Perhaps the greatest gift inf life is friendship? Bambi is blessed to have received it abundantly. This being said, she is unable to find appropriate words, in any language, to describe her beautiful friendship with Nayla. Even without much to say today, she wants to wish her the happiest birthday possible.
Nayla, Happy birthday! Enjoy being spoiled by your family and friends!
To the above, Bambi will send you her love across the miles while thanking you for being a sister to her, not just a close friend. Thanks for going out of your way to highlight her own birthday from far away ❤️.
Thank you also for having enriched this blog with interviews and deep insights about the Beirut explosion and about Lebanon’s economic crisis respectively, as shown below. Bambi is also grateful for Rony’s thoughtful insights and kind comments.
In Arabic now: “Akbel el Mieh” (100 years and all of happiness)!Have fun!
To conclude this post, with her frog’s voice, it is time for Bambi to sing for Nayla now (sorry, it is a must :)). The first two melodies in French and Arabic respectively are for her birthday. As for the last three songs, they celebrate friendship, all in French and each in its own way. Hope you will enjoy them!
Bambi took a little break from work and made a wonderful discovery.
Indeed, this musical post is meant to introduce a talented and moving Lebanese singer called Mr. George Martinos. He sings in several languages. He sings love. He sings faith. He even sings revolutions. It is Bambi’s hope that you will enjoy a small selection of his artistic work.
This brief post will end by urging you, M. Martinos, to keep singing and making your Lebanon and our world a more beautiful place!
Bambi just discovered that today is the World Senior Day. Happy Day to all the seniors of the world, here at home and abroad, to begin with.
This being said, she refuses to go to bed without shedding the light on the daily life of two seniors living in Beirut Lebanon. Indeed, the idea of this post has been in the back of her mind since her return from a trip to the Middle East three weeks ago. Now is the time to do so, she is convinced.
At first, Bambi thought of writing about two unnamed seniors. Today, she changed her mind. She will still write about a typical day of their lives, but she will give them fictional names. She hopes the latter will help in offering some recognition, dignity, and love to them and, through them, to ALL their fellow seniors in Lebanon. She will call them Nour (for light) and Adwam (for most durable).
The power coming from the government does not have a schedule. It is often absent (except during the final games of the FIBA Asia Cup!). In contrast, the electricity from the private provider usually has a more fixed schedule. Here is the daily timeline, and its consequences:
6:30 AM to 7:30 AM: Power back after a dark night. The source of electricity is from the private provider to whom Adwam and Nour pay a high fee and from whom the service is neither optimal, nor sufficient to turn air conditioning on. As a reminder, we are in August and it is the most humid month of the year in Beirut.
7:30 AM to 10:30 AM: No power from neither the government, nor the private provider.
10:30 AM to 1PM: Power is back.
1 PM to 5 PM: Good-bye power; no electricity from neither the government, nor the private provider. It is too hot without even a fan turned on.
5 to 7 PM: Government-electricity is back. Luckily, the TV can be turned on for some entertainment.
7 PM to 10 PM: No electricity (unless there is a surprise from the government).
From 10 PM to 1 AM: Power back from the private provider. Sometimes, the power comes with wrong cycles and risks ruining the fridge and other house appliances. Luckily, Adwam has a clever solution to this problem. This came after they had many appliances damaged due to a mistake in the power supply. Sometimes, you can be surprised by a power outage during this period, but the provider realizes it and re-sends power. At other times, something goes wrong For instance, heating water to take a shower can cause a power outage. Sick or not, Adwam and his wife have to get out of their apartment to try to figure out and fix this problem. Of course, they need to act fast before the end of this period of time where they are supposed to have the power.
