His name is Dr. Elmer Melvin Tory (1928-2020), Professor Emeritus in mathematics and computer science
at Mount Allison University.
His grieving family members are his “son Kevin
(Christine), grandsons Pavel and Michael, and several nieces and nephews”. “He
was predeceased by his wife Audrey, sisters Marjorie Tory and Lucile Peacock,
brothers Alan and Cecil, and daughter Heather Austin”: https://www.jonesfuneralhome.ca/obituaries/146729
Whilst lighting a candle for him, the hearts of Bambi and her spouse go to his family members’ hearts… May he rest in peace.
To honour him, Mount
Allison University lowered its flag to half-mast today, thank you.
All those who have
known him in our town are sad today.
Dr. Tory has enriched his field of research (“sedimentation of polydisperse suspensions”, publishing scientific “articles into his 80s”). He taught and mentored generations of students. He also invested time and energy, contributing to make his beloved university the best workplace it can be. For instance, he served on several university committees and acted in many roles within the Mount Allison University’s community (as a university as well as in the union of professors, called the Mount Allison Faculty Association or MAFA). This in addition to also having acted as the President of the Federation of New Brunswick Faculty Associations.
All the above is a
source of inspiration, thank you Dr. Elmer Tory!
However, perhaps even more meaningful than all this fantastic professional legacy is the humanity of Dr. Tory…. The “Elmer” whom Bambi and her spouse met 10-12 years ago. He was their (MAFA) party friend, so to speak. Celebration after celebration, term after term, they spent time chatting with him and sometimes laughing :). Elmer had a beautiful sense of humour in addition to his sharp mind and gentle presence. He was fun and everyone was fond of him, including them.
Obviously, we are
all going where Elmer went on May 27, 2020. It is called death and it is an integral
part of life.
We die, for sure, but when we do so, it is our reputation that remains eternal, transcending death (through memory). It is the human part of Dr. Tory that will be missed perhaps the most… The next MAFA parties will not be the same without you Elmer ☹ .
Bambi recalls how you once joked after your last birthday, telling us “that you have relatives who lived beyond 100 years. So, perhaps you have those good genes (for longevity)”.
You surely had the
“genes” of humanity/sweetness, so to speak.
Thank you for whom
you have been… Rest in peace now, please.
Ok, that was Rania in Beirut. Bambi will virtually jump to Dubai (United Arab Emirates) now to wish her nephew Michael a Happy Birthday! Yes, the latter was born on his aunty Rania’s birthday :). Bambi was blessed to see him at Christmas, right before the pandemic. She is proud of him big time! Below you can partly see why (article/interview featuring him). The other part is simply beyond words… This smart/talented young man is a beautiful soul with a BIG heart. He is humble, generous, down to earth, etc. Did Bambi forget anything about him? As you can notice below, he is handsome too :).
“Managing Expectations” (published by “Diaryforyourstory” on January 1, 2019)
Mr. Michael Doghlass
“Young. Enthusiast. Aspiring banker. Michael Doghlass, a corporate banker at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, thrives to keep climbing up the success ladder as a young man. Born and raised in Canada, Doghlass does not only consider himself a Canadian citizen but also a citizen of the world. “There is no geographical area that would limit me,” he says. He is a 24-year old adventurer who contemplates meeting people from different educational and cultural backgrounds: a benefit to his personal growth.
“I
decided to come to Dubai to discover what the corporate life is all about. I
fell in love with the city,” he reveals.
Doghlass
graduated from the Lebanese American University with a B.S. in Economics. He,
then, mastered in International Business at Grenoble Ecole de Management
University. Throughout his life, Doghlass always had the mentality of “I want
to keep learning”. For that, he decided to visit Dubai during that summer and
go for an internship at the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.
Being a
graduate from one of the top business schools in the world, he did not aim to
want it all at the beginning. “For me, planning your objectives and not setting
your expectations too high are two of the most important things”, he states.
One could say that managing the expectations of his parents, clients, and his
surroundings is one of Doghlass’s hobbies.
Expectations.
Expectations. Expectations.
Doghlass
is aware that he is in for a treat. With trying new places and learning new
cultures, one would assume that adapting would be hard. In this case, he took
his new experience one-step at a time, until adapting became a piece of cake.
