Blog
October 20, 2023
A well-written article about the indifference of the world to a current catastrophe. https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/armenia-azerbaijan-israel-gaza-rcna121101
October 12, 2023
I read and read and read about what's going on in my native country. How could Azerbaijan get away with what it has done? One thing gives me comfort--I believe in the existence of hell for evil souls.
This article was in OpenDemocracy today. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan-attacks-evacuation/
This was in Time Magazine. https://time.com/6322574/cultural-genocide-armenia-nagorno-karabakh-essay/
October 5, 2023
This was in Newsweek today, October 5, 2023. It is a short article. https://www.newsweek.com/western-inaction-nagorno-karabakh-it-impotence-indifference-opinion-1832393
My grandparents were survivors of The Genocide. The horrors they had gone through are unimaginable. I have translated the stories of many survivors while I was working for the Armenian Assembly of America in my younger years (a project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities). I wore sunglasses to hide my swollen eyes. This link is about The Genocide (AND HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF IN THIS DAY AND AGE). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfW6pSCc_kQ
This is a 15-minute interview on CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9q990OJtnE
A 10-minute interview on CBN. World leaders have been deaf and blind. Azerbaijan lied several times (even to the United Nations) and denied that there was a blockade. After a 10-month blockade, it launched its military assault causing the entire ethnic Armenian population to flee, leaving their homes and all possessions behind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zG1NnMh79Q
A 14-minute interview on CBN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsTYW57QxG4
A 42-minute debate on France 24 (a French state-owned international news television network based in Paris) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6oIDyEa024
This appeal was made only for Ruben Vardanyan who is now jailed in Azerbaijan. After Azerbaijan gained control of Karabakh, 120,000 Armenians, the entire population, fled to Armenia. It was during that exodus that Vardanyan (who had moved to Karabakh only a year earlier and had a short stint as state minister) was arrested at an Azerbaijani checkpoint on the Armenian border. After capturing Vardanyan, Azerbaijan also captured and jailed ex-presidents of Karabakh (called "Artsakh" for millennia by its indigenous Armenian population). https://www.civilnet.amen/news/752755/open-letter-global-humanitarian-leaders-stand-in-solidarity-with-ruben-vardanyan/
In this 19-minute interview with CBN, Ruben Vardanyan (a billionaire businessman and philanthropist) tells why he got involved in politics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzeqoI7o7mk
https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/752919/war-crimes-in-karabakh-will-aliyev-see-his-day-in-court/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEV4o4A7Huo
This BBC 10-minute interview is about a month old (before Azerbaijan's recent attack): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gya8Ry1ibno
August 18, 2023T
All those who ask me "Where are you from?" get "punished" by having to listen to a mini-lecture about Armenia. I'm adding this 18-minute interview that I watched today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XqbZCfrCiQ
January 2, 2023
I was reading the latest news about Armenia on Google News, and I came across this link. How sad that world leaders do not care about a small country with not much wealth and no natural resources such as oil and gas. Armenia's 'natural resources' are its people who have given so much to the world. You can see that if you do a search for "famous Armenian inventors" or "famous Armenian doctors and scientists" on YouTube. The following link is only about 12 minutes long and tells what's going on there now. My brother and his family live there, my cousins live there, and very soon I might live there for at least four months a year and close my shop during those months. It's an ancient country--the first country in the world that adopted Christianity as its national religion. https://youtu.be/RSInJLKWpQw
An 11-minute interview about the same subject: https://youtu.be/Bsjl4NpCSAs
A 13-minute interview. My grandmother was a victim of the Genocide they are talking about. When I worked for the Armenian Assembly of America, I translated many interviews of Armenian Genocide survivors (a project that was funded by the National Endowment for Humanities). So I count my blessings each and every day. https://youtu.be/Qp2rAFY3CQQ
November 18, 2020
This is the last day I'll write about this subject and what went on in Armenia while I was there. And this video, by the University of Southern California's School of Public Policy, is long and would be interesting only to my Armenian friends: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onLPxvaVRMc
An article written by our Catholicos, His Holiness Karekin II, tells a lot: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/november-web-only/karekin-save-artsakh-armenian-churches-nagorno-karabakh.html
And another by The Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/cultural-heritage-in-the-crosshairs-once-more-11605731198
Here’s what’s already happening to one of the Armenian churches. The cross has been broken, and an Azeri is yelling “Allahou Akbar" (a Moslem prayer) standing on the dome of the church: https://twitter.com/ZartonkMedia/status/1327746810216022016
Armenians around the world pray that the Azeri and Turkish war crimes of 2020 do not go unpunished and the Genocide of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks in 1915 be called by no other name but “Genocide.” We survived. And I'll end my posts with a quote by William Saroyan (an Armenian-American author who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940 and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film The Human Comedy): “I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia. See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” The Ottoman Turks did send Armenians into the desert (including my grandparents), massacred 1.5 million Armenians because we were and always will be Christinas, they burnt our homes and churches, but we survived. When you get a chance, go to"YouTube.com and do a search for "famous Armenian inventors." All my non-Armenian friends know that I am proud of my heritage. And in Charles Aznavour's words, I consider myself 100% Armenian and 100% American.