After 1 AM: Total darkness. No power from neither the government, nor the private provider. Often, Nour risks falling down while walking to the washroom, as it is still too dark in their apartment, especially with high buildings around. Their three charged lights have lost their batteries by now. In one night/early morning only, Nour did fall down three times, imagine. It was too dark and her fever fighting the coronavirus did not help. Now that she is healed, like usual, she cannot turn the washing machine on (by the way, forget about the microwave, this is a mere luxury now). Needless to say that she literally cannot even see what clothes she is putting on. Forget about the make-up. Searching for important items like medication is more challenging in the darkness. When we are sick, nights always seems longer. Imagine how the nights have been for both Adwam and Nour, fighting Covid in the darkness. Luckily, they have each other, but they do NOT have the basics of a decent quality of life: Neither power nor drinking water. Can you imagine? At least, they still have a sense of humour and creativity. For instance, Nour jokes about the power and Adwam invented a way of making one fan turn completely without being on. How? Simply by aiming their other fan at it at the right angle. Of course, this does not help as it sucks energy, but it is amusing and VERY clever.
Well, that was the daily timeline of the electricity for this couple of seniors. What about the drinking water now? Well, Adwam and Nour are now living from 5 to 7, and even 10 long days without any water. Can you imagine? Of course, they can purchase large bottles of drinking water. They do so. They are heavy to carry and install, especially with a back ache or when we have Covid-19. Needless to say how expensive it is since the Lebanese currency is literally worth nothing now.
Bambi will stop here. What else could be said about what Lebanon’s seniors are going through? They worked all their lives to see their bank savings stolen and their quality of life reduced to the extent described above. Bambi spared you the struggles with access to healthcare and to medication (this has been reported in earlier posts).
To conclude this post, “Happy” World Senior Day Adwam and Nour and everyone in Lebanon. Take good care, please… and hang on! If she may, Bambi would like to offer you all two songs, one in French and the other in Lebanese-Arabic. The first is beautiful and moving where Mr. Nicola Ciconne is honouring a senior neighbour. As for the second, by Mr. Ghassan Rahbani, it is called “Chargeur” [Give me the charger]. It is freaky if this is the appropriate description, just like your daily life without power… Thanks to Mr. Rahbani for illustrating how absurd the life of the average Lebanese citizen is. As for you, dear readers of this blog, thank you and have a good one (night or day, depending on where you live)!
Mr. Kenny Rogers was an inspiring American songwriter, singer, and actor. One thing is sure: His pure voice is beautiful [his looks too :)] and his lyrics are deep. Indeed, his words are filled with the simplicity and beauty of both truth and humanity.
Anyhow, as per the title of this post, Mr. Rogers was indeed born on August 21. Precisely in 1938. Sadly, the world of music lost him on March 20, 2020 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Rogers).
However, luckily for us, music outlives artists. How could it not to when it is, as cleverly phrased by Mr. Billy Joel, “an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music ” (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/302903)?
Today, Bambi has a thought for you, Mr. Rogers. To thank you, she will share a few of your beautiful songs with her readers, hoping they will enjoy them.
May your memory be as eternal as your music, Mr. Rogers.
As for the national anthem of Bambi’s birth country, according to her, it is surely one of the most beautiful existing anthems in our world, as per older posts shown at the end of this one. Indeed, bravo to the Lebanese anthem for being a call for unity among ALL the citizens and for putting Lebanon FIRST, that’s before and above everyone’s interests (are political leaders listening?). Of course, there is also the very nice melody.
To conclude this post, Bambi will allow herself to offer this Toulouse-born soprano singer the beautiful LaMarseillaise (French anthem) as interpreted acapella by… herself! She will end with an Arabic Dalida song, entitled “Salma Ya Salama“, also cleverly interpreted by Ms. Antonelli. Bravo!
Bambi would like to thank her friend Fred for sharing this hilarious comedy in the format of a short Youtube video.
For those of you who appreciate trigger warnings in life, and especially if you are either into wokeism or into racism BUT WITH a thin skin, please do not watch as you could be offended.
