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people were friendly and they have been commercial traders for thou-
sands of years.

When I returned to Arabia, Fred Davies had come out to Dhah-
ran to replace Mr. Mac (Mr. Mac had gone to Kuwait to manage the
exploration and development in the Neutral Zone between Kuwait and
Saudi Arabia by the American Independent Oil Company). I proposed
some small adjustments in the Saudi Riyal pay structure including mak-
ing salary ranges proportionate, which they had not been. Mr. Davies
readily accepted the recommendations and they were implemented.

As I began to see and gain a slight understanding of Arab people,
I realized that most of us view other people within the context of abilities
we are familiar with. In our society we do little memorizing. Indeed, we
rely greatly on written material. In a society where people are illiterate
and pen and paper are not readily available, memory can replace them in
ways we never dream of. In Dhahran the company had a laundry depot
where we employees left clothing to be washed. Each of us had an Ar-
amco badge (picture plus a number on the badge). When we went to the
laundry depot to pick up our washed and ironed clothing we approached
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of times an employee used the laundry depot (as a new resident) you
spoke your last name and Aramco badge number to this man. He would
then call to one of his assistants your name and badge number. The
assistant would go to the laundry racks and bring your cardboard box
of laundry. However, after you had used the laundry depot a couple of
times the Arab man would, as you approached the counter, call out you
last name and badge number without you speaking a word or his seeing
your badge. Upon seeing me, he would say, “Holmes, 9131.” He had a
marvelous memory. There were over 2,000 Americans using the laun-
dry depot. Can you imagine knowing the names and badge numbers of
2,000 people in a foreign language (English to him) and in the English
names for numbers? Fantastic!
You may recall in the book and TV movie “Roots” of a griot in
Africa who had memorized the names and history of his tribal mem-
bers for generations past. When Alex Haley listened to the griot recite

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