Author: Bambi

For almost five days, Bambi has been singing an old Lebanese-Arabic song entitled “Kinna Netlaa Min Achiyeh“, which was composed for Fairuz by the late and great, Mr. Elias Rahbani. Why the urge to sing this melody? No clue, but she is now concerned about her spouse’s ears… and sanity :). Of note, this beautiful song, which was released in 1975, is about nostalgia for one’s youth and for an old love. Bambi would like to offer it to her sister because her name is Rania, like the talented Ms. Rania El Hage!

Is there anything more magical than sunrises and sunsets in New Brunswick (NB) and Nova Scotia (NS)? In this brief post, Bambi will share a picture taken by Brittany near Shediac, NB. Second, she will share five pictures taken by Diana in NS, namely in Springhill and Malagash. As for the song, which Bambi selected to pay tribute to the beauty of the Maritime provinces, it is Moustaki’s “Il y avait un jardin” [There Was a Garden], which is subtitled in English for your convenience. Long live the beauty of nature around us! Long live our talented and generous friends!

Mr. Andre Gide was a French author “who was awarded the 1947 Nobel Prize in Literature” (https://shorturl.at/bhtx0). As for Mr. Charles Trénet, he was “a renowned French singer-songwriter who composed both the music and the lyrics to nearly 1,000 songs over a career that lasted more than 60 years” (https://shorturl.at/kwFPU). Besides being France-born (in 1869 and 1913 respectively) and being remarkably talented, both men died on a February 19th, the former in 1951 and the latter in 2001. Thanks to their respective rich legacy and may each of their memories be eternal.

Related to the above, Bambi grew up studying Gide in her high school in Beirut,Lebanon. In addition, she is lucky because her mom was a passionate reader. Indeed, Gide’s books are part of her beautiful late mom’s collection of books, which spans a wide range of styles and topics.

To conclude this tribute post, Bambi will begin by sharing inspiring quotes of Mr. Gide, which have been translated into English in the YouTube video shown below (food for thought). This will be followed by four of Trénet’s famous songs. She hopes you will enjoy the latter as much as she did while preparing this post.

If you are looking for a captivating book to read on days off, or to offer it to a loved one, “Ballet is Not for Muslim Girls” is a title to keep in mind (https://shorturl.at/fjsAQ). Indeed, Bambi enjoyed every word of this book from its start to its end. In this post, she will provide a summary as well as a portrait of what this highly engaging book looks like.

Growing up in a Polish-Pakistani “statistically Muslim” Canadian family in the 60s and 70s in the back-then less diverse Victoria, BC, Ms. Mariam’s S. Pal “struggled to navigate three cultures…”. To begin with, as honestly and cleverly described in her book blurb, even Ms. Pal’s first name was hard to pronounce by so many. She was called Marian or Marylin, but not Mariam.

Bearing the above in mind, if you are curious about the choice behind the title of Ms. Pal’s memoir, your curiosity will serve you well. Purchase Ms. Pal’s book and start reading it fast because one thing is sure: you will fall in love with it!

Indeed, as far as Bambi is concerned, as she read through Ms. Pal’s memoir, she was fascinated by her outstanding writing style, uniquely rich life story, vivid intelligence, strong personality, education and talent, inspiring international development career, sense of humour (at times sarcastic), sense of perspective and tenderness for her family, despite her lucidity and fresh honesty.

Of note, each chapter of this memoir stands on its own, like and independent reading.The latter makes the book easier to follow and return too. If you are a visual person, like Bambi, you will enjoy how Ms. Pal outlined her memoir with photographs of herself and of her parents.

There is nothing like love (with a big L) and like our shared humanity.

There is nothing like true friendships on which we can count for both fun and mutual support, as needed. And what about those rare friendships that feel like family?

There is nothing like romantic love when it is genuine, simple, nourishing, and uplifting.

All the above makes our senseless or troubled world seem lighter and filled with hope.

Is there anything more beautiful in the world than the flag of our beautiful country?

According to the Federal Government of Canada website, “at the stroke of noon on February 15, 1965, Canada’s red and white maple leaf flag was raised for the very first time on Parliament Hill. On the same day in 1996, National Flag of Canada Day was declared” (https://shorturl.at/oLW26).

If you are interested, the brief Youtube video below explains the meaning of the Canadian flag. It is followed by our national anthem in both official languages, namely French and English (by singer Lara Fabian), along with beautiful landscapes from across the country.