Doghlass continues, “I am currently working in the Large Corporate Department.
I manage accounts that have a turnover of 500 million and above, some of the
biggest accounts in Dubai.” “This came in after the hard work and overtime
hours that I have put in to get to where I am,” he adds.
Expectations
is a word that people often tend to “look” at with high standards as they
believe that there is a minimum target one should fulfill. As this happens,
some might neglect the more important things in their own lives. It is always a
dilemma of setting own goals and objectives all while trying to hit the
expectations of bosses, parents, and surroundings.
“To me,
it is not about the goals or targets. It is about the expectations, just the
right amount of dosage,” states Doghlass. However, on another note, individuals
should not let all of their targeted roads be based on goals and objectives.
Expectations allow the mindset of a person to be at ease within himself and his
entourage. If expectations at work for a newbie were to complete tasks that seniors
are doing, then the management would have been disappointed. Doghlass says, “I
told myself that everything above my own expectations was an achievement to
myself.”
Doghlass’s
parents did not have expectations that he would get the job in Dubai. When he
got to Lebanon, he didn’t come back unhappy if he didn’t get the job. He wasn’t
even worried about what his close ones’ reaction would be. “All what I was
doing was a plus to my objectives and goals,” declares Doghlass.
“I
strategize my future one step at a time, I do not jump steps. If I jump, I will
not be setting myself firmly in the best way.”
Shifting
a little bit towards his educational period of time, Doghlass was asked to be
the valedictorian of his graduating class at Grenoble Ecole de Management
University. “When I knew that I was going to give the graduation speech, I was
very happy,” he states. He was hesitant at first since he was the only one
giving a speech out of around 200 students.
“I am
managing expectations,” says Doghlass firmly.
Steps
That Matter
When
asked “What’s next?” Doghlass stressed on the fact that it is important for him
to grow personally. He believes that if he stays in the same place, he will not
be able to grow in the way that he wants to. “I was introduced to the Head of Corporate
at the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. I wanted to feel the vibe and learn more
about how the work flows”, he says.
At this
point, Doghlass gives credit to his boss. “Every day my boss used to take time
out of his work to thoroughly help me answer all of my concerns and develop
further my knowledge,” admits Doghlass.
He is
known to be a thorough observer. What helped him the most, it is the fact that
he used to take notes about everything his bosses used to say. “I wanted to
learn the best out of each senior,” tells Doghlass.
Doghlass
worked long-hard hours to prove himself and his capabilities. He created a need
for himself at the Bank. His dream was to stay there and he wanted to learn
more. The managing team found a loophole to have him among them.
Doghlass
states, “I want to build on my resume that I am a loyal employee. Here, I am
able to learn.”
He
believes that learning is the key to keep on growing and developing personally
and professionally. Since his Grenoble Ecole de Management graduation, Doghlass
did not stop to ameliorate himself. He is still studying to land a
certification in Investment Banking: Mergers and Acquisitions from the New York
Institute of Finance. He has already completed four out of six courses. He
reveals that the courses are very tough. In that context, Doghlass always tries
to find a few hours after work to study and sit for his exams. “This is what is
helping me grow,” he confirms.
Humorous
Insight
What
distinguishes the young generation from the old is the fact that they tend to
try to do it all. This upcoming era of individuals create humor and fun moments
from nothing. Imagine if your name coincides with a major famous actor: Michael
Doghlass! Well, what are the odds? According to Doghlass, this coincidence has
its perks. Some tend not to believe him until they are provided with proof.
Others assume that the actor’s team is speaking on his behalf.
Yet,
stereotyping strikes again! “They believe that my first name is Michael but
they do not believe that my family name is Doghlass,” he admits.
Doghlass
decided to take matters into his own hands and declare to people that they will
not be believing his name as he introduces himself. However, this has brought
him a lot of advantages. Doghlass affirms, “People tend to remember me more
because of my name. It will always ring a bell.”
