They were both biking in their Beirut neighbourhood’s public garden during civil war.
Yes, love can blossom even in the middle of blood and fire.
Ten years later, Doudou and Roula got married on a snowy day in Québec’s Montreal.
They have two adorable adult children, Michael and Nicolas.
In addition to family and friends, they also have eternal Kayla, their dog in heaven, along with their cutest cat Dino who lightens up their lives.
And today happens to be their wedding anniversary.
They are highlighting it in Beirut, which has seen darkness once again.
Yes, love can survive multiple Lebanese tragedies as well as migration in both directions.
Another reason for the Douglas to celebrate is that they are on the way to become grandparents for he first time in early 2025. YAY!
As for Bambi, she is blessed in many ways by their presence in her life, as her family.
Yes, Roula is her sister since she came to the world while Doudou became her brother since she was 9 years old.
Another exciting blessing for her is that, thanks to their son Michael (and his beautiful wife Stéphanie), she will soon become a great aunt. Can you imagine her joy and pride?
“Mabrouk” [congrats] to Doudou and Roula ❤️! Long live their growing family of love ❤️!
As airline consumers, we are blessed to have Dr. Gábor Lukács, President of Air Passenger Rights (https://shorturl.at/eySw0), Canada’s independent, non-profit, organization of volunteers.
Yesterday, Dr. Lukács testified before the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities. In a five-minute testimony, he spoke about “Cabinet’s failure to use its powers to put an end to junk fees in air travel“. Bravo!
Yes, thank you to the independent, devoted, and highly talented Dr. Lukács.
Merci/thank you as well to the committee in question and best wishes.
May the Cabinet take a courageously wise decision. Indeed, living is already highly expensive in Canada without junk fees in air travel. It would be timely to apply fairness in the protection of passengers.
Bambi keeps thinking about the people of her birth country. They have been going through unbelievable adversity since 2019.
From massive migration to Lebanon, to great migration out of it due to a financial crash of historical proportions, a political crisis/vacuum, a pandemic like the rest of the world, the surreal Beirut explosion, a cruel Israel-Hezbollah war, and to the current scary (or hopeful if we want to be optimistic) additional uncertainty as a result of the MAJOR, and overdue, change in Syria.
Bearing the above in mind, many thanks to L’Orient Le Jour (OLJ) for its latest 8-minute-long and poignant podcast shared below, which is sub-titled in both English and French.
Of note, this podcast is described on YouTube with the following moving words: “Where has my whole life gone? “. This question is the one raised by a Lebanese who lived in Choueifate, in the south of Beirut, after having seen, live, via a video call with his concierge, the destruction of his building by an Israeli bombing. “You watch your house burn, the building collapse, the fire, the falling stones and the pieces of glass… At that moment, the memories come flooding back. My memories… Where are my memories? » Despite the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, which he does not believe in anyway, he does not see the end of the nightmare into which he was plunged during this war. He tells us his moving story and shares his sorrows, as well as those of his family, after losing “the fruit of a lifetime of work”.
The kaffiyeh scarf is not any piece of tissue, given that it is highly charged politically speaking. It is often worn by genuine supporters of the Palestinian cause (some Jewish even). The kaffiyeh scarf is also sadly worn at times by some who may be addicted to virtue signalling, without substance, regardless of the cause of the day. Last but not least, the kaffiyeh scarf is also found around the neck of those whose mouth lately publicly expressed impolite slogans like “F… Israel AND F… Germany”.
Why is the Vatican, or at least its Pope, now politicizing the birth of baby Jesus who was actually Jewish, that is clearly neither Christian nor Muslim? Instead, he was simply referred to as Jesus of Nazareth. Thus, he was surely not linked to neither the State of Israel nor to Palestine (thankfully… and at the same time Jesus is filled with love for all). Stated differently, any biblical reference to Israel is usually meant to be about its meaning of “Chosen people“. Jesus came from this source since his parents were Jewish.
Of note, the birth of Jesus is supposed to be about humanity, love, and potential for redemption for ALL. This means that baby Jesus is surely not about tribalism or narrow-mindedness in historical conflicts.
Decades later, Jesus gave his life on the cross, which was his ultimate gesture of a selfless and unconditional love, to the extent of self-sacrifice, for ALL people.
In other terms, through death and resurrection, at least for those who believe in him as being the Messiah, Jesus made it possible for ALL people to be in an eternal loving relationship with God, if they wish.
Luckily, despite this odd story from the the Vatican, it is reassuring that Pope Francis seems to recall that “Jesus was born, lived, and died as a Jew” (https://shorturl.at/Kd278).
Despite the Jewish identity of Jesus, it would not only be accurate, but also wise, if the Vatican’s Jesus does not wear neither a kippah (also known as a yamaka, yarmulke, and a koppel) nor a kaffiyeh on his baby’s head. He would then be more easily perceived as being at an equal distance from all human beings, including those from the Middle East.
On April 15, 2019, a huge fire sadly ravaged the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral.