November 14, 2020
We, Armenians throughout the world, are grieving the loss of thousands of our brave soldiers (last I read, the number of Armenian soldiers killed was close to 5,000) in a war that was launched against Karabakh on September 27, 2020 by Azerbaijan with the help of Turkey and over 2,000 mercenaries from Syria that Turkey hired and transported to Azerbaijan.
We are also grieving the loss of big chunks of our ancestral homeland in Artsakh (the Armenian historic name for Karabakh). The war ended on November 10 through an agreement brokered by Russia and imposed on Armenia. Faced with an existential threat, Armenia had no other choice but to sign that Agreement to put a stop to the bloodshed. As per that agreement, Armenians had to relinquish most of their homeland in Karabakh to Azerbaijan. Armenians, who have lived in Karabakh for over two thousand years, are now fleeing their homeland.
The attack on Armenia came only seven months after the February 2020 Munich Security Conference, which is an annual conference on international security policy and is all about peaceful resolutions of disputes in the international system. The participants of one of the sessions were the Prime Minister of Armenia (Pashinyan) and the President of Azerbaijan (Aliyev). The discussion was about their thoughts on challenges and opportunities to resolve the dispute over Karabakh. The Armenian Prime Minister talked about micro revolutions, micro steps, to peacefully solve the conflict, and at the very end said, "Armenia and Karabakh are ready to put real efforts to solve this conflict." When an attendee asked the question, "Would you submit this dispute to the International Court of Justice via special agreement?" Azerbaijan's President replied, "Azerbaijan is committed to the negotiation process...If the negotiations are completely disrupted, then, of course, this option can be considered." But, even as he spoke those words, Azerbaijan must have been planning its attack (with the help of Turkey which was already recruiting Syrian mercenaries to help the Azeri army). Azerbaijan, an oil-rich country, had purchased drones and hi-tech war equipment. Armenia, a very small country, was not ready for a war of such magnitude.
Watching that conference on YouTube, among other non-truths, I heard President Aliyev make a ridiculous comment about Yerevan once having been part of Azerbaijan. (I wonder if that was a joke--but he was serious!!!) Yerevan is the capital of Armenia, and according to Wikipedia, its history dates back to the 8th century BC, with the founding of the fortress of Erebuni in 782 BC by King Argishti I of the ancient Armenian Kingdom. It is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Azerbaijan didn't even exist then. According to Wikipedia, The area to the north of the river Aras, amongst which territory lies the contemporary Republic of Azerbaijan, was Iranian territory until it was occupied by Russia in the 19th century. When the Soviet Republic dissolved in May 1918, the leading Musavat party declared independence as the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), adopting the name of "Azerbaijan" for the new republic.
Another non-truth: According to a Washington Post article dated October 27 (the full article is below, in my October 27 blog), “The Trump administration saw warning signs of the brewing conflagration back on Sept. 25 when Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun cautioned the ambassadors of Armenia and Azerbaijan against a military buildup the United States had detected. Both swore they had no intention of going to war, but 48 hours later, Azerbaijan launched an attack and Armenia immediately countered.” Azerbaijan found the perfect time to launch its attack—while the world was preoccupied dealing with Coronavirus and the U.S. was preoccupied with its presidential election.
