Iran

[Doug Hardie]

Up the workers !

[Johnny Kieran]

Right up em!

[Rodney Mills]

Des #15. I agree with the first half of your post re. USA intervention in Iran.* However, it started back in 1925 with the British*and Russian intervention to depose the then current Shah which led to the takeover of the late Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi's father, Reza Pahlavi, to become the first of two Shahs of the Pahlavi "Dynasty".

Raza was a peasant born in what is today Azerbaijan, who moved into Iran as a youth and joined the army as a private raising through schemes*to be a brigadier general he caused a coup and seized power (with the aid of the British and French) and became prime*minister,* as the prime minister and it was just a short step to declare himself Shah and founder of the Pahlavi Dynasty..* Pahlavi was an adopted name. His father's*previous*surname was*Knah*so Khan Khan would be as funny as if Charles King became King King.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was the second and last of the Pahlavi "Dynasty".

I never met the Shah, but I met first with his brother, discussing my program to operate the two Italia line ships.* He said to me as he was picking his nose while he was talking to me.* "He said "Of course*you understand Mr. Mills, you will not make a profit operating these ships for us." rolling his waste into a ball.* I tried not to heave in front of royalty and didn't take my eyes off him in case he flicked it at me, no worries his hand went beneath his desk for a moment. I said to him.*"Your highness". If we are not turning a profit after the first week of operations, I will be on the first plane back to the USA,"*That sort of put an end to any further conversations.

*My next brush with "royalty" came aboard*the Michelangelo.* We were in the startup phase with the Iranian Navy and were supposed to have trained people in catering operations available.* I got a bunch of conscripts shipped in from the villages of Iran that had never worn shoes or pants,*seen or used a flush toilet, or washed solid*material made*floors.* I was on my hands and knees teaching*these sons of farmers how to scrub a deck when I saw a pair of men's and lady's shoes, it was the crown prince and his wife. I dropped my scrubbing brush as he said, "Mr. Mills.?"* *I stood and I stuck out my hand and he automatically shook hands with me, hand, soap suds, dirty water and all. He thanked me for the wonderful weekend he and the princess had aboard the Michelangelo then wandered off, probably wishing I was Iranian so he could have had me shot.

Chers, Rodney

[j.sabourn]

Just think Rodney if you had of had the foresight to collect that piece of Royal Snot in a matchbox , you could of had in later times it analysed for its DNA and had his forebears listed from and sent him his own family tree , I’m sure he would of appreciated and made you Knight of the Date tree or something more appropriate. We don’t have much money but we do see life. Cheers JS

[j.sabourn]

#20 Well maybe that is the old xxxxxx saying man that is born off man will live forever , but in their theorems they wear baggy pants to catch it. Maybe the baggy pants were just there to put you off the scent of their master plan. By the way I’ve just got out of bed for a bowel evacuation as is 0300 hrs and mind isn’t too clear at moment so am going back to bed right now. Good morning and good night . Cheers JS.

[Rodney Mills]

I forgot one last brush with royalty, I was picked up at Bandar Abbas, Iran's airport by the Michelangelo's manager. He and the driver were sitting in the front of our company's car, an open-air jeep. I was sitting in the back. I was wearing a baseball cap. I guess I must have looked like being in the military.

We were enroute to the Michelangelo and by sheer accident wandered into the middle of Shah Mohammad and his wife's parade all in open air cars, with army jeeps and soldiers fore and aft. we were only a couple of cars back from him and the Queen.

Military and police had blocked all the streets off as we joined, so we couldn't get out. The Army had collected all the occupants of nearby villages and gave the flags to wave and cheer as the Shah drove by. After he had gone by, a truck would pick up the flags to use in the next parade.

Anyway, we being in the parade, everyone thought we were supposed to be there. I sat in the back of the Jeep saluting from side to side to the cheering flag waving masses.

We got out of line as soon as a side road opened up. Our driver, an Iranian looked like he was ready for a heart attack. The manager had to take over driving the rest of the way.