Thankfully, on December 7, 2024, the cathedral re-opened its doors to the public.
With a majestic live-streamed concert, Paris/France celebrated this historic event.
Related to the above, Bambi is grateful to her dear friend Leila for having informed her that Lebanese singer Hiba Tawaji participated in this concert (https://shorturl.at/5j7ZC).
Indeed, as shared below, Ms. Tawaji’s impressive performance of Ave Maria was both moving and soothing. What a pride to her birth country. A pure delight to her fans’ ears!
This being said, another reason to be proud was that this meaningful concert started with the great performance of our own Garou who was amazing, to say the least. Indeed, he is surely Canada/Québec’s pride. Bravo!
Long live Notre-Dame de Paris as well as music. As far as sweet Mary (or dear Saint-Mary, Jesus’ mom) is concerned, may she keep watching over Paris’ stunning cathedral. May she bring healing, peace, and love to our troubled world.
Have you heard of Mr. Austin Tice? He is an American freelance journalist who has been kidnapped in Syria 12 years ago. Can you imagine the extent of his ordeal and the endless pain of his family back home?
Bambi discovered Mr. Austin Tice’s sad story through a moving message of his mother translated into Arabic and delivered on a radio internet from out of Beirut. Her heart was deeply moved by his mom (et al. through her). In her message filled with love, she mentioned how much she is eager to hug her son in her arms. She begged those who know any piece of information about him to kindly share it with her.
Day after day, in a recorded message delivered just before the start of the Lebanese news on this station, Bambi listened to Ms. Tice’s heart-wrenching words. After googling the Tices (son and mother), she found a website called “The Family of Austin Tice” (https://shorturl.at/Devqp). She immediately extended her support to the Tices through a humble donation to support the cause of their beloved Austin’s return home. In solidarity, she wishes them to remain strong while praying for their inner peace despite the suffering.
During the past months and weeks, Bambi reconnected with the Lebanese local radio media as she was concerned about her family in Beirut. She took the time to listen to the news, at least twice per day and sometimes even more intensely. Her family there even teased her, wondering whether she was living with them to be that up-to-date.
Did Bambi use the term “up-to-date“? Sure she had been until shortly after the current ceasefire. Yet with enough geographical, along with both involuntarily and voluntarily emotional distance to preserve her sanity (facilitated by geography), she adds the following: it is easy for her to see the entire full picture of the ugliness of war in the doomed Middle East since Day 1. For her, Day 1 starts with the horrible massacre of October 7, 2023, and ALL what followed it, with more tragedies for innocent people on all sides and fronts, including both the destroyed Gaza and the devastated Lebanon. No matter how you look at matters, it is a human tragedy, surely not “a divine victory“, as some keep claiming. How could we talk about victories when innocent people are harmed (displaced, injured, or killed) and countries are destroyed?
This being said, she will go back in time now to the start of the Syrian war. Back then, a dear friend from this neighbouring (and occupying) country of Lebanon asked her: “With whom are you, Bambi”? Which side the regime (dictatorship of one party) or the rebellion (Islamist mainly, even if not only). Her answer was fast: “I am with the people“.
Indeed, since her childhood she remains with the (innocent) people caught in the middle of fire. Always choosing the side of humanity when it comes to all conflicts or wars comes to her naturally. This includes the latest war that hit close to home. She does not know about you, but she refuses to be blinded by fear, anger, or hate. Indeed, she can lucidly see ALL the innocent people on ALL sides of ALL borders. They all deserve dignity, safety, healing, peace… and hopefully love.
Thanks to courageous journalists like, Mr. Austin Tice, who risk their lives abroad to bring us the latest information about very troubled parts of our world. May he return home safely, as his mother seems to be hopeful today. May both (or any one of) Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump succeed in lightening Ms. Tice’s heavy heart. Bambi was happy to read in the L’Orient Le Jour that this inspiring mother is positive that her son is “doing well” (https://shorturl.at/V6ySx). May we hear the joyful news of his return back home ASAP!
This musical post is a treat for Bambi’s own ears on the evening of Saint Nicholas Day.
Of course, she will sing the song at least a couple of time before diving into a deep sleep.
It is her hope that you will enjoy this French Christmas carol, which remains her favourite song since early childhood. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you probably know that she is fond of Mr. Kendji Girac’s incredible talent!
This being said, it is not too early to wish Nicolas, Nicole, and Sarah-Nicole a Happy Name’s Day tomorrow :). This song is for them all!
These heartfelt wishes come with a friendly wink to the skies to her beloved “Khallo”(maternal uncle in Arabic) Nicolas and “Amo” (paternal uncle or a dear uncle) Nkoula, from both sides of her family. May the memory of each one of them be eternal.
Now if you find that there are many Nicolas” in Bambi’s extended family, wait until January 17, 2025 (Saint Anthony’s Day). Then, you realize that there are even more Tonys among her relatives, in addition to her beloved dad, Antoine or Tony (hi papy, if you happen to be reading this post 🙂 ❤️!).