Please watch this BBC interview (only six minutes). At the beginning of the interview, President Aliyev is saying, "We are getting these territories back by force," even though at the Munich Security Conference, just seven months before the attack, he had said, "Azerbaijan is committed to the negotiation process...If the negotiations are completely disrupted, then, of course, this option (meaning the option of submitting the dispute to the International Court of Justice) can be considered." Then he says, "We can work on some forms of self-governance" (is that a joke??) Then he says, "We will take care of them. Absolutely. No doubt about that. We will provide them with everything--with food, with water, with everything." (I wonder why the entire populations of those towns do not believe that and are fleeing their homeland by the thousands.) Please make sure to watch at least the second half of this six-minute interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9paCEMyfiiY
We, Armenians, pray that the world will be on our side. French President Macron has already stated that France “stands by Armenia at this difficult time” and has said that efforts should be made “without delay” to try to come up with a “lasting political solution to the conflict that allows for the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to remain in good condition and the return of tens of thousands of people who have fled their homes.” We all pray that happens and that those are not just words that fall into deaf ears. To learn more about the conflict, please read what I wrote below, in my September 30 blog.
November 6, 2020
I'm back in Bedford now and shall be reopening my shop two days a week, Fridays and Saturdays 9:00 to 5:00. I'm glad to be back, but ... When I was in Armenia, I missed Bedford and my friends in Bedford, and now that I'm in Bedford, I miss Armenia and want to be there... Wish I had a magic wand...
Couldn't resist posting this. It was on the news today: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/system-of-a-down-new-songs-protect-the-land-genocidal-humanoidz-1085942/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMFCvjx9j6U&feature=emb_rel_end
Then I searched those two songs on YouTube--just to read people's comments... So far, there have been over two million views in less than one day and more than 30,000 comments... At a time like this, we, diaspora Armenians around the world, feel "more Armenian" and do what we can for our ancestral homeland. Much respect to SOAD !!!
October 27, 2020
I am still in Armenia. A third cease-fire agreement did not hold. To say it's a mess here is an understatement. The following article tells how history is repeating itself: https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2020/1026/Nagorno-Karabakh-A-reporter-s-regretful-recollections
Another article describing what's going on: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/turkey-iran-russia-benefit-from-azerbaijan-armenia-conflict-analysis-646951
And another telling what people want: https://globalnews.ca/news/7422394/armenia-azerbaijan-3rd-ceasfire-peace/
And another by David Ignatius of the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-to-stop-a-war-between-armenia-and-azerbaijan/2020/10/27/1d7bf9a0-1872-11eb-82db-60b15c874105_story.html
Thank you Fulbright Scholars: https://armenianweekly.com/2020/10/22/200-american-fulbright-scholars-call-for-artsakhs-right-self-determination-in-letter-to-us-secretary-of-state-mike-pompeo/
We, Armenians in the diaspora, are all "filled with dread," as Noubar Afeyan writes. We have given so much to humanity (see the six YouTube links at the end of what I wrote on July 6), and yet we stand alone in this existential fight to defend ourselves against Azerbaijan and Turkey. Azerbaijan attacked us with the full backing of Turkey. The writer of this Letter to the Editor is Noubar Afeyan, Chairman of Moderna. Moderna is one of the frontrunners in the Covid-19 vaccine race and hopefully they'll come up with a vaccine in the near future: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/19/opinion/letters/nagorno-karabakh-armenia.html
October 18, 2020
To all my family and friends who would like to know what’s going on here in Armenia, please read what I wrote below, on September 30.
