This day we had a quiet morning of breakfast in the dining room, reading and working on the community puzzle. The afternoon included a lecture by Bill Crews on the recent history of Oman and the major improvements that they have achieved in the last 50 years. Prior to 1970 they had only one school, not much in the way of paved roads, running water or electricity. The life expectancy was only 47 but has now risen to 72 in just this short amount of time. With help from the discovery of oil, the infrastructure has been dramatically improved for its citizens. The current Sultan who overthrew his father in the 1970’s is now aging but no one in the country knows anything about his personal life and is unaware of the succession plan. Rumor has it that he may be gay but no one really knows. Mark attended his watercolor class while Kent rested in the cabin.
Dinner was enjoyed with friends in the specialty Italian restaurant called the Canaletto. We invited two of the Rotterdam singers, Wesley and Charlie, to join us for dinner, along with Joey and Michael, Dennis and Robert……. Brian treated us all. The entertainment was a virtuoso flutist by the name of Stephen Clark.