Benghazi Journal

by Richard Mason

In the spring of 1964 I took a transfer from Exxon USA to Esso Libya. My new position was to work as a well-site geologist, assigned to the Benghazi, Libya office. When my wife and I moved to Benghazi, we were only two years out of college, and neither of us had ever traveled or lived outside of the southwestern United States. Our time spent in Libya was immediately prior to the overthrow of King Idris’s monarchy by Colonel Omar Gadhafi. The impending coup was evident to us as we interacted with Libyans on a daily basis, and observed the unrest in the country. Before we left Benghazi there were riots in the street, and one night we were caught up in a wild, screaming demonstration in a movie theater. We were lucky to have come out unscathed. This book is an account of our two years in Benghazi. It is a window into how life was in Libya before Gadhafi, and before the more recent revolution sent a once peaceful country spiraling into chaos.

236 pages, Paperback

Published May 29, 2016

About the author

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Richard Mason has always managed to incorporate writing into his accomplished life, whether writing professional reports as a geologist, books in the Sahara Desert, or columns about environmental issues. But it wasnt until six years ago that he started writing seriously when he heard Studs Turkle remark that more writers should write about life. Mason took this comment to heart and began writing remembrances from his childhood in the 1940s and 50s.

As a young boy Mason lived on a small farm in southern Arkansas. He is able to vividly capture an era of American history, before air-conditioning, television and modern technology. His writings reflect a time of brown sunburned feet, shirtless summers and very special country Christmases.

Mason earned both his Bachelors and Masters degrees in geology from the University of Arkansas. He worked for the King Ranch in South Texas, followed by an overseas assignment on well-sites deep in the Libyan Sahara Desert. Thirty years ago Mason started his own company, Gibraltar Energy in El Dorado, Ark. of which he is currently CEO and President.

In the early 1990s he was the president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation and wrote a monthly column covering state environmental issues. Mason also wrote an environmental column which ran in newspapers around the state and hosted an environmental radio show, both called Natural Solutions.

Additionally, he and his wife, Vertis, enjoy restoring historic buildings and have restored 17 buildings where they reside in El Dorado, Arkansas. As a result, the National Main Street organization named it one of the top 15 Main Street communities in the country.

Masons love of writing has become one of the most fulfilling things he has ever done. He reflects on his start many years ago, As I think back to the time, when I sat in a hot trailer in the Libyan Desert writing my first novel, I can truly say my interest in writing, which expressed itself under such meager circumstances, continues today.