With
everything happening around, all the work load, the convincing, the feeling of
being homesick, it is always refreshing to know that one has a caring family
back home. This two-way communication between children and parents is crucial
in a person’s everyday life. It gives both parties a kind of energy to keep on
going and look forward to the meeting point. Doghlass recalls, “Technology is
my best friend in such situations. It takes two seconds to send a message to
let my family know that I am okay.”
Passing
on the Torch
“If I
want to give advice to the younger generation, I would say do not set your
expectations too high. Go in with zero expectations and build yourselves from
there”, emphasizes Doghlass. With high expectations, people expect more of each
other and set certain standards to be achieved. Anything less would be
perceived as a low achievement. Senior managements or even one’s entourage
would be disappointed.
Entering his 3rd year working in the city of Dubai, Doghlass is mastering the
patience and understanding skill. Work problems and bad days happen, it is up
to the person to know how to react and handle such situations in the utmost
professional way.
Professionalism
is crucial to the workforce colleagues and bosses. “I was taught how to deal
with sensible work obstacles by my close family members through their own
unique humble experience,” he reveals. “I solve problems that I encounter with
a mix of both my own thinking and the advice he has given me”.
Doghlass says, “My advice to aspiring youngsters is start somewhere. No matter how little it is, you will grow and you will achieve. Do not stop studying and always try to get certifications from good places”.”
End of the interview published “Diaryforyourstory“.
To conclude this post, here is a song for you, Michael & Rania :). Bambi loves you and wishes you all the best! Be safe, have fun.
Below is a quick translation of this thoughtful text:
“There was an American demonstration in Montreal this Sunday.
Why this expression? Because pretty much all of the visible signs were in English.
I see two possible explanations for this.
English
Either the demonstrators take Québec for the United States, and therefore they identify with the United States to the point of adopting its language.
Either they know they are in Québec (and they claim that the American problems are also ours), but they don’t care about its language and its culture and, thus, show a great contempt for its identity. Let’s call this a linguistic colonialism disguised as anti-racism.
We must come down to earth.
We are all overwhelmed by the assassination of George Floyd in Minnesota. And no one will dispute the persistence of racism in the United States.
But whatever activists may say, involuntarily revealing their historic lack of culture, one cannot confuse Québec and the United States.
Obviously, there are racist individuals here as elsewhere, and that, in all communities. They are condemnable. Racism is abject.
But the Québec society has not been structured around racial categories. It has not institutionalized racism as a principle of social organization. There is no structural or systemic racism here, as long as we do not tamper with the meaning of words. This pseudo-sociological theory is wobbly.
Besides, the people of Québec were dominated at home. They did not have the means to discriminate against many people. We forget it today because we present them as “white” people.
Nation
A nation is not a race. A white cannot become a black, a black cannot become a white. Race is a suffocating identity.
But you can come from anywhere, have any skin colour, and become a Québecer, as long as you claim and assume this identity.
It is this definition of ourselves that we must hold on to.”
She just feels the urge to express that she is fed up
of hearing Mr. Trudeau and his peers, lecturing us, on how much we are systematically
racist as a country.
One, enough virtue signalling; Two, for once, show
some genuine compassion for your neighbouring country (not once we heard words
about that). Please stop saying nonsense to please we do not know whom or to show
us how much of good boys you are, better than folks south of our borders.
For God’s sake, do not import neither Somalia nor the
United States to Canada.
Bambi has never heard of Mr. Ammar who is cited in the
CBC before (even if he is of Lebanese origins too). He may have a point: Mr. Hussen
does not make much sense (hence her title). She will add, neither Mr. Trudeau,
with all due respect to both and to our actual government.
As for Mr. Trudeau’s “collection of racial data at Statistics Canada to fight against discrimination”, Bambi always omits those questions on purpose, as they get on her nerves. Sometimes, she answers whatever, choosing “other”. She refuses to be categorized in any group like that. She refuses that any of these groups would become a sort of protected group of “deer of Middle Eastern origins” or “deer who have ancestors of this religious background or that” or “deer of this colour or that”. She thinks that merit should be our only measure of excellence and respect to all a primary value.
Stated differently, Bambi’s background is no one’s business. She is against racism to anyone, period. Racism does not have any particular colour or religion or orientation or whatever. She is against torture and brutality to anyone.
