the power of words

Last night, I served three elderly Egyptian men. They were discussing Lebanon. Their disgust for the US government continued support on Israel weren't surprising. In our kitchen, between lunch and dinner rush, one of the owners who is also our chef, watches the continued coverage on the Middle East. At night, after our last guest leaves, the owners and their friends gather in the patio to unwind, bounce ideas from each other, and lately, talk about the region close to their home country.

Three years ago, I went on holidays with a woman I barely knew to the islands of Cebu and Bohol. During this trip, my ignorance on the Middle East issues became apparent. She tried to convince me that Israel's actions are just form of retaliations against "terrorists." Even with my ignorance, I couldn't accept what she was saying, because she lacked analytical perspective. Since then, I've tried to inform myself regarding issues outside my little bubble. I came across this documentary awhile back. It helped me understand why the Palestinians need the world to know the circumstances they live in.

the world makes no sense

The situation in Lebanon and the US government response to this crisis goes far beyond tragic. It is ridiculous to condemn a country's government which has no control over Hezbollah. Even more preposterous, is the US support on Israel. Israel justifies its current aggression on Lebanese and their territorial expansion on Palestinian land, as a form of eradicating terrorists. No one seems to ask why Hezbollah is created in 1982, or the events which led to the capture of the two Israeli soldiers. In our news, none of them seems to be important. Neither, the hundreds of dead Lebanese, they are not reasons enough for a ceasefire.

My favorite uncle got tired of cutting his toe nails, so one day he pulled them all out with pliers. Everyone asked him why? He said something in the line of fixing the body’s inadequacies to stay clean. He was a rice farmer who spent three months of the year in knee deep muddy water, so everyone bought his story. Words of his practicality spread in the neighbourhood. People even started to come for advice. Years later, I learned from my mother that he pulled his toe nails as an act of emptying his heart. He wanted to remember his hurt after his heart had healed.

Yay! more flowers

library visits and women with agendas

People who frequent public libraries have too much time on their hands. That’s where I was this afternoon, at Main and Broadway’s branch, reading trashy magazines, but only because I had no choice. An old man was hording the recent copies of Harpers and Adbusters on his lap while reading a Gardening magazine. I thought of snatching them but the idea of causing him to have a heart attack kept me on my vinyl duck taped blue chair. I made eye contact several times, hoping to start a conversation, wishing him a younger man. It was his fault, he reduced me to reading Bridal magazines, which is worse than trashy magazines; the whole time I was a hairstylist, I never read a single article, I scanned them for updos and nothing more.

I was at a party recently and I realized how annoying women could be about marriage. I felt bad for one particular man. To me it’s pointless to badger a boyfriend to propose or set a deadline for marriage. What’s important is that you couldn’t live peacefully without him, the way he's comforted by waking up with you in the morning, the glitter in his eyes when he first sees you after being apart less than a week, that he makes you feel you’re the most beautiful woman. Isn’t that more important than a ring or a white gown? That night, I felt like whispering to one of the guys, “Run brother! Not all women are in love with the packaged Snow White wedding myth."