A Show For A Few Of The Ambassador's Friends

When you're an ambassador to a country like Saudi Arabia you can throw quite a party. You can invite anyone who is anyone and book a country music band from Nashville to be the entertainment. And, of course, we are the lucky ones who happened to be that band.

The staff made a great stage on the tennis court backed by an incredible American flag and covered the court with 154 rugs. I know. I had to count them. (My choice - my curiosity).

Before the show, Ambassador Jim Smith - a retired Air Force general -joined us for a great conversation "back stage":

The ambassador has an immense wealth of knowledge about Saudi Arabian history, culture, politics and of course Saudi-US relations. I can't imagine this important position being in better hands. We are very lucky to have him at the helm in this difficult area of the world.

Soon after, the band took the stage

This evening the performance was scheduled a little differently. Instead of a one stop show, it was divided into two 40 minute sets. After the first set, Todd befriended some children with his mandolin

A reporter from a Saudi television station came to interview Thom, but I think she liked the drummer. Todd made sure Tim was on his best behavior

The band was dead on and did their best show yet. As in Dhahran, they got an enthusiastic standing ovation and an encore

This time there was a sound crew that made our lives a lot easier by having all the gear set up and ready to go

I didn't get all their names, but they are all from The Phillipines and were exceptionally knowledgable and skillful with the sound. Thanks guys!

We dined and mingled afterwards with the nicest people you would want to know. Catherine, Todd and Gunny have put in long, long hours to make our stay an incredible one. We keep thanking them and it never seems to be enough to show how much we appreciate all they are doing for us.

Sleeping in tomorrow and a music festival sponsored by the Embassy tomorrow night.

Stay tuned!

Jerry