Bambi is a Canadian deer, period. Canada is our country
all of us. Canada and the Canadian rule of law should be above us all equally,
period. Please do not Lebanonize Canada ☹.
In other terms, “all” lives matter, not just “deer
lives”.
From this article from a media from Québec (not even
in NB), Bambi learned that the clinic of the irresponsible physician in
question is on “Village Avenue” in Campbellton.
From a quick read of the media, we can learn that this
physician seemed to have lied to the authorities about his travel reason. Upon his
return from Québec, he did not respect a rule ALL the citizens are supposed to
respect upon returning from “essential” travels (14 days of self-isolation). This
physician completely forgot that, as a health professional, he should know all
this better than the rest of us. For whatever reason, he did not. Perhaps he
was too eager to return to his service. Perhaps he thought himself above the
virus (and the rules).
From the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick’s public website, when we search, we can find the following table:
If the table above is up-to-date and the physician is truly a “he”, as it has been referred to him in the media, he would be one of the following: Dr. Ngola Monzinga, Dr. Ahmad Khatib, or Dr. Fuzesi Gabor. If the physician is a female, the only name seems to be Dr. Catherine Benoit.
Bambi was curious to find
the name, hoping secretly the physician would not be of her same origins.
Luckily, he isn’t (even if he would be the one with the Arabic name).
NB has been doing an
outstanding job in the pandemic from Day 1 (if not, Day zero!). It is still doing
great now, thank you, except perhaps for the following: Too much political
correctness (especially in pandemic times) can literally kill.
As far as the nursing home that is infected is concerned, Bambi hopes they will learn from the experience of Québec in dealing with the patients (transporting the so-called “red” patients (those infected) elsewhere, which seems to have been done, bravo. In addition to this, the “orange” residents (those who could be infected) must not get in contact with the “green” ones (those clearly tested negative). Perhaps this is easier to implement in this nursing home due to is architecture.
People have all the right to be upset and to express their anger, whether in person or on social media. Mind you, Bambi is not on the latter but, from the article above, she understood that people may have circulated a picture of the physician and expressed their frustration. It is normal of municipal politicians to call for calm and remind people of the service of this physician to the community. However, people need to vent in life AND to share information that may have not been shared in the media or the authorities. Why making them feel guilty/badly for doing so?
We can also argue that we
should perhaps consider providing the name of the physician for the sake of the
other ones (his colleagues whose behaviour did not include the silly act).
Yes, the health authorities
will thoroughly help trace the contact of the physicians over two weeks. However,
wouldn’t it make more sense to make the information fully public, so no one may
be forgotten by inadvertence?
It is Bambi’s hope that
everyone will be safe at the end of this story, including the (suspended) physician
and his daughter, May this outbreak be successfully contained as much as
possible.
Best wishes to Restigouche/Campbellton
and all of NB!
It does tell you something about the TOXIC culture of
the police division/station in question.
It is sad to witness once again the deep racial problems
in the otherwise beautiful country of our neighbours, the Unites States.
This police officer may have been one individual cruelly/criminally
acting like that until the death of his client during his arrest BUT what about
his colleagues, at least those who were with him at the time?
Why didn’t they denounce this brutality (criminal/racial abuse of power)?
Rest in peace, Mr. George Floyd… Bambi can only
imagine one drop of the sorrow/anger of your loved ones.
May peace and respect prevail in this city.
May love, unity, and common sense triumph over
injustice, violence, and hatred— not just in Minneapolis but in the rest of America…
and in the world.
No, it was neither due to an illness nor to an accident.
Her own dad killed her… during her sleep AND in the most horrible way possible (i.e., decapitated, can you imagine?!).
It seems that she ran away from home with a man 21
years older than her (boyfriend?).
O course, any dad (or mom) would worry about his daughter dating a man more than twice her age… But, make no mistake, this is not the issue here.
The main issue is a murder of a young girl disguised in
a tribal cultural tradition.
As explained in the following BBC article, the reasons
may be refusing “to enter into an arranged marriage”, being “the victim of a
sexual assault or rape” or having “sexual relations outside marriage, even if
only alleged”. However, “killings can be carried out for more trivial reasons,
like dressing in a way deemed inappropriate or displaying behaviour seen as
disobedient.”:
How can someone cruelly and coldly kill one’s own daughter because she is perceived as having brought dishonour/shame to her family?
