People are people. We all have the same needs. The things that separate us are usually material items that we place a value on. At the end of the day, rich, famous, poor, infamous, we are all just people.
Which leads me to my most recent story. To the north of us lives a Sheik, a very prominent one at that. I could not have left Qatar without making an effort to meet him.
So, the other night, I put together a letter and a Toronto Blue Jays hat, finished my work out, and sweat and all walked over the the Skeik's palace. I saw the first of several workers and asked if I could give the Sheik a gift and a card. My request went up through the chain of command. At one point while I was waiting, I was watching Bollywood movies in the security house with an Indian fella.
After about 10 minutes or so, the personal assistant came up to me and said, "The Sheik would like to meet you." I obliged!
I walked through his compound past a number of vehicles and to my right past a beautiful fountain there was a meeting room. The room had a rather large tv and a number of red leather sofas. So, there I stand, in my ankle socks, shorts and sweaty t-shirt waiting for the Sheik. I shook my head a bit, psyched myself up and in he walked with a small entourage. He introduced himself and we sat down.
About an hour and a half passed and we talked about everything from family, Canada and its winter, Qatar and its development, life and business, but most of the time we talked about climate change.
He was just as curious about me as I was about him.
As it turns out, he is the Chairman of Doha Bank. They just recently opened a branch in Toronto and I told him that I was only an hour away from the city. I expressed that he was more than welcome to come for a visit to my home if he wanted to. He handed me his business card and told me to stay in touch.
Crazy but true.
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