Story of a friend who came to the USA from Lebanon.
He wishes to remain anonymous. So I will call him X.
We met in 1998 and discovered that we had many interests in common. These first photos are of his wildflower garden at his home in Denver, Colorado.
X’s great grandmother’s family escaped Russian genocide in Circassia in 1864, the year she was born. She lived in Jordan and Lebanon until age 107. X’s father was an Arab. X grew up in Lebanon under constant fighting between Christians and Muslims. He didn’t think that he would live to 20.
He came to America in 1972 to find peace and study electronics. He had careers in three fields. He understands current events, and European, and Middle Eastern history better than many native-born Americans
He loves the wilderness, mountains, wildflowers and birds. We hiked and snowshoed in the Rocky Mountains all year round.
2012 Snowshoeing to Abyss Lake
Wikipedia: The Circassian genocide was the systematic mass killing and forced displacement of over 95% of the Circassian people during the Russian invasion of Circassia in the 19th century. It resulted in the deaths of over 1,000,000. Exterminated were mainly Circassians, who are predominantly Muslims. The Imperial Russian Army impaled their victims and tore open the bellies of pregnant women. Russian generals described the Circassians as " subhuman filth".
Children with green flag of Circassia2020
Lebanon in the peaceful 1960sBeirut
Lebanon in the peaceful 1960s -
Beqaa Valley Bekaa Valley
Civil war in Lebanon 1975 - 1989 mainly between Christians and Muslims but also between subgroups.
Civil war in Lebanon 1975 - 1989 mainly between Christians and Muslims but also between subgroups.
X came to the United States with the help of an uncle in the 1970s. He wanted to escape civil war and get a college education. He settled in Denver, Colorado and earned a degree in electronics.
After graduating, he got a job with a company designing pollution monitoring equipment. He designed electronic motherboards.
In 1976, he was struck by a car. This left him with back pain for many years. It ended his career in electronics which required lots of mental concentration.
After decades of self-performed physical therapy, he got healthy enough to hike in the mountains.
To support himself, he became a restaurant manager and senior bookkeeper for a team of medical doctors in private practice. He was dedicated to his employers and saved them money.
For over twenty five years, X has been an exceptional hiking, snowshoeing, and conversation friend on current events and world history.
I am a retired professional engineer with a career in nuclear power and host of the website: allaboutenergy.net.
X and I agree that wind turbines and solar panels are inferior forms of energy for modern economies. Fossil fuels and nuclear power are far better. Carbon dioxide is the molecule of life. Man-made CO2 is the same molecule. It is not a pollutant. Some friends disagree.
X is an outstanding American and a loyal friend. Salaam, Shalom, Peace
