Chapter TEN
Taif and the Matawah
Stare directly in their eyes … and maybe they’ll just go away.
The City of Taif lies inland about two hours from the central west coast of Saudi Arabia and 5,577 feet up from the picture-perfect scuba diving beaches of Jeddah. It rests on a plateau absorbing the sun and sand with warm days and wonderfully cool nights. Here the temperature runs the gamut, from mild summers with daytime highs in the 80s and 90s to cool winter lows in the 40s. Located near the Al-Hada Mountains, Taif has a generous amount of rainfall. Away from the city and its lights you can see thousands of stars twinkling in the clear night sky.
I was transferred to Taif after nearly ten years in Riyadh. Burned out from working at McDonnell Douglas Services headquarters, with an ulcer and cancer behind me, I told my boss, the Director of Human Resources, that I was requesting a departmental transfer into the Finance Department or, if denied, would end my time in the Kingdom by putting in my 90-days notice. The Director of Human Resources did not like change. The majority of people who worked for him had been there for years and it was almost sacrilegious to ask for a transfer to another department or another city, at least as far as he was concerned. He liked the status quo of everyone in one spot, doing one job, not rocking the boat. Always micromanaging.
When he saw that I was not going to back down, he relented and offered me the newly-created position of Hotel Coordinator in Taif I couldn t leave though until I had broken in my replacement to the Director s satisfaction After several weeks of training, my replacement exhibited sufficient ability to satisfy my boss and I was allowed to move to Taif. I told him that any information he needed on how to run the Government Relations office would only be a phone call away.
My wife, who was back in the United States attending college, supported me in this transfer, knowing full well what I had endured during my time in Riyadh. I packed up my remaining personal effects and the company shipped them to Taif. There was no farewell party. I left with simple goodbyes to my numerous friends and co-workers and departed for the perceived greener pastures of Taif.
The opportunity for the position of Hotel Coordinator for the Royal Saudi Air Force at Taif had opened up when the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force (USAF), decided to refurbish the Al-Gaim housing com