Otherwise, that is if you appreciate freedom of expression in arts, still have your sense of perspective and humour in life while knowing how to challenge yourself with analytic thinking, it would be safe (and even fun!) to watch. Bambi is saying so, regardless of whether you agree or not with the content of this video.
Of note, you may wish to watch until the end as the latter is quite funny… Isn’t it Fred and/or Louis :)?
Thank you, Gina, for having kindly accepted to share your pictures with the readers of Bambi’s Afkar’s blog.
If she may, Bambi would like to end this brief post by offering you Mr. Enrico Macias’ French song, entitled “Toi la mer immense” [You, Immense Sea]. It is subtitled in both French and English, the two official languages of our beautiful province!
A picture taken by Gina at the end of Maisonneuve beach showing a view of Caraquet in NB.
A picture taken by Gina at the end of Maisonneuve beach.
Gina appreciating the darkness at the end of Maisonneuve beach.
Gina appreciating the darkness at the end of Maisonneuve beach.
Luckily, we are still in the summer as it will officially end on September 22.
However, some would say that the summer ends when kids go back to school. If Bambi is not mistaken, it is this week in some Canadian provinces like Québec.
Others would argue that it will end after the long weekend of labour day, which falls on Monday September 5 this year. It is not for nothing that many North American universities start their academic year immediately after Labour day (or the last long weekend of the summer season).
Regardless, Bambi would add that the end of the summer is also a mindset; a readiness, so to speak, and surely a concrete preparation for many of us. In other terms, it is both a realization and an acceptance that the end of a season means the beginning of another one. Indeed, Bambi once wrote on her blog the following: “Even if Bambi loves the summer (in which she was born), she adores the fall season, especially in our part of North America with its magical colours”.
Thus, we can argue that grieving the end of a stage is like the little good-bye we say to a season: It is a transition from one stage to the other. It is all about moving forward in life and learning to live in a transformed way. For instance, it may be without the presence of a loved one, whether a dear human or a pet. It may also be with a new dawn, dream, or a life project. It may also be with a renewal of ourselves, even within the continuation of the same processes, relations, or journeys.
Anyhow, transitions are usually a vulnerable period of a life. Luckily, they also carry an incredible potential for learning and growth.
May your forthcoming seasonal transition be smooth and rewarding, regardless of where you will be at that particular time of your life.
To conclude this post, which seems a bit too philosophical even if Bambi does not pretend to take herself or life too seriously :), here are a few songs referring to the end of the summer or start of the autumn season!
Our CBC, funded with Canadians’ tax money, does not hesitate one second to publish articles defaming professors to intimidate them. However, it pretends to be too delicate when it comes to using English words or expressions like “a mother tongue“. What is the purpose of this new ban? And when will all this absurdity end?
To conclude this short post on political correctness pushed to absurd levels, Bambi would like to thank Mr. Kay again for his tweet. If she may, she would like to end with Mr. Georges Moustaki’s beautiful song “Ma liberté” sub-titled in English. It will be followed by the wonderful interpretation of this song by Ms. Chimène Badi. She does not know about you, but she cannot listen to this superb French song without thinking of freedom of thought and of expression, not just freedom to be ourselves like in the song.
While quickly touring the tweets of Canadian journalists this morning, Bambi came across a re-tweet of a sharp comment by Dr. Michel Trudeau, a Québec talented producer and clinical psychologist (an English translation follows).
“The Chief of the Taliban state would have responded to the opponents of the burqa that the latter was absolutely not a symbol of oppression, but rather a dress fashion, just like the scarf for men. We see him in this picture, with two other models, presenting the fall-winter collection”.
To conclude this brief post, and joking aside, it is DEEPLY disturbing and sad how the world left the Afghani women behind, as per Bambi’s older post shown further below. So, thank you Dr. Trudeau for your sarcastic yet sharp sense of humour, which is attracting our attention to women’s horrible daily life under Taliban rule. Bambi’s heart goes to all of them!
