Saeed Nourmand on Phil Donahue circa 1981

Picture it: April 1, 1979, Tehran, Iran. Ayatollah Khomeini announces himself as the leader of the Islamic Republic. Mobs of young Iranians march the streets carrying their garbage wrapped in US Flags. They burn life sized models of President Jimmy Carter. Then in November, a group of 500 activists swarm the US Embassy in Tehran, and for 444 days they take 52 US citizens hostage.

Shift Forward: 1981, Beverly Hills, USA. The economy is in a slump and anti-immigrant sentiment is at its peak. The feeling is that the US is being taken over by the Persians, who arrive with their suitcases full of money.

A young entrepreneur, Iranian by birth, owns one of LA's fastest growing real estate companies. Saeed Nourmand established Nourmand & Associates in 1976. He is young, handsome, and fiercely ambitious.

He is asked to appear on the wildly popular "Phil Donahue Show."

"Please meet, Saeed Nourmand, President of Nourmand & Associates. You sell Beverly Hills real estate," Mr. Donahue says.

"I do," says Saeed.

Audience members snicker and giggle.

"I'm not selling the country, I'm just selling the real estate," Saeed quips.

Audience members tear the young businessman apart. Not quite as angry as igniting Jimmy Carter dummies in the street, but some fiery words are hurled through the studio nonetheless.

And there stands Saeed. Impeccably dressed, smart, and with a big smile on his face.

"Are you a citizen of this country?" an angry audience member asks.

"Does that mean that I'll get a welcoming party in front?" Saeed answers with a charming smile.

"Can we buy property in your country?" someone asks.

"No, they can't buy property in Iran. It's unfair," Saeed says. Straight forward, honest, and with complete respect despite the absurdity of the inquiry.

Meanwhile, his wife is at home, glued to the TV...as glued as she could be considering that she is pregnant and has two little kids running around the house.

"My goodness, they're going to tar and feather him outside the Hollywood studio," she thinks as she watches her husband subjected to ignorance, seething words, and just plain mean behavior.

At the same time, she is proud. Her husband stands in front of an angry audience--mob-like really--calm, gracious, and a complete gentleman. This is the man she married, who is the father of her children and one of the most respected men in real estate.

Fast Forward: May 2009, So strange, I think. Nearly 30 years ago, my husband was torn to shreds by Phil Donahue's peanut gallery. Meanwhile, last week Nikki, our daughter, appeared on CBS Evening News as a Pediatric expert representing one of the most prestigious hospitals in the nation.

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