Preface from The Man of Honor
Preface
As a child growing up in a big family, I always thought that my father was like every other father until an earthquake happened in September of 1962. I was eleven then. That summer we were staying at our vacation home that the military provided us in a small town near Tehran called Lashkarak. We were all sleeping on the floor next to one another when I felt my father bridging over us while the room shook violently back and forth.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.” He assured us with a trembling voice. “God protect my family and let the bricks fall on me if the roof collapses.”
We were shivering with fright not knowing what was going to happen to us. As soon as the earthquake stopped, my father led us outside hurriedly where we met other neighbors. As an officer my father gathered his soldiers to plan a help squad while I joined several children my age.
“What did your father do when the earthquake happened?” I asked them innocently.
“He told us to be calm.” Each gave the same answer.
None of them told me that their father bridged over them to protect them. Then I became more curious and interested in my father’s personality and found him to be above and beyond all the other men I knew around me.
“Your father is a kind-hearted, gracious, and above all, brave.” A farmer told me once; something I heard from many other farmers who were helped. Akbar, my father had to go against his commander’s pressures and bribery in order to return the land to several farmers; the land that was taken from them by force.
Having been raised as an orphan child in a poor farmhouse, being neglected and deprived of all the basic needs, he found a way to survive. With his hard work and stamina, he succeeded in receiving a college degree and work in the military. During his life, he had many opportunities to choose between money, power, and justice, but he never failed to choose the latter. He was a man of nobility and justice, of patience and wisdom. His abundant love not only cherished his family, but other people who asked him for help.
“Love is not selfish.” He used to say. “And it’s not exclusive, so if you love and respect your own family, you have to love and respect all human beings as your larger family.”
During his life, he followed this motto in every step of the way. To him, kindliness and good deeds were never an inconvenience but a pleasant and joyful experience. Although he was never rich and had to work hard to make ends meet, he always had the feeling of abundance. He welcomed every opportunity to reach out and warm somebody’s heart with his encouragement and inspiration.
Mary Selseleh
Paintings by: Mahsan Ghazian
www.mahsanart.com
As a child growing up in a big family, I always thought that my father was like every other father until an earthquake happened in September of 1962. I was eleven then. That summer we were staying at our vacation home that the military provided us in a small town near Tehran called Lashkarak. We were all sleeping on the floor next to one another when I felt my father bridging over us while the room shook violently back and forth.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.” He assured us with a trembling voice. “God protect my family and let the bricks fall on me if the roof collapses.”
We were shivering with fright not knowing what was going to happen to us. As soon as the earthquake stopped, my father led us outside hurriedly where we met other neighbors. As an officer my father gathered his soldiers to plan a help squad while I joined several children my age.
“What did your father do when the earthquake happened?” I asked them innocently.
“He told us to be calm.” Each gave the same answer.
None of them told me that their father bridged over them to protect them. Then I became more curious and interested in my father’s personality and found him to be above and beyond all the other men I knew around me.
“Your father is a kind-hearted, gracious, and above all, brave.” A farmer told me once; something I heard from many other farmers who were helped. Akbar, my father had to go against his commander’s pressures and bribery in order to return the land to several farmers; the land that was taken from them by force.
Having been raised as an orphan child in a poor farmhouse, being neglected and deprived of all the basic needs, he found a way to survive. With his hard work and stamina, he succeeded in receiving a college degree and work in the military. During his life, he had many opportunities to choose between money, power, and justice, but he never failed to choose the latter. He was a man of nobility and justice, of patience and wisdom. His abundant love not only cherished his family, but other people who asked him for help.
“Love is not selfish.” He used to say. “And it’s not exclusive, so if you love and respect your own family, you have to love and respect all human beings as your larger family.”
During his life, he followed this motto in every step of the way. To him, kindliness and good deeds were never an inconvenience but a pleasant and joyful experience. Although he was never rich and had to work hard to make ends meet, he always had the feeling of abundance. He welcomed every opportunity to reach out and warm somebody’s heart with his encouragement and inspiration.
Mary Selseleh
Paintings by: Mahsan Ghazian
www.mahsanart.com