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.
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.
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.
Bambi had been very busy lately and has been silent for a few days. She missed both writing and communicating with you, dear readers.
During her silence, many major events took place, both domestically and worldwide.
As she is sleepy right now, she will not dive into any serious event, especially that she has nothing to say about any of them.
This being said, and if she may, she will share a beautiful international French love song, which was performed a week ago in Lebanon (i.e., Casino du Liban). Bravo to Ms. Jana Salameh, Ms. Manel Mallat, Mr. Bruno Tabbal, and Mr. Marc Reaidy Baz. Same for Ms. Yasmina Sabbah (Conductor), Mr. Eddy Jazra (Mixing and Mastering), Mr. Marc Achkouty (Costume), and all the musicians. Finally, thanks to the “Takreem Foundation” by Mr. Ricardo Karam for its most recent event, which was entitled Shining Stars of Hope (https://shorturl.at/U8oxC).
As it is already January 9 at her end, Bambi will conclude this post by offering the song to her dear cousin and cousin-in-law, Tony and Rania ❤️ while wishing Tony a wonderful birthday! Long live love with all its hymns. Long live hope. Long live beloved cousins :)!
Mr. Julien Poulin’s picture was taken from the Movie Database website. May his memory be eternal
Today, Québec, Canada, and the world lost a GREAT actor.
CTV News- Montreal reminded us that he appeared in about 100 movies (https://shorturl.at/7IZOJ). Of course, his most famous role was that of the funny Elvis Gratton in “Elvis Gratton”, which was directed by the highly talented (and late) Mr. Pierre Falardeau.
Bambi appreciated Mr. Poulin’s talent when she used to watch TV (the last time was over 3 or 4 years ago). In an older post honouring New Brunswick’s late yet great Ms. Viola Léger (shown below), she introduced her readers to the hilarious Elvis Gratton.
Here he is again as her way of paying tribute to Mr. Julien Poulin. The YouTube scene below lasts only 0.45 minute. In it, the cute Elvis Gratton tries to explain what is a “Canadian français” or a “Québécois” to a European tourist on an airplane. It is very complicated :).
Bambi sends her heart to your family, Mr. Poulin. As for you, she will say: “Merci Mounsieur pour votre oeuvre“! Yes, many thanks for your impressive career AND immense talent! Québec (+ Canada) would have surely not been the same without you…
On the doomed August 4, 2020, 2,500 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded in the port of Beirut, capital of Bambi’s birth country.
As a reminder, this largest non-nuclear blast in history (https://shorturl.at/E9X1u) resulted in 220+ deaths, 7500 injuries (some of whom are still in the coma, imagine), 800 regular floor admissions as well as 130 intensive care unit admissions, 300, 000 homeless people at once, 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. To all this, one must add the collective trauma followed by migration to countries around the world, including Canada.
Thank Goodness, Bambi’s parents survived miraculously, despite the heavy destruction in their apartment and store. Her childhood friend was badly injured and now finally healed (thank God). Her brother-in-law and her niece were also injured. Sadly, as shared above, many residents of Beirut were not as lucky. Some of them were firefighters (the very first victims), police or internal forces, healthcare providers, patients, seniors, mothers, fathers, young adults, teenagers, and toddlers or infants. May their memory be eternal.
Unsurprisingly, there is still no justice for the Beirut port surreal explosion, despite the heroic courage of Judge Tarek Bitar. Of note, Bambi honoured him in a few older posts. She did the same with regard to the legendary tenacity of the families of the victims.
Bearing the above in mind, Bambi keeps on standing in full solidarity with these families. She thanks An Nahar for sharing pictures of their monthly silent, and likely smaller, demonstration in front of the Lebanese Emigrant statue (https://shorturl.at/pb4CR). She selected one of these pictures to share it with you, dear readers. It is her way of supporting these families while sending her love to the Lebanese capital at the start of 2025.
May the beautiful yet tired Beirut FINALLY see brighter days filled with increased safety, a sense of justice, peace of mind, love, and prosperity for all.
In Canada, as travellers, we fly in the great hands of our most highly talented pilots who transport us in the middle of snow storms or other extreme weather conditions.
What about the pilots of Lebanon who are officially trained to fly in Nature’s four seasons, but not in a human-made season of fire and blood. How did they manage to keep focusing on their professional tasks, despite fear?
Related to the above questions, “last” year (on November 14, 2024), Bambi shared a brief video featuring the courage of the Lebanese Middle East Airline‘s pilots during war. They kept operating, flying civilians in and out Beirut during the entire last Hezbollah-Israel war.
Today, we are lucky to hear directly a pilot telling us about her work experience (in English and sub-title in both English and French). Thanks again L’Orient Le Jour (OLJ) for another uplifting podcast on courage.
