Category: Sackville’s Memorial park

Yesterday was a day off in many Canadian provinces for different reasons.

In the Atlantic Canadian province of New Brunswick, we had a great reason to celebrate since it was NB Day!

This post is simply meant to share with you the picture of a tree Bambi has fallen in love with since she moved to South-Eastern NB sixteen years ago. She took this undated picture herself at the Fort Beauséjour/Fort Cumberland National Historic site. This famous fort was “the scene of three acts of war between France and Great Britain, the deportation of the Acadians and the tearing apart of British North America“. (https://shorturl.at/0PVHg).

As you can see/guess, the area of the Chignecto isthmus where the fort is located (at the border of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) is almost always quite windy, even in the summer and on warmer days. Indeed, you can easily see the impact of the strong wind from how the tree is tilted.

Of note, the tree (no clue what type) moves Bambi’s heart each time she visits it because it teaches her a valuable lesson: how to survive by bending with the wind of life. Yes, being psychologically flexible, not stiff, is a marker of a good mental health, at all times and perhaps maybe even more so during conflicts or crises. This is what will allow us to be open for self-growth. Indeed and according to Dr. Rachel Goldman, “What psychological flexibility boils down to is staying in the present moment and being open to experiencing whatever thoughts or feelings may arise, and then take action that is aligned with our values” (https://shorturl.at/jAO6).

Of course, there are other beautiful trees, including birch trees, olive trees, fruit trees, Christmas trees, Palm trees, Cedars, and Pine trees. Bambi adores the latter, even if she has been allergic to them, at least during her childhood (or she rarely encounters them in North America).

What about you? What is your favourite tree in life and why? You may have a personal reason. Maybe a good memory, maybe a tree to symbolize life at birth or the memory of a loved one following his/her death? Who knows? Maybe you study trees or you may have cultural reasons to honour them? Mind you, you may also be someone who is not fond of trees. One is free to love nature or not, as long as we all know how to respect it.

To conclude this post on a musical note, Bambi will leave you with two songs. The first one is in French and she discovered it while preparing this post. It is by Mr. Julien Clerc and it is entitled “Sous mon arbre” [Under My Tree]. An English translation can be found at this link: https://shorturl.at/NtbEN. As for the second Lebanese-Arabic song, it is by Fairuz and performed below by Mr. George Nehme (yes, we established that he is the brother of Ms. Abeer Nehme, also a great singer). As she may have already shared, Bambi loves this melody about a girl playing on a tree because it reminds her of wonderful memories of a quick family reunion with cousins visiting or residing in Montreal. She misses them so much. Same for all her beloved cousins. May each one of them be safe and sound, especially those in Beirut… today more than ever given the worrisome news.

How can Bambi go to sleep without highlighting the fourth anniversary of the surrealistic Beirut port explosion that hit too close to home? Today, she thought of all those who lost their lives on this doomed day, including children and youth, and those who survived.

Of course, Bambi’s heart went to her dear childhood friend Maya who went through hell, over the years, because of a leg injury. Bambi also thought of her niece and brother-in-law who were injured as well as her (late) mom and dad who MIRACULOUSLY survived, despite the massive destruction of their apartment as well as the damage of their store.

Of note, the Beirut port human-made tragedy is one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts of the world and it is STILL without justice. Sadly, it resulted in 220+ deaths, 7500 injuries (some of whom are still in the coma), 800 regular floor admissions as well as 130 intensive care unit admissions (https://shorturl.at/E9X1u), 300, 000 instant homeless people, 150+ permanent disabilities, over 3/4 of massive destruction of Lebanon’s capital, total destruction of 4 hospitals, and US$15, 000, 000, 000 worth of damage. Of course, there is also collective trauma, which has dramatically impacted Beirutis. Many of whom migrated around the world, including Canada.

According to L’Orient Today (https://shorturl.at/iiXv6), “even today, the number of lives lost to the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion remains a matter of confusion. Is it 218, 220, 235, or even more? Three years have now passed since the tragedy, and no official figure has been provided by the authorities. As a precaution, the victims are often numbered at over 220. However, local associations and international NGOs like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch now agree on a more precise number: 235“.

Thanks to This is Beirut for the brief video shared below. Its content is in English and French (with English sub-titles). This video is followed by a beautiful part of a patriotic song performed by the talented Ms. Carla Chamoun.

Last but not least, Bambi continues to stand in full solidarity with the families of the victims, with Beirut, and with the courageous Judge Tarek Bitar!

