Bambi's Thoughts
Bambi was deeply honoured when Ms. Leila Milki wrote a comment on her blog, as you can see in the first post below.
May this talented Lebanese-American artist keep singing while playing different musical instruments and spreading both love and joy around her!
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Think of anything you like or not, there is an international day for it! Sometimes a single day of the year has been declared to be devoted to two or more events or objects at once; by we do not know whom. Well, today is no exception because it happens to be both the international day for ice cream (mmm…) and the Word Violin Day.
Today, Bambi will be reasonable and leave the ice cream aside [for now :)]. Yes, she will just focus on the violin in this brief post, wondering if you also love this instrument like her. She does not know about you, but such a day makes her think of MANY talented violinists of our world. She is grateful to ALL of them, including one she has been a faithful fan of since she discovered him. His name is Mr. Andre Soueid. The latter began his musical journey at age of 6 at the Lebanese National Conservatory (https://bit.ly/3VWYzTV).
Before sharing some of Mr. Soueid’s musical pieces below, Bambi would like to leave you with two citations: (1) the first is by Mr. Robert Schumann, a German composer, who once said: “To send light into the darkness of men’s hearts—such is the duty of the artist“; and (2) the second quote comes from the famous, Mr. Joshua Bell. According to him: “When you play a violin piece, you are a storyteller, and you’re telling a story.”
To conclude this post, bravo to all the violinists of our towns, provinces, territories, countries, and the world, including Lebanon’s Andre Soueid. The latter tells us unforgettable stories about life, death, and of course love in all its forms and shapes, including human, romantic, and even patriotic love.
On December 12, 2005, Lebanon, and the world, lost the editor in chief of An Nahar, a journalist, an intellectual, and later an MP. Indeed, Mr. Gibran Tueni (48 years old) was coldly assassinated in a car explosion as soon as he returned to Lebanon from Paris where he left under death threats and a series of assassinations of intellectuals. He was a man of reason and unity, raised in a family full of love, talent, and with the richness of both religious and intellectual diversity (https://bit.ly/3PlURkk).
Among his famous legacy is his belief in freedom of expression, until he paid its ultimate price with his own life, and a popular oath of unity among all the pieces of the religious puzzle of Lebanon, namely mainly among Christians and Muslims. May his memory be eternal.
Mind you, today and more than ever, his memory is critically needed in his birth country; perhaps by extension here in Canada as well, but for apparently different and hopefully milder reasons. Different, did Bambi say? Yes, but yet coming to the same basic principle in any country: the need for increased unity among its people, instead of the divisiveness of sectarianism. In Lebanon, it may be the classical (i.e. religious-based) sectarianism. In Canada, it is a new form of sectarianism with much divisiveness in our collectively insane times, which is often recklessly encouraged by chief politicians or by the elites of our societies, including the mainstream media: being vaccinated or non-vaccinated; being observant of wokeism or criticizing its drifts, being to the right or to the left, or to a so-called alt right for whatever is not the extreme left (or vice versa), endorsing OR refusing to endorse any form of identity-based politics, including a so-called pro-diversity that does not hesitate to exclude, divide, and even cancel in the name of so-called equity.
Anyhow, to come back to Mr. Tueni and Lebanon, Bambi reported this story in an earlier post, using the the following words:
“… Bambi remembers the late and great Mr. Ghassan Tueni, father of another assassinated Lebanese intellectual/journalist, Mr. Gibran Tueni. At the end of the funeral service of his son, he spontaneously took the microphone and called for love, can you imagine?
He said: “Let’s bury hate and revenge” (later a title of a book he wrote a couple of years before his own natural death).
Bambi was visiting her parents in Beirut at the time of the funeral. She will always recall the scene of the procession from the nearby hospital’s morgue to his final destination where Bambi’s ancestors are also buried. She will also always recall the father’s moving words mentioned above that she watched live on TV“.
