An old story about a new Iran

In the winter of 1978/79 I was in my twenties and an offer came my way to move a friend of a friend back to Los Angeles from New York city. I accepted as I did any offer in those days that got me anywhere. All expenses paid plus a few bucks-all we had to do was fly there, pack up his belongings and drive a truck back. It was the dead of winter but it sounded like great fun.
The fellow we moved was a successful magazine publisher who was closing his office in New York. It turned out for me to be a peek at how the "other half " lived. His office was maybe 20 stories up in a huge building in Manhattan. Moving some of the things in his office was part of the deal and I remember thinking, what did I get myself into? As it turned out it wasn't a problem. We just pulled the whole damn truck into the "truck elevator," took it right up to his floor and packed up. At the time I didn't know such things existed.
That memory lasted along with being surprised at how nice and friendly everyone was. I'd been warned about New Yorkers so many times I expected they all had horns. It couldn't have been further from the truth. There was one guy on the street we asked for directions, he patiently did his best, then opted to ride on the running board of the truck for what must have been 3 miles to get us to the highway. It was about 30 degrees outside. I'd never heard of that happening in Los Angeles even on a warm day.
It was my first experience in New York city and it had a feel to it that was very different than any other city I'd been to. There were little things I recall like pulling out of the truck elevator onto a street with traffic so tight I thought we would never get out. For me, the Californian, it was hectic and I was out of my element and getting nowhere fast. We had befriended a few of the girls in the office who came along with us. They kept telling me to just move into the lane which I finally did nervously until I put a crease right down the side of a car with the trucks bumper. I thought now I'd really done it, but one of the girls, Holly was here name said, "Go, the next guy will take you a little more seriously now." Well, the guy I hit never even stopped and we laughed and I soaked it all up like a sponge.
We stayed in the apartment of the guy we were moving which was on Beekman Place in a nice part of the city overlooking the East River. His place was wild, it had polished metal ceiling panels with slabs of glass sticking out of the walls for shelves that were backlit making the edges aqua blue.
We would pack up stuff during the day and go to night clubs at night. The place was Disneyland for adults. Everything was new and different. There was more than we could ever see and I finally got to find out what food was supposed to taste like. It was heaven but, sorry, this is going to have to wait for another post. I have a little more serious thought in mind.
The reason I bring this story up in the first place is 2 doors down from the apartment was a townhouse that was obviously of some importance to someone because there was always 2 New York city police officers standing nearby watching. There was also a large security camera above the door. Being young wise guys we would ham it up when we passed by. We would joke about who might live there as we came and went at all hours of the day and night. After about 3 days of this the officers had had enough and approached us and inquired about what we were doing. We explained and got to talking about California and the weather which they loved to hear about. We got pretty friendly and I guess they passed the word on to the next shift because nobody ever bothered us again.
One night we came in late and I remember asking the officers who they were guarding, they said "The Shah of Iran's wife." It sounded important but it didn't mean much to us at the time. We talked a little bit and said goodnight but I'll never forget as we walked away one of them said, "if you guys are gonna blow the place up, let us know first so we can get the hell outta here," we all laughed. I remember thinking New York cops are a lot cooler than L.A. cops.
I barely knew who the Shah of Iran was then but that little kernel of an experience created an interest. As I later found out this was right at the time he was thrown out of Iran. They left as a result of a revolution and I remember thinking that definitely seemed cool.
So fast forward to now and guess who's in the news. A little history and perspective seems in order. 27 years ago Iran has a revolution that succeeded in ousting their western backed leader. I don't know about you but I clearly remember Watergate. A little earlier perhaps but the only recent mildly comparable turbulent time for Americans. I also remember the effect it had on this country.
Now imagine a Nixon Monarchy including his father before him ruling America since WWI. Around WWII the father is removed and the son is installed by outsiders so they can help themselves to your natural resources, pay an unfair price and attempt to change the culture in the process. There are steady reminders along the way who the real boss is. There is political trickery, unfair programs, corruption, violent coups and no real democratic representation. Your autocratic leader slowly becomes known as a puppet for outside interests. Having no more of it you rise up and revolt. Then starting your country over and weakened from revolution your attacked by your outsider backed neighbor and suffer casualties of up to 1 million of which 100,000 are killed by chemical weapons.
The fact that this was an Islamic Revolution should have been a strong message to the world how sick and tired Iran was of the interventions in it's affairs and that western ways were not a good fit. A little generalization could have convinced smart people that it wasn't a good fit for much of the region but that's another topic.
I'm not going any deeper into the history of Iran and to say they haven't contributed to their own problems would be wrong but, if your not inclined to study the subject, know that the west, without question, played a huge role in the affairs of Iran and being fair had little to do with that involvement. You have heard it before and it's true, it was primarily about oil.
Unfortunately the actions against Iran in pursuit of this goal has hardened Iranians dislike for Americans to the extent that dealing with them today is nearly impossible. Add clever politicians exploiting these hatreds and fears and you have modern day Iran.
The sad thing is the damage is done and in light of possible new discoveries about Iran's uranium enrichment efforts there will at some point likely be a response from the west. My only hope is that whoever ultimately negotiates with the Iranians will be fair minded and able to know and embrace their troubled history.