On August 1, 1945, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) were placed under full authority of the Lebanese Government (https://tinyurl.com/bdeftb4t). Each year, this day is commemorated as the “Lebanese Army Day“.

Since Lebanon’s financial crash of August 17, 2019, the LAF’s soldiers have not been able to eat meat, as per an older post shown further below. Furthermore, to survive, LAF relies on financial as well as armoured vehicles donations from different countries, including France (https://t.ly/64NCb), the United States of America (https://tinyurl.com/5y2843ns), and most recently Qatar (https://tinyurl.com/42ctd3ty). For instance, in July 2024, the latter donated US$20 million to the army who distributed “equally” to its soldiers (https://tinyurl.com/42ctd3ty).

Most importantly, instead of being allowed to be deployed along the borders to protect them, like in respectable sovereign countries, it is the Hezbollah who has remained in charge of the Southern border with Israel without any respect for the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (https://t.ly/_lRI2). How is this fair for Lebanon?

On this August 1, 2024, may God know how to protect the Lebanese Republic (or what is left of it). Instead of danger, may peace prevail not just in this tiny country, but also in the entire region including all its neighbouring and non- neighbouring countries. Yes, ALL the children and innocent civilians deserve to live in safety and peace wherever their geographical distance from any border to any side of any country in the world.

Indeed, no one deserves to live in fear, be killed, injured, stuck under the rubble, “live” in the coma until death, be kidnapped, raped, and/or to be abused in any way. Enough of suffering, wars, and vicious cycles of revenge mindsets. Time for reason, diplomacy, healing, tolerance, and why not love in this bloody Middle East?

This being said, to conclude this post, Bambi sends her best wishes to each Lebanese soldier, hoping for safer and brighter days for his or her country, even if the imminent future is worrisome.

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Three years since Lebanon’s financial collapse

Today, Bambi received a beautiful Arabic song, which was kindly shared by her childhood friend Hala from out of Beirut. In turn, she would like to share it with you in this post. The discovered talented singer is called Ms. Nancy Hawa and her song about Palestine, her birth country, is entitled “Khodni A Baladi”. Ms Hawa’s song, which is shared below, is about love and nostalgia for her birth country.

For your convenience, and thanks to the assistance of Mr. Google Translate, you can find an English translation of this song’s lyrics following the YouTube video ( (lyrics and music: Dr. Qasim Younis; Mix master arrangement: Dawoud Ibrahim; Production: Dr. Qasim Younis (Awtari); Photography: Tamim Zoabi, Ahmed Qaddoura Ahmed Alawneh, Muhammad Manna. Muhannad Kabha Direction: Tamim Zoabi).

Of note, although the song is meant for the beloved Palestine, it could have easily been for any other country, whether nearby or not, that we love and feel homesick for.

Thanks Hala for making this post possible. As for your Ms. Hawa, please keep singing. Palestine as well as the Middle East, and the entire world, need the healing power of music!

“A few pictures and a little news from my country
A pile of sweet gifts wrapped in memories
Advice from my father, a prayer from my mother’s heart
And a handful of tenderness from my granny is worth as much as life

The colour of the sky in my country is different
My god, the sound of rain and even the air is different
People go and people come
And you remain, my country, in my heart as something else

Take me with you to my country
Let me walk between the neighbourhoods
Protect me from the estrangement of life and plant life in me
Let me grow up on its streets
And with the magic of its moon, I stay awake
I swear I won’t be late
Just take me with you

A look of hope, a look of shame
With the eyes of first love
A wedding ceremony that unites neighbours
A sweet coffee pot
The sound of a bell ringing
The joy of a child
Starting the first grade
The smell of the country in the first rain

The stars of the sky sending peace
Tree leaves, rose fragrance, pigeons
They mention people and talk to people
No words can do you justice, O country

Take me with you to my country
Take me back to the old days
Steal from me time and throw me to safety
Give me nostalgia from my country
Give me bread with oil and thyme
Truly I do not want more than this, but
Please take me with you

Take me with you to my country
Make me forget everything that has passed
If only once, I can see the country, and let the heart relax
Serve me figs from our land
And from our plain green almonds
I swear I won’t be late… Just take me with you”.

Four years following the surrealistic Beirut port explosion, the same players are still “playing” “war”. In contrast with today, the war game between Israel and the Hezbollah may have been more covert in 2020.

Bambi may be wrong, but it is her belief that the August 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion was non-intentional despite the criminal negligence of some (without intending to harm their fellow residents/themselves/city) and the preventive war of others (not knowing about the ammonium nitrate).

