When Dad announced he was retiring from Aramco back in 1983, I thought yes, at last, I was headed home to the States for good to college, friends, girls. He then said he had taken on a job in Lahore, Pakistan, and my mouth fell open. “La what?” Dad said it would be much better than Saudi. The company offered a house, cook, maid, chauffeur, and gardener, and best of all, there was none of the Saudi visa nonsense, so we could come and go as we pleased. Since I was heading to the States, I thought he must have been talking about my brother, Roger. After all the visa trouble we’d had trying to get my brother permission to stay in Saudi, it seemed to make sense. Except Roger was living in Italy at the time, so something didn’t seem right.
It occurred to me yesterday while I was in the pool that it did indeed have to do with Roger. With the Louisiana trial coming up in September, 1983 and lasting for who knew how long, Mom and Dad would have to be able to come and go freely. Staying in Saudi was a crap shoot, and staying in the US was not realistic due to IRS tax BS. Pakistan seemed the ideal solution if the case dragged on for a long time.
Then again, nothing turned out as expected, but that’s another story.
It is interesting and frustrating that these “bits” keep coming to me this way. This is part of what’s held up my book for so long. So many of these details come in painful dribs and drabs.