I learned, in short, a new way to read.
The Halifax meeting had been timed to precede the crucial Special Meeting of ICNAF to be held in January-February in 1972, in Rome and I learned, at short notice, that the equivalent organization for the East Atlantic planned an Extraordinary Meeting of its Commission, to discuss the North Sea Herring, to be held in Moscow in December 1972.
I learned the shorter Qur'anic verses: suras Al-Fatihah, Al-Iklas, Al-Falaq and Al-Kawthar among them.
I learned, via a short stroll from the history of warrens, about pannage, the practice of releasing domestic pigs into a forest.
The friends I made and lessons I learned over that short (but seemingly endless and sleep-deprived) weekend at Microsoft remain strong influences in my life today.
Says Sabanci of the experience: "I learned in a short time how good management can make a difference in a crisis". She realized the tires they had been producing--using B.F. Goodrich technology--were great for American roads, but Turks were using tractor-tire material on their cars.
If there is one thing I learned from my short stay in Athens, it is that Greek people feel powerless.
But I learned that life is short – I don't need to queue for a week.
(Here I might add that when I learned one of my short stories had appeared in an anthology used in a prison literacy program, I was relieved to know I was part of the solution, not part of the problem).
I learned this on a short road trip out of Paramaribo with a friend, Ranu Abhelakh, a Surinamese writer and journalist, to some ruins at the confluence of the Suriname and Commewijne Rivers near the Atlantic coast — specifically at Fort Nieuw Amsterdam, built by the Dutch in the 18th century now housing a museum.