If Mr. Tueni managed to bury hate and revenge, despite any feelings of sadness, anger, and despair upon the assassination of his son in order to preserve both love and unity in his country, why can’t we do it here at home in Canada? Why can’t we do it online? Why can’t we do it in real life? In our hearts, minds, and behaviours? Why should we politicize everything and allow our politicians and/or media to politicize us, and thus divide us, with every trendy issue of the moment?
To conclude this post, Bambi would like to end with Mr. Enrico Macias’ song “Un berger vient de tomber” [“A Shepherd Has Fallen”]. Sadly, it remains timely in Lebanon and in the Middle East when it comes to journalists whose voices we do not want to hear. May both father’s and son’s memory be eternal: the father of love and diplomacy; the son of courage and liberty…
Did you know that Mr. Alfred de Musset (https://bit.ly/2MEa67v), the French Romantic poet and dramatist was born on December 11, 1810 in Paris where he died in 1857?
Mr. Alfred de Musset wrote about themes like sorrow, friendship, and of course love. Indeed, one of his famous quotes about love goes likes this (French is followed by English and German):
“La vie est un sommeil, l’amour en est le rêve, et vous aurez vécu, si vous avez aimé”.
“Life is a sleep and love is its dream; and you have lived if you have loved”.
“Das Leben ist Schlaf, dessen Traum die Liebe ist. Du wirst gelebt haben, wenn du geliebt haben wirst”.
To pay tribute to Mr. Musset’s memory and to celebrate romantic love, Bambi will end this brief post with three beautiful French songs (at least according to her :). Only the first one is sub-titled in English. Regardless of your own definition of love, long live the latter in your current daily life or maybe in your dreams… if you are interested ❤️.
It is hard to imagine “Amto” (or amty, meaning my aunty) Salwa not alive, not active, not full of life… Yet, despite our deep sorrow, it is easy to be happy for her to be in a more dignified place.
Bambi joins her love and prayers to Salwa’s family and MANY loved ones especially in Lebanon and Brazil, but also in Canada, Australia, and elsewhere in the world.
Salwa has touched and inspired so many lives, including Bambi’s: Obrigada! Thank you! Merci or Shoukran Amto habibi!
For those who have known her closely, Salwa had a sense of perspective and humour in life, which served well throughout her long life in her beloved countries, Brazil and Lebanon where she chose to retire.
Did Bambi say retire? Salwa never retired. She remained more active than ever in the workplace up until the last couple of years of her life; in the pandemic and Lebanon’s multiple crises.
It is not Salwa that has retired from life now. It is life that has retired from her.
Some say it’s God’s will. He knows when it is our time to go. Others say the same with different words: “The lamp ran out of oil” (Khello, these are your beautiful words…). Yet others who believe in the magic of soccer secretly dreamed that if Brazil would have stayed in the Word’s Cup yesterday, Salwa may have lived a bit longer today. This may be Bambi’s own silliness. Of course, at her age, Bambi knows that life does not work like this.
Yes, too bad for Brazil (bravo for Croatia). Amto Salwa may or may have not been aware enough to know what happened yesterday. However, as her picture above (July 2018) shows: She was a fan of Brazil! She also loved her Lebanon so dearly to the point of returning to it after having escaped its tough economic days by boat several decades ago, way before its civil war (1975-1990). Sadly, she saw her birth country in such bad shape lately.
It is Bambi’s prayer that Lebanon will finally rise again; so Salwa’s grandchildren living there will see better days. It is also her prayer that Salwa’s grandchildren and great grandchildren will also see much better days in Brazil as well.
May your memory be eternal, Salwa. As you used to often joke with your younger colleagues: You had a fiancé, called Dimitrios (Saint Dimitrios is where your ancestors are buried. Sadly, tomorrow you will join them all). They would believe you up until you say with a big smile and laughter: “I love him so much but I am not in a rush to join him :)”. It is the time, Amto. Time to be with Saint Dimitrios and to join your loved ones, including your/our dear Khalil. Please keep an eye on us from above and we will keep you in our hearts forever as well.
