We call him Brain. He’s the newest addition to Team Will Run Iran. Essence-wise, he is a blend of Stephen Hawkins and The Brain (from Pinky and The Brain).  Saturating the room in an aura of concentrated brain cells and fine diction, he effortlessly concocts a symphony of the intellect. He has a well developed  cultural wisdom and sensitivity,  and clear insight into what we’re going up against.

Upon leaving the mosque, it was nearing office hours and I was planning to meet with Captain at 930am to head over to the Physical Education Organization (PEO). For those just tuning in, we were sponsored by this government organization to run the length of Iran nearly 3 years ago when were suddenly stopped a few days in. We never knew exactly why. Mr. Saydonlu, the Cultural Director, was given orders to make the run happen. I was planning to meet with him to check the status of Tyler’s athletic visa and finalize when it will be processed. He was expecting me this week. When we spoke 2 months back, he had said we would “definetely be running by March 20th 100%.” I had trouble dialing through to his office in the morning as the others passed out sleeping. I was losing focus from lack of sleep and being lagged from the metal bird journeys.

Landing in Tehran (nealry 35 hours ago) didn’t offer the usual celebratory cheering and clapping thats common. In fact, no one clapped. Heading into the airport, there were some other significant elements missing too. The usual magnitude of chaos, frantic rushing, excessively perspiring men and woman, confused faces were absent. It was spacious in here. Where am I?, I wondered. There is order, levity, SPACE. It then hit me that we’ve landed at Tehran’s new International Airport, the Imam Khomeini airport (which was originally planned out during Shah’s time some 40 years ago.)