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group. I also talked with each of the Americans there, which comprised
of about 20. The president of the organization was D.O. “Swede” Nel-
son. He had previously spent eight or ten years in Aramco and was a
very bright, aggressive character.

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was our vice president over legal and government relations. I had a Sun-
day in Caracas, so I spent it sightseeing. Orchids are the Venezuelan
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dence, is buried in Caracas. It was interesting to visit his home. Judging
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tall. The Caracas area is very subject to earthquakes and there had been
a large one a few weeks before my visit. One apartment house had col-
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While I was in Maracaibo I made a very stupid mistake. In my
hotel room I put an electric water heater in a cup of water while I went
in the bathroom to shave. For whatever reason, the little immersion wa-
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on my bed. When I returned to my bedroom I stupidly put my hand over
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ring. The bare bone was immediately visible.
The company personnel manager was coming to pick me up, so I
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He immediately called the company doctor who, as it happened, was
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that was open. Two young Venezuelan doctors examined my hand. One
doctor looked at the other and smiled. I sensed that they were going

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