Mr. Nicola Ciccone’s “What if we had a child” [“Et si on faisait un enfant”]: A surprise song for Michael & Stéphanie!

Even the sunshine loves Michael, Stéphanie, and… their baby in utero!

An English translation of the French lyrics (https://shorturl.at/SqNhl) follows Mr. Nicola Ciccone’s beautiful song. Thanks to Mr. Google Translate for his assistance. Aunty Bambi offers this song to Michael and Stéphanie with love and fond regards across the miles ❤️!

“What if we had a child

what if we tried our luck

to perform the most beautiful miracle

giving life its full meaning

and if we closed our eyes

looking to be happy

what if we loved each other forever

what if we made love

what if we had a child

that from two we went to three

maybe even four or five

okay, let’s start at three

what if we helped him/her grow

in the best and in the worst

and if we gave ourselves to him/her

and if we loved him/her for life

what if we had a child

let us see him/her born very small

that we want to protect him/her from everything

let us watch over him/her day and night

so that one day he/she can tenderly

say mom, say dad

and he/she can stop time

filling our hearts with joy

what if we had a child

what if we united our lives

to see new life born

I know, it’s pure madness

but this is where life becomes beautiful

when we fill it with madness

kiss me without a future

and let’s do it all night

what if we had a child

and if we gave ourselves the right

to still believe in this world

and give him/her a voice

so he/she can sing loud and clear

long after we have passed away

so that he/she can bequeath our history

and say how much we loved each other

what if we had a child

another you, another me

that we were slowly teaching him/her

To live and make his/her own choices

so that one day he/she can in turn

find love in this world

and that he can dream like us (2x)

what if we had a child”.

Ms. Abeer Nehme’s uplifting talent: Yesterday’s post was on flowers. Today, let’s sing for birds and butterflies!

Have you ever listened to the same musical piece in a repetitive way?

Today, Bambi’s working day progressed while listening to Ms. Abeer Nehme over and over again. On one hand, listening to the same song again and again may be soothing. On the other hand, it is uplifting to be immersed in the world of talent of this Lebanese singer.

The first musical piece, shared with you below, is a masterpiece, which Bambi found on YouTube this morning. The poem is entitled “Ghanni Kalilian Ya Asafeer“, which means “Sing A Little Bit, Oh Birds“. The lyrics are by Mr. Joseph Harb. She could not find them online and she wants to sleep soon. Maybe another time, she might transcribe them and try to translate them for you. Anyhow, the beautiful music is by Mr. Marcel Khalife. As for the musical direction of the orchestra, it is by the skilled Mr. Michalis Economou. Bravo to all the musicians. As for the performer, Ms. Nehme, her voice is a treat to the ears!

The second piece is really short, when we do not play it endlessly :). It is an extract of the “butterfly” [“Frashe” in Arabic] song, composed by the late yet great Mr. Zaki Nassif. Once again, thank you Ms. Abeer Nehme for your great talent.

Please sing, not just for birds or butterflies, but also for deer who are big fans of you!

Is there anything softer to the ears than Ms. THÙY DUNG’s beautiful voice singing Dalida’s “Le temps des fleurs”?

Bambi wishes you all a good one, hoping your week will be enjoyable. If she may, she now offers you “Le temps des fleurs” [even if it may be a time of snow, instead of flowers, for many of you :)]. This song is especially meant for you, if you are a fan of Dalida and/or you like her lovely song, like Bambi does, regardless of its language version. Yes, this includes you, beloved Roula from Montreal and dearest Jane from Sackville :)!

Is the world moving a baby step toward healing with the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, despite mixed feelings of deep sorrow and happiness for the reunited families of innocent hostages?

For this post, Bambi does not have words.

She only had tears in her eyes when she saw pictures and watched videos from abroad.

May the first hours of this ceasefire turn into full days, weeks, and years.

Life is too short to waste it on absurd yet cruel armed conflicts.

Instead, may healing, forgiveness, humanity, peace, love, and prosperity prevail.

