A Story From Lebanon With A Happy Ending

I am delighted to share an inspiring story with a happy ending. Much of it takes place in Lebanon, which is now wracked by war and death. Haydn Black and I have been friends since our days together at Ross S. Sterling Senior High School. The late President Ronald Reagan played a part in both our lives. I was honored to sit in on a 90-minute meeting with President Reagan during his time as governor of California. Haydn spent his career in the airline business. When Ronald Reagan started to run for president in 1980, he had an airliner as his campaign plane. For the duration of the campaign, Haydn worked as a cabin crew member. (Oh, the book that he could write!) Haydn's son and daughter-in-law found a young Syrian boy sitting in a refugee camp in Lebanon. They moved to Lebanon to be with the young man. They decided to adopt the child. They "had to move Heaven and Earth" to get the adoption done. Here is the incredible story: Thanks Jack!! Your memory is perfect! Thankfully they were finally able to get papers to bring my adopted grandson to the U.S. for good on 10 Mar 2022! I thank the Lord every day that they’re no longer over there. My grandson, Akram was one of the 75 kids in the Home of Hope Lebanon in the mountains above Beirut they ran. They ran an orphanage/school for kids who lost their families in the wars & various hostilities. Brady & Amber became guardians of him & they homeschooled him for 5 years all while trying to get him papers to travel. Akram is Syrian & like most Syrians, every record of him was lost in their many conflicts. Thanks to a lovely lady, Dorothy Shea, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon until last year, they became friends because of her interest in Brady’s art & murals, initially his Memorial Wall to the 200+ Victims of the Beirut Port Explosion in 2020. Even with her help, & her sister’s help, an immigration attorney, it took 3+ years. They’re living in Seattle now & Brady’s very involved in the art community. Thankfully he has lots of private & public projects in the works. I attached pics of a couple he just did for a city project to help make a bunch of Seattle’s vacant buildings not look so bad. Thanks for asking, my longtime friend!! That means a lot to me! I know you didn’t ask for my ‘dissertation’ but I wanted to share that! I hope you & your family are doing well! By what I follow on Facebook you seem to be! Take care!!