Cheers again, Rodney

[Rodney Mills]

Johnny number #18

I must assume I was one of the "Fat Cats."* I managed a company division, to do with providing full hotel type services to staff and employees of companies building*pipelines, providing weapon systems, drilling and refining oil or minerals and the military in the middle east. north Africa and south America.* Through my marketing and operating skills, I provided jobs to locals (3rd country nationals), British and Americans. I mostly employed Brits in the management position, head cook, camp boss, and accountants.* They had better skills for overseas than did Americans, and they cost less than American employees. I later became President and Chief*Executive Officer of the company.* I made enough money for the stockholders that*the board of directors paid ME enough money that, with a reasonable*style of living that satisfied me, I could retire at the age of 47, I am now 86 and have not worked since retirement.

I guess I must be a "Fat Cat".* However, When I opened a new project for the company it provided good jobs to many hundreds of local employees, and a few hundred Brits and Americans, Oh and one Canadian I remember.

Now It's an assumption that your use of the title "fat cat", could be derogatory, envious, tongue*in cheek or disparaging. I don't know you,*I'm assuming it is not good news for*management.

If you were an employee, the owner or founder*took his or her life savings and started or bought an existing company. and risked it all on their skill or timing, like a roll of the dice.* In doing so they provided jobs for "workers", paid taxes to the government, or gave a return*on investment to investors. In doing so, they were paid well or fired if they didn't.
*
As a fat cat I had an office with windows that I could look out and see the top of the Empire State building in New York City. I had two secretaries, one for general office work and the other to schedule my appointments etc. both could bring me coffee.* That's if I was there, they and my wife and sons saw little of me as I was either sucking oily air in on a drilling rig, or trying to cross the desert in a sandstorm, or negotiating a contract in a city overseas, evacuating workers in a revolution, or stopping an upset client from cancelling our*contract or other wondrous events. I was a highly paid problem solver.**The president of a British chemical company did not call me to tell me the doughnuts were lovely and fresh.* It meant I had to grab a case of personal effects I kept in my office and hustle to a plane and fly to London or wherever, see the client and sooth his temper, then when I was Senior*VP off to the camps in Timbuctoo or wherever and straighten it out.*

It's not a walk in the park being a fat cat. Yes, we get paid well, but it was long hours climbing up the employment tree to get to be at the top ahead of someone else.* I don't feel at all guilty being retired for 47 years, I provided hundreds of jobs for people.

Cheers, Rodney

[j.sabourn]

Now 0600 hrs so am up early to prepare for another early doctors appointment for various tests which seem unending. The main thing in a seafaring life I have found is never leave a bad smell behind . Mind saying that my early evacuation a few hours ago should not in any way be taken into account. I may have upset certain people by walking off ships etc. but it was in my set of morals nothing to be ashamed of and would do again to prove a point. The only thing in my life I have a slight guilty feeling of as said once before was leaving a young girl on the pavement giving birth to a baby in Portuguese India as the rest of her people circum navigated around her on the pavement and I did the same, and that to me was no way to act. I was 17 at the time so was 70 years ago and is another memory that won’t go away. Once again due to memory lapse should have said it was in Cochin . A strong Catholic part of India. JS

#27 To be derogatory Rodney you would have to be a fat Tom cat chasing all the females . JS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John.
Good luck with your tests mate, at least you know there is something you haven't got! I hope.
Des

- - - Updated - - -

HI Rod.
Thanks for those posts, always best to find out things from someone who was there. We can all only hope that what is happening now gets sorted very soon, and seamen can go back to their jobs as safe as we were in our time.
Des

[happy daze john in oz]

WE have a suburb here lovingly known as Moslemmeadows, correct name is Broad meadows.
But for many years the majority of the population came from what was at one time Persia.
Very few would go there as gangs roamed the streets and it was considered not the best.

Now it is a most respectful suburb, it changed when a new Labor MP took over.
He changed the thinking of the people, got work for them and encouraged other middle East people to move in. We often go there to the shopping center which at Christmas time has one of the best Christmas decoration displays of any center.
Not many pubs though.