building to go to work....unless there
was some "exercise" going on. We called it "The Breakfast Club",
bringing food, gourmet coffee and English teas, the daily English
newspapers with us to work to pass the first four hours we were being
handsomely paid for each morning.

Once you got used to the "procedures" and stopped letting it bother you
like any American worker with a long history of sanity would, it was a
great job. Noone much pressured you and CERTAINLY wouldn't ask you
anything technical beyond their comprehension that would make them look a
fool!

I used to eat lunch with the Iranian conscript soldiers in their little
tent out back, rather than with the rest of the contractor uglies in the
main dining hall with the officer corp. Guess whos lab got the best
cleaning job and whos head was kept spotless all the time....(c;

I'd love to swap stories with any expats who were in Iran just before
Shahanshah was deposed. I'd go back to Iran, under friendly conditions
again, in a heartbeat. Beautiful place after you got over the culture
shock and learned Farsi. Bank Markazi Iran tellers used to get all
excited at me for signing my checks in Farsi. "NO, NO, You sign in
English! They think I signed that check in Farsi!", they'd exclaim...hee
hee. Funny, Intercontinental Hotel would take my Farsi-signed checks,
but my Iranian bank wouldn't!

Let me know if you find them. We better take it to email if so...(c;

My favorite question to Westerners:
"Compared to something in the United States, How BIG do you think Iran
is? (in area)" No fair peeking at Google Earth or searching the web....


Alaska or Texas??

Don White wrote:
My favorite question to Westerners:
"Compared to something in the United States, How BIG do you think Iran
is? (in area)" No fair peeking at Google Earth or searching the web....


Alaska or Texas??

I DID cheat on this....Iran is about the area of Texas.....
plus OK,CA,OR, and WA.

Also, a lot bigger than IRAQ (or should that be EYE-RAK?)....for those
thinking of biting off another mouthful they can't chew.

Back to the original topic... CostaRica was one of the only (along with
Nicaragua) countries I skipped when travelling through C. Am . via
boat- lots of ugly cruiser stories.
John

Don White wrote in news:TcoBg.35794$pu3.466447
@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca:

Alaska or Texas??



Fair guess but too small. Iran is as big as the USA EAST of the
Mississippi! The place is HUGE! Vast mountains surrounding two deserts.
When I was in country, two American geologists who worked for National
Iranian Oil, the Shah's oil company, were out fooling around in a
helicopter full of deep sonar equipment looking for more domes, I suppose.
They were in an area that never had a road. There are lots of areas with
no roads at all in the rugged mountains. They didn't find oil. They found
the second biggest deposit of virgin copper ore on the planet! There's no
way to get to it, but copper keeps rising in price, making it just money in
the.....ground?



--
Sea Ray Boats gave my email to Channel Blade to spam me.
phone 865-522-4181
Sea Ray Boats, Inc.
2600 Sea Ray Blvd.
Knoxville, TN 37914

One ****ty Sea Ray boat was enough....

Larry wrote:
Don White wrote in news:TcoBg.35794$pu3.466447
@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca:


Alaska or Texas??




Fair guess but too small. Iran is as big as the USA EAST of the
Mississippi! The place is HUGE! Vast mountains surrounding two deserts.
When I was in country, two American geologists who worked for National
Iranian Oil, the Shah's oil company, were out fooling around in a
helicopter full of deep sonar equipment looking for more domes, I suppose.
They were in an area that never had a road. There are lots of areas with
no roads at all in the rugged mountains. They didn't find oil. They found
the second biggest deposit of virgin copper ore on the planet! There's no
way to get to it, but copper keeps rising in price, making it just money in
the.....ground?



Lets hope that doesn't encourage anyone to invade, aka oil in Iraq.

Don White wrote in news:lGsBg.35935$pu3.468297
@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca:

Lets hope that doesn't encourage anyone to invade, aka oil in Iraq.



Anyone? Oh, you mean the Illuminati/New World Order/Skull & Bones/Bohemian
Grove boys....They already are planning the invasion, I presume.

Hmm...Where did I see which of these the PM was a member of, too...??



--
Sea Ray Boats gave my email to Channel Blade to spam me.
phone 865-522-4181
Sea Ray Boats, Inc.
2600 Sea Ray Blvd.
Knoxville, TN 37914

One ****ty Sea Ray boat was enough....

Larry wrote:
Don White wrote in news:lGsBg.35935$pu3.468297
@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca:


Lets hope that doesn't encourage anyone to invade, aka oil in Iraq.




Anyone? Oh, you mean the Illuminati/New World Order/Skull & Bones/Bohemian
Grove boys....They already are planning the invasion, I presume.

Hmm...Where did I see which of these the PM was a member of, too...??



If you're talking about our PM.. whatever Georgie does...Stevie does.

Larry wrote:
Don White wrote in news:7AuBg.36001$pu3.468279
@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca:


If you're talking about our PM.. whatever Georgie does...Stevie does.




Oh? Is he a freemason secret society member, too?


Don't know..... more likely just a drolling fan of George W.s