Posted by pancho from pool0083.cvx25-bradley.dialup.earthlink.net (209.179.216.83) on Sunday, January 12, 2003 at 8:58AM :
After her convention in San Hosed, Jackie hinted to people that by purchasing sculpture from me they were making it possible for me to sue her club. It also made it possible for me to feed three young children who never did a thing to her., as well as maybe give me a snowball's chance by making it possible for me to afford a lawyer, which is what really worried her. I was forced to cut my prices in half, while casting costs had soared due to the energy crunch, so there wasn't much left over to live on. On top of that Golani's shennanigans cost me several long promised purchases of the Hammurabi Maquette, which has meant we're going to lose our home in Mexico soon as well...can't make the second part of the payment. And all of this because I wouldn't grab that rear end and do it "her way".
To their credit, members of her club's executive board asked to see me privately and give me a chance to explain my side. I'd asked the membership to grant me the chance to address them, to explain that I was not the mercenary traitor of Assyria Jackie was making me out to be. I had known that club, been involved with it long before Jackie bought it. Several members were for allowing me to but Jackie, behind the scenes of course, wouldn't allow it and no one wanted to risk offending such a "tireless" worker etc.
We met...they put questions to me, and I answered as best I could. One of them later bought a piece from me and didn't act as if I was the worst thing to come along in years. But there must have been more than I suspected because I was asked by another member of her club if I would agree to arrange a meeting between her and Narsai David. That "things" had been said about my relationship to him by Jackie, that needed clearing up. But I had to agree to never try to find out what was spoken about, or what the issue was.
I had no idea what Narsai would be asked, but I knew he would answer truthfully, and that was all I needed to know. I know him well enough to know he wouldn't praise me, or condemn me, just tell it like he knew it. I called Narsai, told him the deal and asked if he would be willing to answer some questions. He agreed and a meeting was arranged.
I suspected it had to do with the loyalty thing. It's very important to Jackie that people remain loyal to her, or else she'll break their fingers and then ruin their reputations. Nothing would please her more than to show people falling away from me, becoming "dis-loyal". She has a pathological thing about it because it is the one thing above all else she ISN'T! Loyal, I mean. She fears it all the more therefore.
She's the one who called Rabbi Whacki in Iraqi and got him to call Narsai David...to try to sour Narsai on me. She was behind the phone calls Jeff received from a friend in Detroit saying people from ZOWAA had called from Iraq asking him to get us both to apologize to Jackie and the thing would be "fixed". She had Shawn tell Jeff her lawsuit against him would be dropped if he would "distance himself from Fred Parhad"...or else his "dear sister and sweetheart" would sue him for two million bucks.
Anyway, the meeting took place. I have to assume the person's questions were satisfactorily dealt with because things got even better after that between myself and other members of Jackie's club...though everyone asked that I not tell anyone else who was buying sculpture from me...like they were afraid of Jackie finding out.
The most I asked Narsai was if the interview went well where my reputation, as he knew it, and our relationship was concerned...and he replied that it had. I imagine he was asked if certain things they'd been told at the club by Jackie about my relationship with Narsai were true, something like, "Even Narsai now says that he sees Fred for what he really is"..in other words his friends and supporters and family even are all dropping away from him, "it isn't only me", meaning Jackie...etc. That's one of the ways she orchestrates things...uses us poor dumb clucks against each other, emerging from the wreck unscathed.
Imagine a hospital where the Nurse's helper, the volunteer who fluffs pillows, conspires to have the chief surgeon, or ONLY surgeon, removed so that she can go on fluffing pillows and reading stories and throwing parties for a dwindling number of patients in the wards because they're all dying from lack of medical care...though having a wonderful time partying. That's Jackie Bejan and her sense of YOUR priorities.
-- pancho
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