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Thinking about Sharm

I am so saddened to read about the bombing yesterday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.  The bombings that killed 88 people, including several tourists, personally affected me in a way that the other bombings did not.  It could have been me.  I could have been one of the victims.  I have European friends who could have been there and may have been there.  I contacted them to make sure they’re all right, but I have not heard from them.  I pray that they are safe. 

These bombings personally impacted me because I have been to Sharm el-Sheikh.  I can vividly picture in my mind what happened last night.  In January 2002, just prior to the start of the Afghanistan War, my wife and I visited Egypt.  We spent Christmas in Luxor, New Year’s in Cairo at the Pyramids of Giza, and in January we visited the Sinai Peninsula and Jordan.  We stayed with friends in Dahab up the coast from Sharm and had a wonderful time together.  The memory is priceless.  After a couple of days in Dahab, we took a bus from Dahab back to Cairo, and on our way we stopped in Sharm el-Sheikh.  In many ways Sharm is not so different from Dahab.  Both are popular tourist destinations for foreigners, particularly Western Europeans.  Both are very westernized.  Most Egyptians there are very friendly and cordial to the multitudes of foreigners who descend upon the Sinai for rest and relaxation.  As I read about what happened in Sharm last night, I recalled a time when my wife and I stayed in Dahab, and I realized that what happened could have happened to us.  I can picture the moment before the bombings occurred—tourists having fun into the wee hours of Saturday night, with Egyptian employees pulling all nighters in order to make sure their guests’ vacations were enjoyable.  In an instant, the merriment ended as car bombs detonated in the Ghazala Garden Hotel and the city’s Old Market, shattering the calm and leaving gaping holes where lives used to be. 

I am so saddened by these bombings, as well as by all the violence that has occurred in recent weeks in London and Iraq.  My heart goes out to the victims’ families.  I also feel for the people of Egypt who will be impacted by this tragedy.  The negative repercussions of these bombings will be enormous for Egypt’s economy, perhaps even more so than the Tsunami impacted Thailand’s tourist industry.  Egypt depends heavily on tourism.  This is the worst attack in modern Egyptian history, even worse than the 1997 massacre at the Temple of Hatshepsut that claimed the lives of 64 tourists.  After the massacre at the Temple of Hatshepsut, Egyptian tourism fell on hard times.  On the heels of last year’s deadly bombing of the Taba Hilton, this event will surely devastate Egypt’s tourist industry.  Many Egyptians, both Muslim and Coptic Christian, rely on tourism for their livelihoods, and they will suffer even more lean years as tourists stay away from Egypt in droves.  Many of those who previously considered vacationing in Sharm will choose other options such as Tunisia or Mallorca or the Canary Islands.  I hope that those who perpetrated this atrocity are apprehended soon, and I hope that the good people of Egypt who are affected by these bombings will be able to move on from this tragedy.  I long for the day when people put aside their bombs and use diplomacy to achieve solutions.

Scotty is beamed up

I’ve always liked "Scotty," the Scottish engineer who operated the Engineering Room on the Starship Enterprise during the classic sci-fi TV shot "Star Trek."  The actor who portrayed him, James Doohan, passed away today at the age of 85.  His final wishes were to have his ashes sent into space like "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry.  I hope his dream comes true.  There would be no better place for a crew member of the Starship Enterprise to finally rest than with the stars.  Scotty will be missed, but fortunately we will always be able to see him on "Star Trek" re-runs.
 
James Doohan made a special contribution my family during his lifetime.  If it weren’t for him, I might never have started dating my wife.  A long, long time ago, in a place far, far away, my wife and I met as students in college.  We were good friends, and a few weeks after we met, we heard that James Doohan of "Star Trek" fame would be coming to campus to talk about his career and his role as "Mr. Scott."  We decided to go see him at the main university auditorium.  We never made it to the event, because on our way to the show we decided to stop and talk.  And we talked.  And talked.  And we missed the start of the show, and we talked some more.  And so we began dating.  On the night that we were supposed to go on a friendly "date" to see James Doohan, we instead began dating.  We’ve been together ever since that fateful night.  So although I am sad to hear that he has passed away, because of him I also fondly remember that happy night when Scotty brought us together.  It seems so long ago, yet the memory is still vivid in my mind. 
 
Scotty was already advanced in age when my wife and I started dating.  He was always a young-looking man and vivacious for his age.  He lived not far from where we lived once, in Redmond, Washington, the home of Microsoft.  I once thought about looking him up to say hello and let him know how he had brought my wife and I together, but I never did.  I remember reading an article in the local paper several years ago, perhaps in 1999, announcing the birth of his youngest child.  At the time he was already in his late 70’s.  The child was apparently a complete surprise to him and his wife.  I would be shocked too if I suddenly found out I was an expecting father at the age of 79!  It’s sad to know that James Doohan will never be able to be there for the biggest events in his youngest child’s life.
 
So James Doohan, a.k.a. "Scotty," will forever have a special place in my family’s lives.  He will always be remembered as one of the most lovable characters of the original "Star Trek" series.  He’ll always be my favorite Starship engineer, and he’ll always be Scotty.  Even if he’s Canadian.

A memorable evening with General Powell

Tonight my wife and I had a wonderful evening with General and Mrs. Colin Powell.  The Korea International Trade Association and Korea-U.S. Economic Council hosted General Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Joint Chief of Staff, and his wife at the COEX Grand Ballroom.  I was privileged to join him for the festivities honoring the translation of his book into Korean.  General Powell gave a wonderful half-speech about his book and about foreign policy, focusing on his special relationship with Korea (where he served as lieutenant colonel in 1973-74).  He gave candid insights into U.S.-Asian foreign relations, particularly U.S. relations with Korea, Japan, and China.  We were happy to receive an autographed copy of his best-selling book, “An American Journey.”  Although it is in Korean, we will keep it as a souvenir of this memorable night.

Following his speech, we feasted on an elegant dinner of sashimi salad, wild mushroom cream soup, beef tenderloin, and Grandmarnier soufflé, accented with a glass of dry red wine and coffee for dessert.  After we offered a toast to the general, we watched a memorable performance by a Korean men’s choir, who sang “America the Beautiful,” “Arirang,” and “The Old Maine” a cappella.  A group of Korean dancers dubbed “Tooms River Dance” performed “Riverdance” numbers.  Perhaps the best performance of all, one that was quite unexpected for a buttoned-down affair, was a riveting performance by In Soon Yi, one of Korea’s top pop artists.  She was very popular several years ago but is now in the midst of a comeback.  The daughter of a Korean mother and American father who was stationed as a soldier in Korea, she possesses a soulful voice that reveals her African American roots.  She sang a couple of songs, and then she invited General Powell to sing on stage with her.  I was amazed to see General Powell join her on stage.  He sang a short duet with her.  He has a great voice.  It reminds of a time in July 2004 when he wowed the crowd at an ASEAN meeting by donning an electrician’s uniform and singing the Village People classic “YMCA.”  He’s that kind of guy, someone willing to go the extra mile to entertain the audience.

I have seen General Powell on two earlier occasions, but this was the most memorable for me.  At the end of the program I found a strategic place to wait for him to pass by, and I met him briefly and shook his hand.  He gave me a warm smile and a firm handshake.  He is one of my heroes, and I finally had a chance to meet him personally.  Earlier this week I also met Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she came to Seoul, but this was an even bigger thrill for me.  Both are unforgettable, but General Powell is even larger than life.