Why would a so-called honour of one’s family be valued more than loving or forgiving one’s daughter (for real, perceived, or suspected undesired behaviours)?
It is hard to imagine. It is shocking to read about
every time.
Although honour killing is more cultural than
religious, religion can act as a carrying vehicle for it.
Indeed, as per the BBC article cited above, “Iran’s Islamic penal code reduces punitive measures for fathers and other family members who are convicted of murder or physically harming children in domestic violence or ‘honour killings’. If a man is found guilty of murdering his daughter in Iran, the punishment is between three and 10 years in prison, rather than the normal death sentence or payment of diyeh (blood money) for murder cases.”
Honour killing may have occurred in Ancient Rome, of course in a different form. As described in Bambi’s earlier post, it keeps occurring in some Arab (e.g., Jordan, Palestine) or Muslim countries (e.g., Iran, Bangladesh, Pakistan) as well as in India, Ecuador, Brazil. Mind you, it has occured elsewhere (e.g., Canada, France, the UK…).
As long as societies remain patriarchal (for real/to the extreme, like in many of the countries cited above), as long as punishment of the crime is minimal, and educational programs are lacking, we will hear about a future Romina and another Israa.
Bambi will always strongly condemn this violence against girls/women… and she will keep dreaming to live long enough to see an end to such tribal criminal practices!
Here is Mayor Tory’s letter from his own Tweeter account :)):
Bambi does know this Mayor. He may be competent but he seems to want to be into equity and inclusiveness (to all groups/genders, etc.) so much that he totally forgot about biology… and women (as per the article above, using the term “people who menstruate”).
With all due respect, he sounds absurd (if not silly), even he may have intended to be welcoming to all whilst being keen about menstrual hygiene.
Mind you, why should we have a day for every single matter in life OR every single group, whether the latter considers itself “a marginalized community” or not?
Why do we always have to think in terms of victimhood? What about pride/dignity in life? What about joy or free will, etc.?
Most importantly, what about biology?! Once again, we seem to deny it when we push our illuminated ideas a bit too much.
In the end, declaring a day for this or that will become like Saint days; there is one for each to the point that it is hard to remember all of them, even if we know they are meant to be good folks (to whom some pray for protection or inspiration). In addition to these days, we also have an All Saints Day on November 1st. Perhaps not famous in North America as much as Halloween (the night before). It is still a big holiday in Europe and in Lebanon.
Talking about this day, does it mean we can take it off work to either celebrate it or to take care of oneself because of it? Or would that count now into the 10 paid days of sickness during the pandemic :)? If you think Bambi is exaggerating, Lebanon still has such a day off, if she is not mistaken.
Anyhow, menstruation day or not, Bambi prefers to think of May 28 as the Wedding Anniversary of her parents and the birthday of Ben, a friend who turned 2 today :)!
To conclude this post, below you can find an earlier post from Bambi on Mayor Valérie Plante:
May 28 is the wedding anniversary of Bambi’ parents (#
54).
How can she go to bed without highlighting this day?!
Congrats/”Mabrouk”! Bless your inspiring love.
Thank you for having shown Bambi (and her sisters) the
greatest lesson in life: Love.
A love built on respect and trust. First comes the respect.
The trust naturally follows.
Love that is pure.
Love that is flexible to go through discovery,
passion, and friendship.
A lasting love to go through life stages and hardships,
sometimes with humour.
Love that is solid to survive losses, wars, and
pandemics.
Love that is human and simply simple. Yes, with ups
and downs but also with wisdom and freedom. After all, love is a constant re-choice…
Your love has been fruitful with children and grandchildren (despite any loss, along the way).
You always chose to move forward in life. You gave your
children roots and wings. For this, Bambi will forever be grateful.
