The expression straddling the fence suddenly came to mind. It feels like I am doing that at this moment – planning to live in Saudi Arabia but still at ‘home’ in Canada, attempting to free myself from restraints of my ‘home and native land.’
It is like living in Limbo Land – not quite here, not quite there. The restrains of my ’home and native’ land, my nemesis is the Canadian Revenue Agency with their incessant demands for money, proof of payment of US taxes which has proven impossible to obtain – not the United States’ fault (for once). – such a request for proof is unheard of in the annals of history.
Nemesis is the perfect word as it describes the faceless horror: the inescapable agent of someone’s or something’s downfall. CRA shall be my undoing, ruination, destruction, my Waterloo. I beg to differ, I am being overdramatic – the CRA has not face, it is difficult to find, to trace, they are slimy and untraceable. They spew out warnings and demands that clog my mailbox. HELP!. I rush to my tax accountant for assistance. He insists on compliance – warns me that they will trace me to the ends of the earth if I do not fall into lockstep with each and every demand. HELP.
Moving to an absolutely foreign land (on one’s own) is difficult enough, even without this. These recent past years have found me fleeing the UK, Vancouver (which I do not consider Canada), California, the UAE. It was never like this – haunting me – demanding I divest myself of Canadian assets, bank accounts and OF COURSE, first of all given them their due. As if I will have any assets or bank accounts when they take their pound of flesh.
I am beginning to realize that I speak in idioms, proverbs and cliches. They come pouring out of me. It seems you deserve an explanation of their meaning.
If you say that someone demands their pound of flesh, you mean that they insist on getting something they are entitled to, even though it may cause distress to the person it is demanded from. This is an example: It is used to describe someone’s insistence on being repaid, even if the repayment will destroy or harm the debtor. Examples: “Sure that initial low rate for a credit card is tempting for a college freshman, but eventually, the company will want their pound of flesh when you get over your head in debt. This expression comes from William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, from 1596. In this play, a moneylender has a contract with merchant that demands the merchant give him a pound of his flesh, or body, in payment.
Simply put it is something which is owed and which will be hurtful or difficult to provide; a debt owed to someone who is merciless and demanding. That describes the Canada Revenue Agency perfectly – merciless and demanding.
To straddle the fence is to be indecisive, often to the point where it becomes painful not to make a decision. This was surprising to learn – straddle the fence comes from the Bible. Matthew 13:22. We cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24), and if we attempt to straddle the fence, we will be unfruitful.
This does not exactly explain my dilemma – it is not that I am afraid of what I might be losing or leaving behind when departing to Saudi Arabia. But I do need peace of mind to plan for my future and with CRA breathing down my neck, it is difficult to concentrate. My goodness, I did it again, another idiom requiring explanation.
If someone is breathing down your neck they are continuously reminding or complaining in an annoying way. To nag, harass, pester or badger. If you say that someone is breathing down your neck, you mean that they are watching you very closely and checking everything you do.
Writing, complaining to you about the dreaded CRA eased some of the stress. My restored peace of mind allowed access to a YouTube MBS interview which was conveniently equipped with an English translation. This in-depth interview was not one of those puff pieces, where easy questions are dutifully answered with preprepared answers. The questions were varied, incisive and complicated. In answer to questions regrading the legal system and prevailing laws in his country MBs explained that the Quran provides the constitution. Hadiths consulted for interpretation, discussing the manner in which the reliability of them are tested. As Saudi Arabia increasingly emerges as a world power inviting investors the country applies universally applied common law ‘tools’ such as contracts, corporate structures. MBS showed significant knowledge of international law – he has a law degree from Saudi University. I do not quite believe this myself but I met his law school professor having coffee with two of his colleagues at the AmBar in the Hilton Riyadh,. Questioned his professor, learning that he was a most diligent student.
Me: That is amazing! Highly intelligent people are often lazy students.
He: He was not, he studied and applied himself all through the years.
Me: That is embarrassing. I was not a very diligent law school student. I was working full time and going to law school at night. But I made up for it later.
Back to the MBS interview. When asked about Saudi-US relations he tactfully replied that brothers in the same family do not agree with one another 100% of the time, the two countries reached 90% concurrence most of the time, which he found admirable. Foreign investments are invited – capitalizing f NEOM, for example. It was most reassuring. If I have any money left for investing after CRA has taken more than their unfair share I could invest in NEOM. Faithful readers and Instagram followers will have knowledge of my visit to Tabuk in early July 2023. MBS has famously said, speaking of the area’s desolation, that the project is starting from scratch. That certainly described the scene – there was nothing but sand as far as the eye could see, It reminded me of Saskatchewan – sand and wheat are sort of the same color. Scratch is rather boring to photograph. I will look through my photo library, including some of the area is possible.
I have been attempting to find other ways to bridge the gap between the West and Saudi Arabia. The Saudi people, met in December and my recent trip despair at the lies and misinformation about their country circulated in the Western press. They earnestly want the truth to be told. I have taken on that task. It is so incredibly necessary to have accurate knowledge of the history of a country before passing judgment. Westerners only have knowledge of their own Western European history. Here is an example, a New Yorker book review, Succession, discusses ‘dynasty as the engine of human history.’ However, succession does not play a prominent role in Middle East history. I had the opportunity, on July 31, 2923 to revisit the King Fahad National Library. (I mistakenly called it the King Abdelaziz Library in a prior blog). One book aught my eye, as I had cursory knowledge of the subject of succession in the Middle East. Photographed some pages of From Prince to King; Succession in the House of Saud in the Twentieth Century. I shall contrast the two ‘approaches’. The book began with a discussion of the ‘example’ of the Prophet (PBUH) – who did not leave a heir, a successor.
In intend to return to the library to research and report of my findings. The staff eagerly await my return. There is an Instagram reel set to music which I took ‘personally. https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cv-JtULNPGy/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng== .
Photographs will include one of the King Fahad Library. The other two taken with in the vast expanses surrounding of the NEOM project. Those camel wandering about, stopping traffic are not homeless, that is their home. Villages near NEOM have been emptied of its inhabitants, the lonely unused gas pump is in the middle of nothing.
