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Mr. Eban had done everything.
When I worked for Richardson Securities, the American Thanksgiving was a time I always looked forward to. Not because of the Black Friday shopping frenzy or the US turkey traditions - it was when the International Mining Society held their conference in San Francisco, California and Richardsons would send me as an observer. The Pacific Stock Exchange had been the junior mining capitol ever since gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in the 1850s.
This was a heady period for mining companies in Canada and throughout the world. At the conference, there were huge displays and endless seminars drawing over a thousand listeners. All the biggies of the mining industry were there: Noranda, Inco, Teck, DeBeers, BHP, to mention a few. Steve Roman of Dennison fame and Chuck Fipke discover of the Ekati diamond mine in the Yukon were some of the numerous celebrities in attendance. All the major brokerage houses and banks were represented along with mining analysts, tipsters, promoters, touts and the general public. One of the many Damon Runyon characters was fabled mining promoter, Murray Pezum. So smooth. You would have to count your fingers after shaking hands with him
The keynote speaker was always someone very well known. This particular time it was to be Larry King of “Larry King Live”. For whatever reason his plane was grounded and he could not attend. He nevertheless did a video presentation. The big bonus was when the conference conveyors introduced Abba Eban.
The former Israeli Ambassador, and Foreign Affairs minister transfixed the audience. His incredible grasp of the English language and insights into the tangled web that is the Middle East was spell binding. I was fortunate to sit near the front. After his marvelous speech I went up to the podium to see if I could congratulate him. I took his picture and then his wife, who was acting as coordinator, asked if I would like a word with her husband. Spotting my Canadian badge and sensing my enthusiasm she allowed me a full 5 minutes of uninterrupted conversation. Mr. Eban had done everything - educated in England, he was a British Intelligence Officer in WW2 acting as liaison to Egypt. Then after 1949, he was a member of the Israeli Knesset. Ambassador to the US and the UN, and then numerous responsibilities leading up to be becoming the Deputy Prime Minister.
As the congratulatory line lengthened behind me, we had to conclude our conversation. Today, with continued and escalating violence throughout the region, I remember Abba Eban’s closing comments to me in San Francisco all those years ago, “Why cannot we all just get along”.
August 2013