U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said, "We’re hopeful that the Armenians will be able to defend against what the Azerbaijanis are doing, and that they will all, before that takes place, get the ceasefire right, and then sit down at the table and try and sort through this." https://in.reuters.com/article/instant-article/idINKBN271088
"To defend against what the Azerbaijanis are doing" ??? Azerbaijan has Turkey as an ally, and both countries have been preparing for war by buying hi-tech military equipment, combat aircraft, and drones... Armenia is a small country on its own. So far over 700 Armenian soldiers have been killed. Against all verified news that Azerbaijan, with the help and backing of Turkey, was the aggressor--Azerbaijan lies by saying Armenia attacked first. Azerbaijan even broke two cease-fire agreements: One last week, and the second yesterday. Here's how the situation is now: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/18/world/europe/Nagorno-Karabakh-war-Armenia-Azerbaijan.html
And the reason why all this ia going on: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-10-16/op-ed-why-armenians-everywhere-stand-with-those-in-nagorno-karabakh
The following by CNN is an interesting read: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/01/middleeast/azerbaijan-armenia-syrian-rebels-intl/index.html
And another by The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/02/syrian-recruit-describes-role-of-foreign-fighters-in-nagorno-karabakh
And another by The New York Post: https://nypost.com/2020/10/11/erdogans-proxy-war-in-armenia-is-an-echo-of-turkeys-genocidal-campaign/
And another by L.A. Times: https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-15/make-turkey-great-again-nationalistic-boosts-underpin-conflict-over-ethnic-armenian-enclave
Against all verified news that Turkey has hired and transported over two thousand mercenaries from Syria to fight alongside Azerbaijan, Turkey still lies and denies hiring and transporting those mercenaries. Another interesting read by the Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/turkish-backed-syrian-fighters-join-armenian-azeri-conflict-11602625885
September 30, 2020
I am in Armenia now, and my shop is closed. Traveling is not fun anymore, but I will never forget the last segment of my trip—when each and every person in the airplane applauded while the plane was making its landing. It’s a feeling of excitement no words can describe and excitement no one else can feel but an Armenian from the diaspora going to Armenia.
And when I arrived at Yerevan’s (the capital of Armenia) airport, I forgot all about the over thirty hours it took getting there and the waits at airports, and the almost three-hour taxi ride from Bedford to Dulles Airport, throughout the entire time wearing a mask except while eating. Not only a mask, but we were given face shields to wear together with our masks inside the airplane. And before boarding, our temperatures were taken by something pointed to our foreheads. It looked like a scene from a futuristic movie, and we all looked like aliens, wearing those double masks :)
On September 19, to be admitted into the country, I had to choose between taking a Coronavirus test or being quarantined for 14 days. I chose the test. Also, when I first arrived, I found it uncomfortable that I had to wear a mask everywhere, even while walking in the streets, but I got used to it. Now, the Coronavirus is not on our minds--not after September 27. Our thoughts and prayers are elsewhere.
Everything was fine until September 27 when Azerbaijan attacked Karabakh.
Karabakh is located in the south of Armenia and the west of Azerbaijan. Artsakh (the historical Armenian name for Karabakh), with its hundreds of churches built throughout the centuries, and 90% Armenian inhabitants, was originally one of the provinces of Armenia (a Christian country). Gandzasar Monastery, one of those hundreds of churches, holds the relics of St. Zachariah (father of John the Baptist), and is considered to be one of the best pieces of Armenian architecture of the mid-1200s. Karabakh currently lies within the borders of Azerbaijan (a Moslem country) o n l y b e c a u s e "the Soviet mapmakers made it part of the Azerbaijani Soviet Republic." (It was the Soviet dictator, Josef Stalin, who annexed it to Azerbaijan.) Very recently, I read the following in a Time Magazine article that tells how the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan started: "The states of Armenia and Azerbaijan were pulled into Moscow’s orbit and became part of the Soviet Union in the 1920s. Though Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region about the size of Delaware, was dominated by Armenians, Soviet mapmakers made it part of the Azerbaijani Soviet Republic. For decades, Armenian complaints about the region’s status were ignored. ..." When the Soviet Communist rule was nearing its end in the late 1980s, Karabakh's parliament voted to join Armenia. And when the Soviet Union collapsed, Karabakh proclaimed its de-facto independence. Azerbaijan launched a full-scale war in 1992, which lasted two years and cost the lives of approximately 30,000 people. After a cease-fire agreement brokered by Russia, Armenians gained control of what was historically theirs. The conflict was being mediated by the "Minsk Group," set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and co-chaired by Russia, France, and the United States. The following is how Azerbaijan honored the cease-fire agreement: "In subsequent years, unfortunately, it became impossible to build on the achieved through the agreements of May 12, 1994, and February 6, 1995. The settlement process stalled immediately after Azerbaijan returned to a policy of confrontation. As part of this policy, it first refused to comply with the provisions of the agreement of February 6, 1995. Then, in early 1997, Baku thwarted the full-fledged trilateral negotiations by trying to impose, as a basis for settlement, its nonconsensual proposals put forward during the 1996 OSCE Lisbon Summit. ... The culmination of this policy of confrontation was a major escalation by the Azerbaijani authorities to resolve the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict by force. On the night of April 2, 2016, in flagrant violation of the cease-fire agreement of May 12, 1994, Azerbaijan undertook a large-scale offensive along the entire Line of Contact, using heavy equipment, artillery and combat aircraft. The intensity and scale of the attack, the number of forces and military equipment used, as well as statements by Azerbaijani officials clearly indicated that the April 2, 2016 aggression was not a spontaneous escalation of tension, but a carefully planned and prepared armed attack. However, after suffering heavy losses in manpower and equipment, on April 5, 2016, Azerbaijan asked through the mediation of the Russian Federation for a cessation of hostilities." The full story is here: https://nationalinterest.org/feature/nagorno-karabakh-cease-fire-25-57522
There have been troops (of both sides) guarding the border, there have been many clashes, and now, three days ago, Azerbaijan launched another attack with the full backing of Turkey. Azerbaijan denied being the aggressor.