Tehran Times: Did you know that “Iranian students” have asked “Hezbollah chief to hold Nasrallah’s funeral in Iran”?

If there is one thing that Bambi learned from growing up during civil war, it is to read all media of all sides to build her own opinions. This is what she keeps doing, in our collectively insane times, whether in peace or in war. For instance, and to keep learning, she reads those whom she may not necessarily agree with on a topic, even before those she may share their opinion on this or that topic.

Bearing the above in mind, and in the spirit of continuous open-mindedness (or to gather evidence at the source), this is what she she did from day 1 of the tragic October 7th 2023, for ALL the innocent people of the Middle East, including her own birth country (since a doomed October 8 when the Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into this destructive war). Thus, her sources of information are diverse, ranging from L’Orient Le Jour [or Orient Today], to all the other Lebanese media, to the Times of Israel (as well as other Israeli media in English), to the Tehran times (and if in English, other Iranian sources) to Arabic media, including a Palestinian newsletter, etc.

Today, she wants to focus on an article she read in the Tehran Times entitled “Iranian students ask Hezbollah chief to hold Nasrallah’s funeral in Iran” (https://shorturl.at/AcguE).

As an example, even if clumsy, imagine that like in today’s Iran (at least as per the article cited above), five student unions of the UK or France, or even the States, would have asked to have the 1937 funeral of Brother (or Saint André too, since he was canonized by the Catholic Church) held in the respective countries. Would this have made any sense to French-Canadians or Québécois, especially those from Montreal or Mont Saint-Grégoire where he was born?

Of course, we cannot compare apples and oranges, even if deep inside they are both fruits and they taste good to those who enjoy their taste. Bambi is trying to say here that the late Brother André and the late Said Hassan Nassrallah are both men of faith and conviction. The first keeps dragging tourists to the Saint Joseph Oratory (https://shorturl.at/oAcvY) while the other kept dragging his country into wars.

Whether you are a fan or not, does it make sense to you that Iranian student unions, or the Iranian government in their name, is asking Hezbollah (which it founded and funded) to hold Mr. Nasrallah’s funeral in Iran?

A new hope for justice in Lebanon after two years: Judge Tarek Bitar resumes his investigation of the Beirut port blast!

There have been hopeful news coming out of Bambi’s birth country recently, going in the direction of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Today, there is an additional piece of promising news, related to the investigation concerning the Beirut port surreal explosion: Judge Tarek Bitar resumed work after two years (https://shorturl.at/v0lvQ; https://shorturl.at/x7f1H).

In several posts, over the past 4-5 years, Bambi paid tribute to the courageous Judge Tarek Bitar. As a reminder, she even argued that he deserves a Peace Noble Prize for having resisted both impunity and corruption.

Indeed, despite threats to his personal safety, along with legal obstacles to prevent his work, he kept his inspiring courage as an impartial judge. Today, he resumed his investigation. Thanks to him and bravo!

May justice be finally served in Beirut so the families of the victims can grieve in peace. They deserve to be able to believe in truth and justice.

Bambi sends her continuous full solidarity and gratitude to Judge Bitar. She sends her heart again and again to all the victims, along with love to Beirut, which deserves brighter days filled with hope, healing, and justice… for a change.

To conclude this post on a musical note as usual, Mr. Ghassan Saliba’s lyrics remain timely, today more than ever… once again, here is a quick English translation by Bambi for your convenience, if you are interested:

Is it possible to go back in time and forget what happened

In the city inhabited by sadness and destruction?

Is it possible, one of these days, to extinguish the fire

In the hearts they have burned and made them collapse?

Is it possible, one of these days, to resume writing poems

about the beautiful city we fell in love with and keep waiting and waiting for?

Is it possible, one of these days, to be able to erase what happened to this sad city

So the journey can begin?

The bewildered population of this country when it has no decision-making

It begs for justice from any place and any forum of decision-making

Is it possible, one of these days, to do something for the many who have survived

Reach the end of the story and put an end to the defeat?

Is it possible, one of these days, that the generations that do not chose their destiny

will get rid of this injustice and change the course of history?

