"Mr. Matthew, I want to tell you something." Dass pulled me over to the side to talk privately. We were having lunch at an Indian restaurant in Ruwi, a section of town whose inhabitants are mainly Indians. This is where much of the expatriate workforce imported to build Muscat's modern economy live. Dass came to Muscat over 30 years ago to work in Oman.
He told me a story. "A long time ago my friend was fishing off the coast of Muscat. He caught a big shark. He was so proud of it. He had the jaw removed and cleaned. And then, because he was my friend, he gave the jaw to me. It has been in my house all these years. Now, I would like to give you the jaws. I cannot take them with me."
Dass was leaving Oman in a few days to move to Seattle, Washington. He had recently gotten a green card to live in the U.S. He had sold everything he owned and was down to two suitcases and the shark's teeth. And now, in a gesture of friendship, he was passing the teeth to me. I was honored and thanked him for this incredibly kind gesture. The jaws were in a bag being held by the Maitre d'. He would get them after we finished our meal.
Our family joined Dass's wife, his daughter, and his son-in-law at the table. In another act of friendship, Dass had invited us to dine with him and his family at the restaurant. His nature was to reach out and befriend others. We still had a ways to go with the coconut curry fish, dahl, and tomato paneer spread before us. Everyone was in a happy mood as our host waved over the waiter and asked him to bring more rice. I looked around and noticed the restaurant was full. We were the only non-Indians in the restaurant, we knew the food was authentic. I reached down and scooped up a handful of rice and curry from my plate and placed it in my mouth (food is eaten by hand, only newbies like us used forks at this restaurant) . It was turning out to be a fantastic lunch.
I had met Dass a few weeks back when I called him about a car he was selling. He had exactly what we were looking for; a used vehicle big enough for a family. The car was well maintained, drove well and cheap. As Dass succinctly expressed to me when I test drove it, "a car perfect for going from here to there." We got together a half a dozen times to process the insurance, registration, inspection, and tags. At each meeting we talked and got to know each other. He invited us to lunch on the day we completed the transfer of the car.
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| The boys standing in front of the car. |
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| In front of the restaurant. Dass on the left and his wife and daughter on the right. |
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| Note the big elephant in the background. |
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| Shark's jaws. |
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