Yesterday, on September 29, the news from the ground was that a Turkish F16 jet took off from the Azerbaijan air base in Ganja and hit Armenia’s Su25 jet inside Armenian airspace. The pilot was killed and has been named, pictures of the wreckage are in the open, and yet Turkey denies that it shot down the Armenian jet. Just like it still denies the Armenian Genocide of 1915 during which a million-and-a-half Armenians were massacred by the Ottoman Turks. My grandparents were survivors of that Genocide, and I have translated the stories of many of those survivors for the Oral History Project, funded by the United States' National Endowment for the Humanities when I worked for the Armenian Assembly of America. (I had to use ice packs on my swollen eyes when I got home.) Survivors of the Genocide scattered around the world. There are only three million Armenians living in Armenia, and seven million Armenians (mostly descendants of the Genocide survivors) live in the diaspora.
Martial Law has now been declared both in Karabakh and here in Armenia. One tidbit about Armenians: When there is any conflict, we become "more Armenian.” And many from the diaspora go to Armenia to help.
Here in Armenia, I myself saw mothers with tears of pride in their eyes telling me their sons had gone to the front lines. I saw busloads of young soldiers being driven to the front lines. Over 80 young Armenian soldiers have been killed so far, and many-many wounded. I get teary-eyed when I think of their mothers.
On the other hand, Turkey has mobilized mercenaries from Syria to fight for Azerbaijan. Turkey denies that as well. According to The Guardian article (Syrian Rebel Fighters Prepare to Deploy to Azerbaijan in Sign of Turkey’s Ambition), “Observers have questioned why Baku’s (Azerbaijan) highly-trained and well-armed military forces would be in need of assistance from Syrian mercenaries. Men in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province, however, say that a recruitment drive began a month ago.” Here's a link to the full article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/28/syrian-rebel-fighters-prepare-to-deploy-to-azerbaijan-in-sign-of-turkeys-ambition
Many countries, except Turkey, have called for peaceful negotiations. Turkey was not only eager to immediately back Azerbaijan and participate in the attacks, it also hired and transported mercenaries.
Here are a couple of excerpts (of many others I read) of how some United States lawmakers are reacting to the Karabakh war:
U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 6th congressional district, Frank Pallone, condemned the Turkish and Azeri aggression against Artsakh. (He even used the name "Artsakh," which is Karabakh's Armenian historical name.) https://pallone.house.gov/media/press-releases/pallone-condemns-escalation-azeri-and-turkish-military-aggression-artsakh
U.S. Representative for California's 21st congressional district, TJ Cox, stood in solidarity with Armenian communities and called for the cessation of American military aid to Azerbaijan. https://twitter.com/RepTjCox/status/1310279831658074117
U.S. Representative for California's 30th congressional district, Brad Sherman, condemned the actions of Azerbaijan and urged them to cease military offensives, called for the halting of US military aid to Azerbaijan. https://twitter.com/BradSherman/status/1310335797799813122
Here in Armenia, we are glued to our television sets for updates, and we hope and pray that there will be peaceful negotiations leading to a cease-fire and not an escalation to a full-blown war.
