Annuities – Buyer Beware
The complexity and fees of annuities almost always outweigh the positive aspects, as they are rarely the most optimal investment.
Shaikh Amin's Encounters with Aramcons: A Photo Series - Photo 6
Shaikh Amin visits Pervais (Payee) Butt, younger brother of the late Yousaf Butt, in Mississauga, Ontario. Yousaf was well known to his friends and colleagues as Joe.
Songs of Thanks at Thanksgiving
Several years ago, I attended a Thanksgiving dinner at a friend’s home on Mercer Island, a suburb of Seattle. On this special night he was hosting two dozen college exchange students from Denmark. It was the first Thanksgiving for most of them, and they were fascinated by the history and traditions associated with this most American of holidays.
Shaikh Amin's Encounters with Aramcons: A Photo Series - Photo 5
This year on August 3, 2017, I made a brief trip to Toronto, Canada, by train from New York after a gap of 7 years to meet my old friends of Aramco who moved to Canada for permanent settlement after retirement. I stayed with the late Rashid Ahmed’s family who retired in 1988 from Saudi Aramco and moved to Brampton, Canada. I enjoyed my stay with the family very much as in the past.
1967: A Year to Remember
The year 1967 was filled with memorable events. In America, “the hippies out in San Francisco” (to quote Merle Haggard) declared that summer to be “the Summer of Love.” For two readers of this newsletter, the fall of 1967 was, in contrast, their personal “Autumn of Love.”
Shaikh Amin's Encounters with Aramcons: A Photo Series - Photo 4
Shaikh Amin, retired chief photographer of Aramco, is currently on his yearly tour of the USA to attend the annual Photographic Society of America conference and spend time with his family. In this photo, the family of Tariq Minhas joins Shaikh.
Roman Dreams of Life in the Desert
Over the years, we have been fortunate to feature the profiles of Aramco annuitants and brats from many different countries. This week, for the first time, we have the honor of profiling an ex-Aramcon from Italy, Annibale Bernardeschi, Badge Number 96147.
Mumbai Memories of Arabia
The port city of Mumbai in India was originally cobbled together from seven separate islands over 1,000 years ago, forming a part of the Kingdom of Ashoka. For hundreds of years, it was known by the name given to it by Portuguese colonists in the 16th century, Bombay.
Shaikh Amin's Encounters with Aramcons: A Photo Series - Photo 3
Shaikh Amin, retired chief photographer of Aramco, is currently on his yearly tour of the USA to attend the annual Photographic Society of America conference and spend time with his family. In this photo, the family of the late Raja Ghulam Ali Khan poses with Shaikh.
A Buckeye in Arabia
People from the state of Ohio are known as “Buckeyes.” For readers unfamiliar with the term, buckeye trees are members of the Horsechestnut Family, and there are more than a dozen species. One of those species is Aesculus glabra, commonly known as the Ohio buckeye.
Announcing Austin Hafla 2018 Committee Chairs
Your Austin Hafla 2018 cohosts, Bill & Judy Walker and David & Vicki Jessich, are pleased to announce these chairpeople for our reunion at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines from Sept. 16th through the morning of Sept. 19th, 2018. Our Hafla Sign-in and Registration Desk will open a day early on Saturday, Sept. 15th...
Shaikh Amin's Encounters with Aramcons: A Photo Series - Photo 2
Shaikh Amin, retired chief photographer of Aramco, is currently on his yearly tour of the USA to attend the annual Photographic Society of America conference and spend time with his family. In this photo, Shaikh joins the family of Azmat Deane who joined Aramco in 1954.
Donkey Riding in Dhahran
If you are a baby boomer that grew up in America in the ’50s, chances are you remember a children’s song called “Donkey Riding.” The lyrics to the first few stanzas go like this:
Fire and Rain
Our concern for Aramco ExPats affected by the series of natural disasters that have struck in the United States and its territories in recent months continues to grow. First, there were the hurricanes: Harvey, Irma, Maria, and others. Now there’s fire in California to add flames to their rain.
Swiss International Scientific School in Dubai Opens State-of-the-Art Secondary School Campus
Dubai, UAE – 10 September 2017: Swiss International Scientific School in Dubai (SISD) opened its Secondary School campus with first class facilities for Grades 6-10 on September 10th 2017. The new Secondary School follows the successful launch of the Primary School campus in 2015.
Interview with Tim Barger about Christmas in Khobar
Aramco Expats correspondent Grace Gail Malone interviews Tim Barger about his new book. "Your new collection of stories is entitled Christmas in Khobar. The name comes from one of your stories, but aren’t you concerned that a wider audience might not have even heard of the place?"
Reilly Financial Advisors Named To The 2017 Financial Advisor Magazine’s Top 50 Fastest Growing RIAs!
It has been a busy year thus far for Reilly Financial Advisors. Adding to an already long list of awards, RFA was named to the 2017 Financial Advisor Magazine’s Top 50 Fastest-Growing RIAs!
One Brat's Mission to Rebuild in the Aftermath of Hurricane Harvey
We all have friends and colleagues past and present—and, in some cases, family—who were affected by the series of hurricanes in August and September that struck islands in the Caribbean and wide swaths of the U.S. mainland.
Arvid, Jakki, Mike and Sue Picking Grapes in Portugal
Were you to throw a dart at a map of the world hung on a wall from ten paces away and hit a continent and not an ocean, chances are you’d find an ex-Aramcon or two living somewhere close by wherever your dart landed. The geographic spread of our readership suggests that...
Is Your Smartphone Hurting You?
Apprentices at the Jiddah Industrial Training Center (JITC) held their heads up high during the first “Text Neck Syndrome” awareness campaign as part of the “2017 Year of Health” series. Summer Program B participant and JITC health team member Bandar Al-Harbi delivered an eye-opening presentation designed to raise awareness of the syndrome with more than 200 apprentices, along with staff, in attendance.