On this Saint-Valentin’s evening, it is already past midnight in both France and Lebanon (sad anniversary of his death), Bambi will pause to honour the memory of Mr. Pierre Bachelet.

Who is Mr. Bachelet? Those of you who may not be familiar with French music may have not heard of him. He was a French singer-songwriter and film score composer. He lived between 1944 and 2005. His fascination with Mr. Elvis Presley inspired him to learn the electrical guitar in his youth, in addition to the piano (https://shorturl.at/qAIRU).

Bambi loves this late talented singer for two main reasons: (1) she is fan of French music and culture and (2) his songs rocked her childhood and youth in Beirut. When she was younger, she was a tomboy. However, during early adolescence, when puberty hit, she connected with her feminine side more :). For her, boys mysteriously became more fascinating. Same for romantic music and even literature. She spent time listening to singer-songwriters like Bachelet, writing their lyrics, memorizing them, and even singing them with her frog’s voice.

Bearing the above in mind, as a 51-year-old woman, she will now dive into her past by selecting a few songs to pay tribute to Mr. Pierre Bachelet with. She hopes you will enjoy them, especially his first superb performance of Aznavour’s “Hier encore“. Of note, Bachelet makes Bambi think of funny memories with her DEAR childhood friend Nayla to whom she dedicates his songs :). As for Mr. Bachelet, thanks to him for having existed and may his memory be eternal.

The late Mr. Daniel Lévi left us a beautiful artistic gift called “L’envie d’aimer” [The desire to love]. His song outlived him and will always remain timely. In this brief musical post, Bambi would like to offer it to each one of you (subtitled in both English and French). May Mr. Lévi’s memory be eternal… May love always have the final word in our troubled world.

Bambi is speechless. Indeed, she does not know what to think and feel to even know what to write to attempt to pay tribute to Cyntia’s VERY short life.

Like Bambi, speechless are also all Cyntia’s loved ones; from her relatives to her young friends to the older friends and fellow community members of her parents, Youmna and Mohammad, and to her sister, Tia-Isabella. May Cyntia’s mom and dad forgive Bambi for any clumsy word used in this post. Basically, she just want them to know that Louis and herself stand with them in full solidarity and with much love.

Beyond Cyntia’s immediate family, the hearts of her loved ones are shattered across two Atlantic Canadian provinces and countries, including Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. If she may, Bambi sends her heart to not only Cyntia’s parents (+ sister), but also to her larger family abroad. Same goes to all those who were touched by her short journey among us.

Indeed, we ALL share the painful loss of Cyntia’s parents, even if we cannot dare to imagine not even a single drop of the ocean of their sorrow. With them, and with her cute sister, we are all one tear, one hug of solidarity, one moment of silence and of prayer; just like in the beautiful, and hopefully comforting, EL Fatiha prayer (shared below). The latter is followed by the Vole, vole [Fly,Fly] song of Ms. Céline Dion, with English sub-titles. It is performed by Mr. Emmanuel Moire [thanks to him for making it public on Youtube].

This being said, now is the time for Bambi to pause to salute all the community members who came together, in a remarkable way, to support Cyntia’s family to the best of their capacity. Bravo to ALL of them, especially to Lamia and Fred. A big thanks also to Cyntia’s healthcare team at the IWK Hospital in Halifax, NS, and maybe elsewhere as well.

Finally, to end on a spiritual note despite the unbearable pain, Bambi is inspired by the words of faith of Cyntia’s grieving family. To illustrate the latter, she will translate the Arabic words of her obituary: “With much acceptance of God’s will, may he be praised, we mourn our dearest deceased Cyntia Bou Melhem”. May the faith of Cyntia’s mom and dad help them in remaining grounded during their life-long grief journey. May God know how to comfort their aching hearts. Same wish goes to Tia-Isabella and to the extended family.

As for you sweetest Cyntia, fly, fly in peace ❤️… may your memory be eternal. Thank you for having existed. Thanks to your parents for having brought you into the world and to Canada, raised you with much love, and honoured you until your last breath. They are a source of inspiration to Bambi and to all of us!

“Air Passenger Rights is an independent nonprofit organization of volunteers, spearheaded and coordinated by Gábor Lukács” (https://shorturl.at/lMST6).

Thank you, Dr. Lukács for your incredibly clever and helpful advocacy work.

In addition to supporting passengers, you are a source of inspiration to Bambi.

Please keep up the great work, which offers Canadians a ray of hope!