To conclude this post meant to honour her aunt Salwa, Bambi will send her heartfelt condolences to Lourdes, Georges and to all Salwa’s relatives, from the senior ones to the youngest ones. Bambi loves you all ❤️. As for you Amto Salwa, here is a prayer to Saint Dimitrios… May he welcome your soul and guide it to the eternal light, which will never end, like your own oil…
Bambi just listened to this extremely moving video where Ms. Céline’s Dion informed us of her very rare recent diagnosis of “stiff-person syndrome”. As she shared with her fans, she has been suffering with health issues for a very long time. It turned out that what she has is a very rare neurological condition. It can be described as follows: “an autoimmune disorder of the nervous system, often resulting in progressive, severe muscle stiffness and spasms of the lower extremities and back. It also can affect other body regions” (https://mayocl.in/3VZW1nu).
If she may, Bambi would like to send Céline Dion her love and heartfelt positive vibes, along with her fond regards for her own courage and for the courage of her supportive children. She prays for her full recovery until reaching the most optimal quality of life she can have. May her own song “Courage” inspire her throughout her healing journey. All the best to her and to her multidisciplinary team of care providers!
Canada, Lebanon, and the entire world is behind you Céline! Lâche pas la patate ❤️ !
The first French Christmas Medley does no need any introduction. You will recognize the melodies where you hear them. One thing is sure: Ms. Hiba Tawaji’s voice is so uniquely beautiful. And what can we say about her look and way of being? She puts her heart and soul into her songs. Imagine when the latter are Christmas carols from her own childhood. It is simply magical.
The following song-prayer gives Bambi goosebumps every year since her early childhood in her birth country. Like all the kids of her age, she sang it too (mind you, once, this was on TV, along with her classroom– thank Goodness as the group covers the frog’s voice :)). Seriously now, this song is about the night of Christmas [Laylat El Milad]. A night when hatred ends. A night when war stops. A night when love blossoms. A night when the planet becomes full of blossoming flowers… and love!
The picture above shows a citizen from Northern Lebanon (Akkar) walking out of a hospital with the dead body of his newborn. The latter spent 25 days in the neonatal intensive care unit. His dad could not afford to pay the $2,500 medical bill. In order to get the dead body of his child, he left his own car to the hospital (in guarantee).
According to the Arabic-speaking An Nahar (https://bit.ly/3VXJqB9), the Director of the hospital reported not having asked for this guarantee. Maybe he did not ask specifically, but he was certainly willing to take it.
The saddest part of this story is this dad’s grief (along with the extent of misery of the people of Lebanon). If Bambi may, she would like to offer this Lebanese father her condolences, along with Ms. Linda Lemay’s French song entitled “Pas de mots” [“There are no words“]:
“…There is no term to describe the father. The one who tucks his boy into the graveyard. Never a single poet. Never a single pastor. Never a single author. Had enough letters for so much pain…”.
Today is December 6… yes time flies.
Time flies yet we pause to remember tragic as well as happier times:
Tragic like the Polytechnique massacre that occurred 33 Decembers ago. May the memory of “Geneviève Bergeron, Maryse Laganière, Hélène Colgan, Maryse Leclair, Nathalie Croteau, Anne-Marie Lemay, Barbara Daigneault, Sonia Pelletier, Anne-Marie Edward, Michèle Richard, Maud Haviernick, Annie St-Arneault, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, and Annie Turcotte” be eternal.
Happier or hopeful like Santa’s Day or Saint-Nicholas’ Day. Yes, today is a day of love and giving. A day of respect and compassion. Yes, time for an extended hand to share or to help, as needed. In the spirit of love, there is always room for light and healing; instead of the darkness of hate and killing.
To highlight this day, with its horrific as well as merrier times (Happy Name Day again Nicolas ❤️!), one song comes to Bambi’s mind. It is about love and humanity in a world increasingly blinded by narrow-mindedness and hate… yet always with room for the hope of increased LOVE, thankfully.