One day will come when all the secrets will be uncovered

And this stubborn land will be crowned with glory…

On the eve of Saint Anthony’s Day, across the miles: Bambi sends her love to her dad et al.!

Love across the miles to Bambi’s dad Antoine (or Tony or Antonio, as she likes to tease him), her uncle Tanios, three of her cousins, each one of them called Tony, and… Antoinette!

Bambi misses her awesome dad and looks forward to seeing him again as soon as realistically possible… hopefully in 2025 ❤️!

Same for her adorable four relatives and family friend, in Beirut and Montreal, who are also celebrating their name day ❤️❤️❤️❤️!

May Saint-Anthony, or “Mar” Anthonios the great, protect them all :)!

May Saint Anthony also protect Mary and her family; today more than ever…. and may their/our beloved Mounir’s memory be eternal, both in heaven and in our hearts ❤️.

Bearing the above in mind, it is time for music now to celebrate love, family gatherings, baba/papy Antonio (+ all the dad’s of the world), and… Saint Anthony, with his own Byzantine prayer, chanted by the Choir of Beirut in Arabic.

“3 dakat” [or 3 beats]: Did you know that this lovely Egyptian song has a kids’ version?

Due to a heavy workload filled with several deadlines, Bambi had no choice but to remain silent for about four days. She missed her daily writing, and most importantly, she felt that something very meaningful was missing day after day (or night after night, she must say): YOU, dear readers. Yes, she missed you, even if she had the opportunity to communicate with some of you about older posts. Thank you for your continuous interest in visiting her blog and for sharing your opinions, mostly publicly and at times privately.

This being said, Bambi hesitated among several more serious topics. She finally decided to make this post about lightness.

Yes, the topic is related to the lightness of the heart when we are in love or in harmony with a friend, especially during summer times (but not only!). Consider it also as a post about being in love with life, especially when our wings are made of hope.

If she may, she now dedicates this Egyptian-Arabic song, in both adult’s and kids’ versions to all of you, and especially to two readers who have shared that they liked this song, as per an older post shown below :).

We all have our reasons to like this or that song (or to dislike this or that melody). Bambi has always liked the “3 dakat” song because its melody is joyfully light, calling for dancing. Even the kids’ version was a joy to listen to.

She does not know about you, but Bambi started this working day on a light note. She remained filled with inner happiness, despite imminent deadlines. She considers herself to be blessed in life in genral in so many ways, especially on a beautiful day, like this one.

May your forthcoming days be filled with rest if you have worked hard, lightness if you had deep worries, increased healing if you have been sick or are grieving, and with continuous happiness, if you feel happy.

Fifteen years after Haiti earthquake: pausing to honour lost loved ones

Those who know Bambi well might recall how much she loves Haiti. Indeed, she honours this country not only in her heart (or some house decoration), but also in her posts.

Hours before January 12, she pauses with Haiti and Canada (fellow citizens of Haitian heritage; Canada’s army, air force and navy staff who rushed to help) to remember the devastating 2010 earthquake. The latter affected about three million people, namely almost one-third of the country’s total population (https://shorturl.at/o8MU6)! Tragically, about 300,000 lost their lives, according to official count (https://shorturl.at/o8MU6). May everyone’s memory be eternal.

On a personal note, Bambi is thinking of her friends in Toronto, Montreal, and the Maritimes who are of Haitian origins or who like Haiti. More specifically, she is praying for you Smith and Jean (et al.), along with your beloved angel in heaven 💜. May your loving hearts keep being filled with faith, inner peace, and hope (“espérance” “en piles en piles“).

This post cannot be concluded without a fond thought for Michael, along with his peers, for the inspiring generosity, if he happens to be reading. Two additional thoughts go to: (1) all the kind cab drivers Bambi had encountered while living in Montreal; and (2) the inspiring Canadian artists she appreciates (some are prematurely in heaven like the uniquely talented Ms. Mélanie Reynauld, shown below).

May Haiti see brighter days. Enough of disaster after disaster, and not just naturally.