To end on a lighter note now, Bambi will never forget two moments from her trips, visiting you:
The first moment took place a few years ago. Bambi must
have been jet-lagged and using her time to work on a project of some sort. Her
dad was still awake, editing a family video. In doing so, he must have wanted to
chose pictures for his artistic creation. At one point, Bambi saw him looking
at her mom’s picture for a long time. He then took his head out of his screen
to tell her: “Look at your mom Bambi… how beautiful she is!“. Indeed,
her mom is a very beautiful woman and it is cute how her dad has remained a man
in love after all these years ?.
The second memory is an older one. Bambi was in her
early twenties. She recalls asking her mom on their wedding anniversary: “Mom,
what is the secret of your long union, tell me?” Very wisely, her mom
said something like: “Love is beautiful at all stages but I guess the key
is to accept that it will change with time… Perhaps less of a passion and more
of a deeper bond, like a life friend“. Well, Bambi must have been quite
silly back then (let’s blame it on her young age ?)
as she replied something like “well this is nice…but if this it, I
refuse to accept it!“.
Well, after 17 years in love with her spouse, she is
convinced that her mom is one of the wisest women she has met in her life!
To conclude this post, Bambi would like to offer you two songs: The first is one of the most beautiful love songs of all times and maybe languages (mom, you can guess it…). It is: “Ne me quitte pas” (of Mr. Jacques Brel) interpreted by Ms. Hiba Tawagi at a concert in Byblos, Lebanon (2015). Finally, the second song is lighter. It is also by Hiba Tawagi, “Les moulins de mon coeur” but in Arabic.
Thank you, mom and dad, for being whom you are and for raising us the way you did. Bambi loves you (are you surprised to hear it ??) Happy wedding anniversary!
Before translating this article, one must remember
that any high amount of money is meaningless without purchasing power, as the citizens
of Lebanon have been learning way before the start of the covid-19 pandemic.
Of course, it is both nice and necessary to have a helping hand from the state… However, all this money is borrowed, and we will have to pay for it in the future (us or likely the future generations of Canadians).
Keeping this in mind, here is Mr. Dumont’s interesting
article published today in the Journal de Montréal:
“Justin
Trudeau’s popularity suffered at the start of the coronavirus crisis. He has
been accused of overly lax decisions in border management and thequarantine
of travelers.
Things have
changed. Today, Justin Trudeau’s popularity is on a solid upward trend, in
almost all parts of Canada.
In Québec, the recovery was particularly spectacular. This is where the grumbling against border management was heard most harshly. The rise of Mr. Trudeau and his party is therefore particularly remarkable.
The leader
If an election were held today, one might think that Justin Trudeau would win the most seats in Québec. And he would win a majority government across Canada.
Let’s do an exercise. Let us draw in our heads the popularity curve of Mr. Trudeau for three months. And let’s draw the curve of the billions spent for the same period. Sorry, tens of billions spent.
It’s still striking to see how these two curves would go together in perfect harmony. As if at the rate of these daily press briefings during which billions in aid were announced, the Prime Minister regained the hearts of voters.
No one will deny that government support was necessary. Emergency aid was needed so that households who lost their income could pay for groceries and rent. Lifebuoys were needed to prevent restaurants, shops, and other businesses from sinking.
So easy
That said, there is a growing impression over the weeks that Mr. Trudeau gives a lot of money, and quite easily. So easily that the incentive to go to work has gone out of the window. The CERB [Canada Emergency Response Benefit] for students is also criticized by small and medium businesses, farmers, municipalities, in short by all those who would like to hire students.
Throwing 100% borrowed money wholeheartedly, to the point of demotivating people to go to work, is not a great recipe. Justin Trudeau is severely criticized in economic circles for this.
But on the political level? To distribute money to everyone with very few conditions and restrictions. Did you think it no longer works? This is not what the pollsters seem to be measuring in the field.
A deficit of two hundred billion, two hundred and fifty? This could cool voters. But it looks like a deficit, even out of proportion, becomes less horrible if you have received checks yourself. This is the beauty of this money distributions signed by Justin Trudeau: there are not many forgotten.
This week, the Liberal Prime Minister killed two birds with one stone. He announced another generous piece of good news: ten days of paid leave for all! And at the same time, it is cutting the grass under the feet of the NDP [New Democratic Party], which was promoting this idea.
How much does it cost? Who pays? Secondary questions. Because politically… it will pay off!”
