Bambi's Thoughts
Yesterday’s post was on friendship.
Today’s post is on family.
Like friendships, families are built on love, not just on blood or genes.
Indeed, the love of a family is one of life’s greatest blessings.
Happy Birthday Rana! With much love, Bambi wishes you a lovely birthday ❤️!
Happy Birthday Karen ❤️! Bambi misses you so much. Enjoy tomorrow :)!
Our friends are a blessing in our lives.
We can count on them. They also know they can count on us in times of higher stress.
When things are running smoothly, we smile and laugh with them.
We meet and enjoy a delicious meal.
We may not see them for years. Yet time is meaningless since we just continue to care.
As needed, we might pray for them. At times, it is them who send back positive vibes.
Yes, life is random and full of uncertainties.
Yet our precious friendships give additional meaning to our lives.
Along with warmth, comes hope.
Of course, there is always hope when there is pure and mutual love in our lives.
Thank you, and bravo, Ms. Gigi De Lana, for singing about friendship!
In our collectively insane times, anywhere and especially in the Western world, when we want to silence someone, we try to professionally and socially “kill” them. This awful phenomenon has a name: cancellation or censorship.
However, in Lebanon, and in other comparable parts of the world, we do not waste time on preventing people from earning a living, we literally go for the end of their lives. This is what tragically happened to Mr. Lokman Slim, a writer and journalist from Lebanon.
Bambi has several older posts denouncing Mr. Slim’s brutal killing and expressing solidarity with his widow, Ms. Monika Borgmann, mother Ms. Selma Merchak, and his sister, Ms. Rachaa el-Ameer. What a great family.
What happened to Mr. Slim you may wonder? First, he had always been a public critic of the Hezbollah. Second, he was murdered in South Lebanon, four years ago, in an area highly controlled by this organization/militia. Today, a pro-Hezbollah-biased judge suspended the investigation (https://shorturl.at/gzohh).
If she may, Bambi will now use Ms. Selma Merchak’s own words, which she expressed on the second day of the horrible assassination of her son: “Civilized people argue, they may have differing opinions, but resorting to weapons is never the solution. We are civilized people, not animals in the jungle. The animals of the jungle devour each other. Violence can never be good for this country. It has harmed me as a mother because I lost my son. My only wish is that you use your wit, not your gut, if you really want to build a country. Lokman deserves it so much”. Is there anything more inspiring than the precious insights of this amazing yet heart-broken mother?
Of note, Bambi shared Ms. Merchak’s thought-provoking words with you, dear readers, four years ago. Today, more than ever, they remain a life lesson; not just for the people of Lebanon, but also for the entire world. Will impunity ever end in the “Land of the Cedars”?
Two days ago, Bambi’s post was on sunsets in Amherst, Nova Scotia (thank you, Diana).
Today, it is on sunrises in Toronto, Ontario, thanks to her beloved friend Irwin. He has been a sunshine of humanity, courage, and hope for Bambi (+ indirectly to her readers). She is both blessed and honoured to call him friend 💚.
So, if you were impressed by the sunsets in Atlantic Canada, what are you going to think of the sunrises in Eastern Canada :)?
Regardless of any thought, have a good one everyone!
Bambi loves her friend Diana and considers herself blessed to have her in her life in so many ways [one of them maybe too embarrassing to share :)] ❤️. Today, the blessing stems from Diana’s generosity in sharing those pictures with this blog’s readers. Long live friendship, honesty, kindness, and generosity in life. Long live the beautiful sunsets in Canada and around the world!
Bambi fell in love with a song shared by one of her beloved friends. With his permission, she cannot help not to share with all of you. She hopes you will enjoy it too!
As reported by L’Orient Today yesterday, Mr. Naim Kassem (Head of the Hezbollah) has warned that, in order to face of Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement, “Lebanon needs resistance”… while reserving the right to decide on the relevant response “in terms of form, nature, and timing” (https://shorturl.at/KP32i).
Has Mr. Naim Kassem ever heard of a concept called “entitlement”? The latter literally means “the right to have, or maybe do, something“.
Of course, as an Islamist, Mr. Kassem is entitled to have his own opinion about any matter. However, as a citizen of Lebanon, not of Iran where he might be still hiding, he has a moral duty that he can no longer ignore: He can no longer impose his vision of the world on others. In other terms, it is about time to have his patriotic compass back to where it should have been in the first place: with the state of Lebanon and with his fellow Lebanese citizens. It would be also nice to have a thought for their relatives or friends abroad (wherever they are). Many, if not most, of them are like Bambi sick and tired of endless wars and of absurd, elevated mortality.
So, no Mr. Kassem, with all due respect to your own insights, Lebanon does not deserve a resistance that brought the occupation back. Lebanon deserves to be sovereign and to live in peace. Thank you.
Mr. Demis Roussos (born Artemios Ventouris-Roussos) came to the world on January 15 1946 in Alexandria into a Greek family. After having been raised in Egypt, his immense talent made him a worldwide star.
As a songwriter, musician, and singer, Mr. Roussos travelled the world, performing in several languages, including English, French, Greek, and German. He sadly died at age 69 on January 25, 2015 (https://shorturl.at/yCiUz).
Of note, in 1985, a horrible tragedy happened to Mr. Roussos. He found himself kidnapped, along with other 144 passengers and 8 crew members of the TWA Flight 847, headed from Athens (Greece) to Rome (Italy). The Lebanese hijackers, affiliated with Hezbollah (and later the Amal movement got involved), forced the plane to take a scary detour to… Beirut, devastated by a cruel civil-war. Bambi, 13 years old at the time, recalls this sad story, which she followed closely from out of Beirut.
Contrary to the other passengers, Mr. Roussos was among the lucky ones. First, he remained alive. Second, his ordeal ended after a few days only (https://shorturl.at/dupq7). Mr. Roussos rarely spoke about his saga in Beirut. However, with his notorious sense of humour, he once said on a French TV show, with Mr. Thierry Ardisson, that he may have been released faster “because Lebanese people love music“. Then, he gave the most likely reason: “he was neither Israeli, nor American” (https://shorturl.at/bsJC1).
Anyhow, Mr. Roussos who spread love and nurtured peace with his music, returned to Lebanon in 2013 where he gave a big concert. The “Country of the Cedars” was grateful.
May Mr. Demis Roussos’ memory be eternal. Long live his incredible musical legacy!
Thank you La Presse (https://tinyurl.com/2e54jhb6) for capturing the moving moments. These Israeli young women could have been our daughters or our students. Their parents our siblings or even ourselves. Same for the Palestinian “Madame Jarrar”. She could have been Bambi’s aunt or mom. Bravo for the happy family reunions.