Indeed, almost everyone Bambi spoke with heard airplane sounds in Beirut on August 4, 2020. However, as a reminder, the international community remained silent about the Beirut port tragedy while both players seemed to have protected each other by NOT pointing fingers at each other. This is contrary to their usual and current practice of accusations. However, since October 7, 2023 the war in the Middle East has been totally explicit while being BOTH cruel and absurd.

Today, Bambi is speechless (https://t.ly/yCOGD). Thus, she will only borrow the beautiful lyrics of two songs related to Beirut while sending her aching heart to the families of the innocent injured and deceased Beirutis. May those who died rest in peace and may those suffering from injuries heal.

She does not know about you, but Bambi strongly rejects wars in the world, just like in the French and Arabic lyrics of the Beirut-hosted 2009 Francophonie Games song, entitled Biladi Ana [My Homeland], by Majida El Roumy and Yousso Ndour. Instead, she prefers to keep praying for peace not only in Beirut but also in the entire tiny Lebanon… AND in the whole region. May everyone be safe and sound. Enough of bloodshed and trauma!

Mr. Vincent van Gogh died on July, 29, 1890 at age 37 (https://shorturl.at/6gipU). May his memory be eternal. May his legacy always be cherished, as it is at the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam where one finds the world’s largest collection of his paintings and drawings (https://shorturl.at/EULzx). Today, 134 years following van Gogh’s death, this post wants to be a tiny tribute to this great artist using his own words (https://shorturl.at/vXpSo) as follows: “There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people”.

Building on van Gogh’s words above, we realize that for different reasons some people are great, and inspiring, artists when it comes to the creation of love while others literally suck. Furthermore, the artistically incompetent folks in relationships could be inept, just as many are unskilled in arts. Of course, a smaller minority of the so-called inept artists of love may be not only simply incompetent, but also highly toxic (some even potentially dangerous!).

Bearing the diversity in the expression of love OR non-love, Bambi will end this post by asking you the following questions: (1) What is love?; (2) What is the meaning of love in your own life?; (3a) How can you tell that you have been (truly) loved?; (3b) How do you know that you (truly) love? (4) What would the world be without love?; and last but not least (5) generally speaking, regardless of your own artistic skills, what would have the world been without arts? Please feel free to share your comments on this blog or, more privately, if you prefer.

Twelve youth died in a soccer field in Majdel Shams in the Golan Heights. This recent tragedy could (https://t.ly/WgA14) or could not spark a wider war between Lebanon and the Hezbollah.

Regardless of the development on the ground, may the souls of these beautiful young children and teens be well received in heaven. May God (yes the same G-D or Allah) of love and mercy know how to comfort their families.

If Bambi may add, she cannot help not to share that this Israeli-controlled village, where the tragedy happened and that she has never visited reminded her of the Syrian Bride movie of Mr. Eran Riklis. If she recalls well, she had the pleasure to watch the latter on an Air Canada International Flight in 2004. If she is not mistaken, the story took place in the same village of Majdel Shams. However, in the movie, there was joy and hope of love. Now, there is deep sorrow and fear of war.

Of note, both the movie and today’s reality show us the endless absurdity of the situation of the Middle East. Indeed, “the story” of the movie “deals with a Druze wedding and the troubles the politically unresolved situation creates for the personal lives of the people in and from the village. The film’s plot looks at the Arab-Israeli conflict through the story of a family divided by political borders and how their lives are fractured by the region’s harsh political realities”. (https://t.ly/3_VIe).

There is nothing that could be said, and even felt, when we hear about the continuous tragedies of wars and armed conflicts. Indeed, less than two weeks ago, in Warsaw, Bambi and her spouse bumped into a senior Ukrainian woman with whom they briefly chatted on the sidewalk where she was working for a restaurant. This lady broke their hearts when she started crying while talking about war. Bambi tapped her shoulder and promised her to pray for her family and friends. When they visited a nearby beautiful old church to act on the promise, Bambi and her spouse were deeply touched to read about the history of this place: during World War II, there had been a massacre in this place of worship and many lives were lost.

Enough of wars and absurd violence. May diplomacy and reason know how to prevail again. May the light of healing, love, sustainable safety, and peace find their ways not only to Majdel Shams, but also to Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel, and the entire Middle East as well as to the world, including Ukraine and other places of armed conflicts.

Have you ever looked for extra ways to make yourself smile or laugh when you are in pain? It is called distraction and this is what Bambi is doing through this post.

