F.E.A.R. by Katherine Emery

In 1979, a group of Iranian militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took fifty two Americans hostage. It happened at a time of major upheaval in Iran after the Shah was overthrown and the new Islamic government took over. The hostages were held for 444 days which was a major source of tension between two countries that were once close allies. Despite efforts by President Jimmy Carter, the hostages were finally released in January 1981, just as Ronald Reagan was being sworn in as President.

The 1979 hostage crisis left a profound mark on me; for the first time, I felt a deep, personal anxiety about the state of the world and began to grasp how global events could ripple into my everyday life.

My father, a World War ll Navy veteran, often remarked in discussions about global affairs that he believed that a Third World country would be the catalyst for World War lll. I was a very young Navy wife with three tiny children, living in Coronado, California whose husband was deployed to the Persian Gulf. The Iranian Revolution, the hostage situation, and the oil crisis required increased U.S. military presence. I carried the weight of everyday life alone, as part of the sisterhood of Naval Officers Wives, we were constantly hoping and praying for the safe return of the men and women aboard the ships of the Seventh Fleet.

The fluctuation of gas prices and availability became (and still are) my barometer for the broader condition of the world. It is a fact that political instability in regions rich in oil resources can lead to concern about the security of oil supplies, triggering price increases. I passed my driving test in 1972 in Wyoming, very aware of the impact of gas prices. Wyoming is a significant oil producing state, ranking as the eighth largest crude oil producer in the United States. Living in an oil boom state felt like being swept up in a wave of prosperity. There was a sense of motion-new jobs and a buzz of opportunity in the air. Gas was cheap, 36 cents per gallon and people felt optimistic about the future. The economy seemed to be thriving and there was a great sense of possibility. It was a time when abundance seemed endless, and the energy of growth touched nearly every part of daily life.

To manage shortages during the gas crisis of 1979, California Governor, Jerry Brown implemented an odd-even rationing plan. Drivers with odd numbered plates could only “fill up” on odd numbered days and even numbered plates on even numbered days. What had once been a quick routine task turned into a lengthy ordeal. Fear hung in the air as we waited in endless lines, uncertain if there would be enough fuel to get through the week, or even the day.

I was in charge of writing the USS Ranger’s Officer’s Wives monthly newsletter. I would get first hand, de-classified information from the Captain’s wife about the movements of the ship and its crew. Learning about the six American diplomats that escaped capture and took refuge in the homes of Canadian Embassy officers made me very grateful for our close neighbors to the North. I was grateful that Canada took a huge risk by hiding the Americans in their homes and then granting Canadian passports to the Americans. The six Americans, posing as a Hollywood movie production crew scouting for a suitable filming location in Tehran, managed to flee Iran without a hitch. While the “Canadian Caper” improved Canada’s relations with the United States, it significantly strained Canada-Iran relations. The Canadian embassy staff were quickly evacuated from Iran, and the embassy was closed in 1980, due to fears of Iranian retaliation.

If history has taught us anything, true friends show up in a time of crisis. They don’t hesitate. They step up because it’s the right thing to do. Canada has been that friend to the United States for decades. Canada was the first country to send disaster relief to the U.S. after Hurricane Katrina and Canadian water planes have flown to California to help put out the wildfires.

Lately, I find myself feeling anxious about the state of the world. It seems like everyday brings new challenges; political unrest, economic uncertainty, and environmental crises. The constant barrage of bad news makes it hard to see a clear path forward. It’s as if the world is teetering on the edge. I am an optimistic person so is my f.e.a.r. (false emotion appearing real) just that, false?

I’ll continue to focus on positive thoughts, avoid the news, read great books, garden, walk my dog, ride my bike along the Choptank River, and increase my daily dose of Ashwagandha.