Baresh Hooshmond — known to many of us as ‘Boris’ — came to Parkview as a server three months ago. Baresh originally arrived in the States from Iran in 2016, heading to the Dallas area because he had heard the weather was warm and the cost of living reasonable. As he began to learn English he worked in an Iranian restaurant and then at Walmart and Pizza Hut. Last fall a friend offered him a job in a small carpet company in New York. The pay was better — and he enjoyed the diversity of New York City — it was a different United States than north Texas - but his friend contracted coronavirus and New York was cold. He came back to Dallas, arriving on the very day of our February freeze. He took a room in Frisco. A friend told him of Parkview.

Baresh was born in Shiraz in southwest Iran. He lived in Isfahan — famous as one of Persia’s historic capitals — from the age of four to 14 where his father, struggling to support a family of eight children, had found a job in a factory. Baresh attended the University of Shiraz, focusing on Persian literature. From early teen age, he wrote poetry and plays and as a teen ager acted in local theater. At 19, he entered a play at a well known festival in Teheran, a story about two old people, retired actors who could no longer find jobs, who perform for themselves and talk about life. It was produced and won first prize. It was one of Baresh’s ‘happiest moments’.

With a budding reputation, Baresh found a position after university graduation with the Iranian TV outlet in Shiraz. He had tried teaching but ‘his heart wasn’t in it’. At the TV station he made a variety of films and shows, including a number of kids programs. One of his favorite films was of grandchildren organizing a birthday party for their grandmother who resided in an independent living facility similar to Parkview. As time went on frustration set in for Baresh over ‘control’ from above, over changes he had to make in his work to conform, even in children’s shows. At 35 he decided to leave the station, taking a job in real estate, writing poetry and essays on the side. He finally decided to leave Iran.

Baresh ended up making his way to Armenia and then Turkey and finally the United States. He hopes to bring his wife and son to the States. Ali, his son, is now 24, at the University of Shiraz studying computer science. He is a good vocalist, performs Iranian songs, plays the piano and guitar.

Baresh is ‘very happy’ at Parkview, finds his fellow servers companionable in a way he has not experienced in other jobs. And he enjoys seniors. It goes back to a special relationship with his grandmother and has been reflected in his writings as well as in his film work. Baresh is still writing poetry and plays. Some of his poetry has been translated and is available in English. He says he holds out the remote dream to work in Hollywood. He is dedicated to improving his English. He keeps adding to a lengthy Farsi/English vocabulary translation list on his iPhone. He taped a recent hour and a half conversation in English in order to critique his performance afterward; in fact he communicates very well one on one in substantive conversation even if — no big surprise — he struggles some with our various accents.

June 2021

Associate Profiles By Dave Baad

PARKVIEWASSOCIATES