Easter is almost here…. May it be a Soothing Easter! To the readers of this blog who happen to believe or care, Bambi will say in Arabic “Al Massih Kam” [Christ is Risen]!
Yes, Easter is surely almost here. However, SADLY, Joey’s Italian Restaurant & Bar is no longer among us in Sackville, NB (https://bit.ly/3ZTsRb2). Same for the jobs of some of our fellow citizens, the apartments of five young and older adult residents, and a historic building (Bambi is thinking of its landlord now).
If she may, Bambi would like to use this post to send her heart to all those directly affected by the fire tragedy, their loved ones, and literally all of us by extension. Can you imagine losing your apartment, precious personal items, business, and jobs all of a sudden?
Yes, Bambi is thinking of all the Joey‘s actual family as well as its “family” of staff, including you Roxane (if you ever happen to be reading this post one day. It was an honour to have the chance to wave and receive back a heartfelt hello from you in the parking lot a few days ago only). Of course, Bambi’s thoughts are also with all Joey’s clients over 35 years of existence (including you Azi who wrote a beautiful tribute on the Warktimes), all those who worked hard to extinguish the fire (from Sackville and even beyond it), and ALL those who have been offering a much needed support to those affected by the disaster. Bravo to all of them.
All this being said, perhaps the piece of good news of this tragedy and its big losses is that no one was physically injured. For this, Bambi will say: Thank God… and thanks also to our clever firefighters!
To come back to Joey’s Restaurant, it has/had been (hopefully will re-become?!) a monument, not just a successful business in Sackville, NB, since 1988. The words of its owner reported in the Warktimes (https://bit.ly/3ZTsRb2) and in the mainstream media are inspiring, to say the least: From out of the early moments of his business tragedy, the owner wrote on social media: “As we navigate this difficult transition one thing is sure, we will keep the spirit of Joey’s alive as we move forward one day at a time“. Yes, the spirit of Joey’s will be eternal. We will keep honouring it, along with beautiful memories we all had at your restaurant… please consider it like a collective promise.
Related to the above, Bambi and her family/friends, in Canada and in Beirut are all sad, especially her spouse and her parents who visited Sackville, and its Joey’s, during their last four trips back to Canada. Bambi et al. share everyone’s sorrow and stand in full solidarity with all those affected by this disaster.
Bearing the above in mind, this post will now end with an Easter Youtube video link Bambi received from a friend last year [hello Nadim : )]. The scene occurred at a mall in Beirut a few years ago. It was a celebration of Easter with a Byzantine joyful brief chant in both Arabic and Greek. It may seem a bit odd to watch such a spiritual expression in a public place like a mall. However, this is the Middle East, from which Christianity originated. Plus, it is maybe amusing to witness the happy reactions of people. Bambi can surely relate to their joy in singing “El Massih kam” [Christ is risen]! Even if she celebrates with the majority where she currently lives, next week she will surely rejoice again :). Indeed, whether we use the Gregorian (this weekend) or the Julian calendar (next weekend), whether the two events overlap or not, Easter is ONE celebration! The joy expressed in this video is all what Easter is about; yes, this is the case before the eggs, chocolate, the maamoul desert, the meals with family or friends, etc. Bambi is saying so and God knows how much she adores all the latter :)!
