What a Summer!

What a summer was this summer of 2009! I spent its 3 months back home with my family after a long absence. It was indeed great to be back home, to be united with those loved ones whom one cares most about. And yet the Providence had something else in mind.
The election turned a page in history that proved to be the end of an old chapter and the beginning of a new one. And indeed this was an end, the Tehran of my childhood was long gone. Even in Mehrshahr that lovely suburb 40 km out of Tehran old villas were replaced by buildings and apartment complexes. The new generation only a few years younger than your correspondent, is more arrogant, confident, fearless and in the same time more pragmatic and realistic. To see them walking hands in hands in street of Tehran crowding the streets, the cafes, the malls and every else was to see a new wave getting ready to hit the shore.
And yet for me the end of old era was magnified by a personal loss. On July 23rd I lost my father in an air crash in Mashhad. He went like he wanted; flying, taking care of his crew and passengers. I should write more about him soon, the shock still is there, the loss still is too fresh. I miss him, we all do.
So here is one update after few months, i doubt if ever in history of our time we had such an eventful summer. The world is not the same any more.