The OLJ YouTube channel describes its new podcast as follows (thanks to Mr. Google Translate for his assistance even during the holidays :). “In this new episode of our podcast “I’m telling you about Beirut”, we interviewed a pilot from the Middle East Airline who continued to ensure air connections between Beirut and abroad during the war. Dubai, Paris, Larnaca,… while Lebanon was undergoing one of the worst moments in its history, her back and fourths, steeped in the anguish of not being able to return to her country, tell another vision of the catastrophe. From the first day of the bombings on Beirut, which she discovered when she had to land at the international airport to the ceasefire, including especially her long evening layovers in foreign airports. “Will we be alive to make another flight tomorrow?” she asked herself in Beirut. Here is the poignant testimony of a Lebanese pilot who is more in love with her country than ever“.
May the New Year bring increased stability to Lebanon. May peace finally know how to prevail, and be sustained, in Bambi’s birth country and its entire neighbourhood.
Regardless of what you have been going through lately, or what is on your mind while reading this post, may your journey toward, and into, 2025 be filled with self-care. Indeed, this is Bambi’s wish for each one of you from the bottom of her heart.
This wish is inspired by the spirit of tenderness in Grégoire’s uplifting French song, “Je te souhaite une bonne année” [I wish you a Happy New Year]. If you wish to read an English translation of the lyrics, taken from YouTube, please see the text below.
Happy 2025, dear readers of this blog!
“I wish you a Happy New Year, filled with love, filled with dreams
And above all with health, and endless tenderness
I wish you to be happy and if you are, to stay that way
I wish you all the best that your heart can imagine
I wish you success in achieving the impossible
Yes, you can do it because nothing, no, is inaccessible
I wish you to realize how lucky we are to be there, to tell you that at the end, we complain a little too much sometimes
I wish you a Happy New Year, filled with love, filled with dreams
And above all with health, and endless tenderness
I wish you friendship, affection and gentleness
Yes, I wish you to share because together, everything is better
I wish you indulgence for those who see the glass half empty, for those who do have the luck to have hope in the pit of their belly
I wish you a mild winter, a spring full of promises, a careless summer and an autumn tinged with joy
I wish you a Happy New Year, filled with love, filled with dreams
And above all with health, and endless tenderness
I wish you compassion for all those who harm you
because one day, yes, they will understand that they hurt themselves
I wish you to forgive and to avoid all the anger, of those who only know how to cast their misfortune on the whole earth
I wish you lightness to tell you that life is beautiful, to no longer cling to the past, to its never ending complaint
I wish you a Happy New Year, filled with love, filled with dreams
And above all with health, and endless tenderness
I wish you magic in all your projects, to see that above the rain, the sun continues to shine
I wish you to know that by being negative, you never get to see the bright side, the positive
I wish you to never procrastinate until later, never to realize, that now, it is too late
I wish you a Happy New Year, filled with love, filled with dreams
And above all with health, and endless tenderness…“
Yes, “peace” like the one he had dared to envision for the Middle East and for the world.
May his family members and his staff at the Carter Center (https://shorturl.at/Gom9t) find comfort and inner peace. May his beautiful legacy continue to offer a light of hope in our darkened world.
Of note, on the front page of the Carter’s center, we can see a lovely picture of Mr. and Ms. Carter with the following inspiring words: “We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes — and we must.” Jimmy Carter, Nobel Lecture.
Some of you, dear readers, might consider Mr. Carter a romantic dreamer. Some might say: oh well, an inept President or even an outstanding one, but that was it. Yet others may find his politics or legacy inspiring. Of course, some may disagree with his vision of peace. They may even dislike not only his ideas, but his character or his country too.
As far as Bambi is concerned, she does not know much about Mr. Carter’s internal politics in his own country. Plus, perhaps his external politics did not work that well in the end. YET, she has the utmost respect, along with deep gratitude, for him for having believed in AND worked for peace until age 100.
May peace and love fill our hearts. When we truly love, we compromise. May the latter practice, and its resulting peace as an outcome, prevail in our meaningful relationships, domestically, in the Middle East, and around the entire world.
The above being said, and if she may now, Bambi will end this tribute by sharing with you an email that she allowed herself to send to Mr. Jimmy Carter, via his centre, on August 20, 2015. She will also share the centre’s thoughtful reply in his name. The email was entitled “A Get Well Message to President Carter“.
“Hello Madam/Sir: I would be very grateful if you can share my note below with President Carter, please. I do not expect any response but it is very important for me to be able to share this with him. Thank you very much. Just FYI (as your website seemed to ask for): My mailing address is: Rima Azar… etc.”
Dear President Carter:
Thank you Mr. Carter. More than ever, the dark bloody Middle East that I originally come from, and the whole world (with its tragic conflicts here and there) need a peace visionary like you. Rare are the men and women in Politics who know how to inspire us, whether domestically or internationally. You are one of these rare public figures. Thank you for all your efforts, for the inspiration, and for the hope. Please keep up the great work– you, your staff, and mentees/students! One day, diplomacy and common sense will be fruitful. One day, peace will know how to prevail. For the time being, and from the bottom of my heart, I pray for your health and inner peace during your cancer journey. You take good care, please.
Rima Azar, Sackville, NB, Canada.
“On behalf of the Carter’s, and their staff here at The Carter Center we would like to thank you so much for your well-wishes. They mean a great deal and are sincerely appreciated.
