Rick Beeman

Identity. Who are we really? How do we identify ourselves? Is the identity that we have of ourselves the same identity that other’s would bestow upon us? Probably not. I still feel like I have the physical identity of a skinny 20 year old, but my belly, Jennifer, and the mirror will tell me otherwise. We tend not to be honest with ourselves about our own identity. One of the hardest things to do in life is look in the figurative mirror, recognize your flaws and admit when you’ve made mistakes. Its so much easier to blame other people for your problems. That is safe. Once you’ve started down that road of averting blame its really difficult to turn back. “I made a mistake, I was wrong, do you forgive me” Those are probably the three hardest phrases for anyone to utter. But there is so much freedom when someone can come to that self-actualization. It’s the first step to having a genuine identity. Otherwise we are all playing different characters in the theate...

I made a mistake in a blog the purported broad characterizations which were inaccurate. I have since amended the offending blogs in order to rectify the situation. I was wrong plain and simple. I mentioned that my former employer and the hiring practices of Sunni and Shia employees. It has been brought to my attention that we did indeed hire many Shia employees as well as Sunnis. Not only that we had Muslims, Christians and Hindus as well. My former employers were actually very enlightened in that regard. As a visiting ex-pat, I just do not have the knowledge and experience yet to tell the difference between a Shia and Sunni Muslim. Apparently you can tell by their accent and some of the holidays that they observe. I am just not there yet. So if I offended or misrepresented my beliefs to anyone, I apologize. It is my objective to create a world of better understanding. When I contribute to the misunderstandings, I just defeat my own purposes.

Somehow a Russian Reporter found me on Facebook. She was interviewing me for a piece for her magazine. I took out her name to protect her identity. But I thought you might interested in our discourse. ---------- February 18 at 6:06pm Report Mr. Beeman, My name is ---------, I work for the Ukrainian weekly magazine Focus. We plan to write an article about foreigners who stay in those Arab countries where during the last weeks people have been protesting. What I want - to show some life stories of those Americans, Europeans who can tell me why they do not flee, why they stay and experience those events along with Muslim people. What I ask - just your views on that, I know that you live in Dubai, but still you can share your opinion with us. Or, may be, can help to contact some friends of yours who live in either Egypt, Bahrain or Yemen etc. Appreciate your help in advance! All the best, ----------- Foreign Desk Editor Focus magazine www.focus.ua Rick Bee...

This situation in Bahrain is getting worse. Since I am now living away from Bahrain, I feel like I can objectively review the situation from afar. I am keeping close tabs on the proceedings from my many facebook friends especially John. (Somehow a reporter from a Russian Magazine got a hold of me to get my viewpoint of the events from Bahrain. It was flattering.) The violence that is happening in Bahrain now is very real and getting more and more treacherous. I still receive emails from the US Embassy in Bahrain warning of the threats and demonstrations. They are advising all Americans to stay in their homes until further notice. Objectively speaking the Royal Family and the military seem to be really making matters worse. Common sense tells you, you don’t quell an uprising by attacking unarmed protestors. With the use of force there are bound to be accidental deaths and that is only going to inflame the situation and further entrench the opposition. Instead of d...

It is an amazing, disheartening, and surreal scene happening in Bahrain now. The stage of empowerment was set in Egypt and now the impetus for change has spread throughout the Middle East to the tiny country of Bahrain (1.2 million) which I called home for nearly two years. I wonder if Mark Zuckerberg had any idea how much his creation would actually change the world in just under 10 years. It has nothing to do with facebook really. Facebook just gives people a forum to which they can communicate. Most every paper in the Middle East and other Communist countries are state-run. So they are filled with propaganda. I was blessed to grow up in a country with what was a free press. The press in the states acted as the fourth branch of the government able to keep politicians and the judicial system in line by way of informing the public of the truth. I often wondered if someone growing up in a controlled media environment actually trusted their own country’s media. When I...

What a train wreck Lindsey Lohan’s life has become. I think it is a cautionary tale not only for child actor’s life but all children of privilege when not enough discipline is meted out. We have seen the out of control stories over and over again in the world especially in athletics. A kid from poverty has millions bestowed upon him, gets the entourage with “yes” people and no one around to tell him no. Without discipline he pisses the money away, hello MC Hammer. Tiger Woods didn’t fall apart until after he lost his father and thus the discipline that he brought to hold Tiger in check even as an adult. It even happened to Elvis. Elvis is a distant relative of mine (like 14 th or 15 th cousins) not enough to get royalties from his empire but enough to mention as a conversation piece at parties. I was able to work on two Elvis biographies early in my career. Elvis was just a poor country kid who had fame and fortune thrown upon him at an early age. His opulent lifes...

I haven’t been writing in this blog that much lately. After the top ten list, everything that is happening in 2011 seems a little bit anti-climactic. But that doesn’t mean that there is nothing going on. I don’t want this blog to continually focus on the past as I have bemoaned it plenty of times. I do feel led to talk about it periodically as I know that it has benefitted some of you readers out there of which Im grateful. If I can be a blessing or if someone can learn from my hardships it sure makes it a little easier for me. But I have such a wonderful life to look forward to, especially finally living like a regular family with Jennifer and the addition of the little one. I know she is going to be a wonderful mother. One of my greatest joys in life is being a father. So I get to experience that once again. Jennifer is chronicling her pregnancy so if you haven’t read it, I’d encourage you to do so. jenni-sloan.blogspot.com/ Another huge reason I am not writing in the bl...

#2 What a surprise! I flew back in November to surprise Jennifer…and boy were we both surprised. We had been so careful as to “protect” ourselves. Then my last night there…well we got a little… how shall I say this, less fastidious on the consequences for a few good reasons. Well they seemed good at the time anyways. After all, we still wanted to travel the world, and being situated in Dubai (right in the middle of everything) made that all possible. So this is a little PG-13 in the form of imagery, nevertheless, afterwards I turned to her and proclaimed. I think I just made you pregnant. She of course blew me off. I didn’t really want to believe it myself. So I fly back to Dubai the next day. As Im having my morning chat with God, I very clearly and matter of factly heard Him say, “Jennifer’s pregnant.” So all of sudden, I start convincing myself maybe I can’t really hear from God. Then He clearly said “Whether you want to accept it right now or not, she’s pregnant. Yo...

Wow, Im wordy. I guess that is a good thing since I bill myself as a professional writer. I thought I could get through this top 10 list with maybe one or two pages. But as I write I find myself reliving the experiences. I love details and stories. So I keep wanting to add detail at every turn. So hopefully I can get through this list quickly as Im trying to stay in sync with Jennifer’s blog jenni-sloan.blogspot.com/ I am copying her format anyway so props to her. I would also encourage you to keep your own top 10 list, and do it every year. What a wonderful way to relive moments in your life especially a few years down the road when we forget everything. If you think about it, can you really remember even the best thing that happened to you in 1999 or 2003? What about the fifth best thing that happened two years ago? Memories fade but words have a lasting impact. I wish I would have started this years ago. On with the list. #4 Spending a month with the kids a...