Distraction a coping mechanism meant to relieve pain by focusing our mind on something else. This being said, Bambi’s pain stems from an injury to two fingers due to an unfortunate window accident, which happened to her yesterday afternoon when heavy rain started suddenly. If she may, she would like to use this incident as a free teaching moment for all of us, including you and the future version of herself: please be careful when closing (or opening) house windows, especially older ones, because they can fall on your hands.

Enough of pain now, time to laugh instead! if you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that Bambi recently became a fan of Mr. Rudy Ayoub [hello and thanks to Fred :)]. Well, this post is meant to share two of Rudy’s recent short videos. The first one is the most recent and it is entitled “Police in 2024″. It is about an interaction among a police officer, a thief, and Rudy. The second short video is entitled “What Happens in Heaven“. Remember, all the characters are usually played by Rudy himself, including his good friend Clark, his highly narcissistic dad, and what could be an angel in heaven.

To conclude this post, Bambi hopes that, if Louis is reading this post until now, he will take the time to listen to the second video until its very end. It seems to be tailored for him [OK for her too with regard to the specific product in question :)]. Last but not least, it is Bambi’s wish that you will all have a wonderful weekend. May it be pain- and theft-free while being filled with safety and fun, regardless of what the latter means to you personally: rest or work that needs to be done, a good laugh (alone or with others), and lots of smiles, whether to the sunshine or to heavy rain through a safely open or closed window.

—

Older posts featuring Mr. Rudy Ayoub:

Time to laugh with Mr. Rudy Ayoub!

Mr. Rudy Ayoub: how about some lightness and laughter with him?

Did you know that today happens to be the “National Aunt and Uncle’s Day” (https://shorturl.at/2EeoS)? For many, aunts and uncles are like second mothers and fathers. For some, they may act like Godmothers or Godfathers, especially for those of a Christian background.

Who knows? Maybe you are an official aunt or uncle to beloved, little or older, ones yourself? Maybe you love your friends’ or neighbours’ kids like your nephews and nieces; with or without being an aunt or an uncle in the strict sense of the word? After all, there is a reason that, in some cultures like the Indian or Lebanese ones, we call such close people Aunty (or Auntie) or Uncly (or Uncley).

Bearing the above in mind, Bambi will celebrate the so-called “National Aunt and Uncle’s Day” by introducing you to her late, and true Aunty, Nadia (or “Amto” Nadia, in Lebanese-Arabic since she is her dad’s sister). Nadia happened to also have been her Godmother. Indeed, she played this significant role for MANY kids of the Azar family.

Nadia devoted her life to not only loving her family or origin and spouse, but also spreading love around her until her last breath. In all the transitions of life, in times of wars and peace, Nadia was present for others: before and at birth to baptism, through childhood to adulthood, from graduations to weddings, to funerals, and in moments of grief. She opened her house to senior relatives and offered them the most generous quality of life at the end of their own journey of life. She received friends in need and accompanied them in their sickness until their last breath. She loved all the children, whether in the family or not, like her own.

Yes, all the above describes Nadia who was solid like a cedar and flexible like water. Above all, Nadia’s heart was made of gold. If you do not believe Bambi yet in her description of her aunt, she will now share a moving story from the summer of 2006.

Indeed, on July 13, 2006, a sudden war broke between Israel and Hezbollah. On this precise day, Bambi was giving a talk at a psychiatric conference in Istanbul and her parents were supposed to come to join her and her spouse from Beirut. Sadly, they could not because their bombarded airport closed unexpectedly. Over several weeks, Bambi who was worried about the Middle East searched the internet for daily news. This is how, on July 24, 2006, she unexpectedly came across a BBC article by Mr. Martin Patience, which was entitled “Lebanese open up homes for refugees” (https://shorturl.at/zq0qS).

Of note, Mr. Patience’s entire article reported a heart-moving interview with 70-year-old Aunt Nadia who “hosted” in her rather small apartment in Beirut, “four mothers and their nine children who have fled the south of the country” (https://shorturl.at/zq0qS). As stated in this article, although Nadia and these families shared their citizenship, they were not of the same religion. That was not surprising to Bambi since Nadia couldn’t care less about religion or anything else. What simply mattered to her the most in life was humanity.

If the above story is not one related to love, humanity, and generosity, what is it then? May Ms. Nadia Azar’s memory be eternal. With her aunt’s uplifting story, Bambi hopes that peace and love will fill all the hearts. May safety, healing, and peace finally prevail not just in Southern Lebanon, but across the country and in the entire Middle East.