September 14, 2020
The shop is closed for six weeks and shall reopen on October 30, Fridays & Saturdays from 9:00 to 5:00, with a sale running through January 2, 2021: 20% off Spring, Fall, and Christmas decorations, lamps, glassware, household items, collectibles (old & new); 10% off hats, scarves, gloves, bags, jewelry, furniture, hiking sticks, and everything else in the shop.
In my previous blog (July 6), I wrote saying I didn’t know if I could live without Google and YouTube. I’ve been shredding some of my papers, and I came across this—I have no idea who has written it, but it’s a fun read:
HOW THE INTERNET STARTED
In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a healthy young wife by the name of Dorothy. And Dot Com was a comely woman, large of body, broad of shoulders, and long of legs. Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com. And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why doest thou travel so far from town to town with thine goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thine tent?" And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply asked, "How, dear?" And Dot replied, "I shall place drums in between all nearby and faraway towns to send messages saying what thou hath for sale, and people will reply telling thou what they offerth for what thou hath. Thou shall then maketh the sale to whomever offerth the best price. The sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)." Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at top prices, without ever having to leave his tent. To prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was known as Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures—Hebrew To The People (HTTP). And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as do the greedy horseflies take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS. And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches was going to an enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. Indeed, he did insist on drums being made that would work only with his drumheads and drumsticks. And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others." And Abraham looked out over Ezekiel's Bay, or eBay as it came to be known. He said, "We need a name that reflects what we are." And Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner-Operators." "YAHOO," said Abraham. And because it was Dot's idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com. Abraham's cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot's drums to locate things around the countryside. It soon became known as God's Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE). That is how it all began.
July 6, 2020
I'll start with a joke my brother told me. It put a smile on my face... "EVERYDAY COVID CHECK: At 7 pm open that whiskey bottle and smell it. If you are able to smell it, you are not affected. Then pour some into a glass and taste it. If you can feel the taste, you are definitely not affected." My brother knows I drink only Concord wine (cheap sweet wine), and he told me this would work with wine as well :)
The shop is still open only Saturdays from 9 to 5. I might have to close it mid-September through the end of October and hopefully reopen it Fridays and Saturdays as of November. I'll post updates as soon as I am able to.
Lately, I have been spending a lot of time listening to music on YouTube, and now I am addicted to YouTube. Music is soothing to the soul, and my addiction to YouTube is one I shall keep. While on YouTube last week, I had a spoon in my hand and a one-pound tub of feta cheese. I got so distracted listening to the music that all of a sudden when I looked, the cheese was all gone. That habit will be no more, together with leaving anything unattended on the stovetop. I will never forget the explosion of the boiling eggs and the mess they made on my kitchen ceiling--again,, while I was listening to music.
During our lockdown, whenever a friend called and asked “What are you doing,” I would almost always say “I’m listening to music.” When my friends heard music in the background, unfamiliar to them, they would ask about it, and I would tell them how to search for it on YouTube.
It would take many-many pages to list my favorite pieces of music. For my friends and anyone who would like to listen to them, I am listing a few—
This, pre-planned by the performers, but a surprise to passers-by, took place in downtown Yerevan (the capital of Armenia). Notice the kids playing chess (chess is taught at schools in Armenia). And notice how boys react when a pretty girl passes by (that’s universal :) :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XazTAkh3SO8&list=PL3eQ-jpuyETwdLj_tPNU8kD7gxjggFAY9&index=9 That music was The Saber Dance by Aram Khachaturian.
I can listen to anything by Khachaturian for hours and hours. The following piece is from Spartacus, performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Notice the total quietness of the huge crowd during the entire performance. I wonder why there aren’t millions of hits on this site !!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXsDsLHasWo
When I close my eyes, this lullaby by Khachaturian takes me far-far away. This performance is by Westlake High School Chamber Orchestra (California): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWIJSof-FW0
This, Masquerade Waltz, by Khachaturian, is being performed outdoors in Yerevan. (The background of the orchestra is the Opera House): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bMH932HaxA&list=PLRn-Czy7YfPEVh1yGgOnjQAuo0Cu7PmK
Ayshe’s Dance, by Khachaturian, is being performed in front of the ruins of Garni Temple in Armenia, the only temple left from Armenia’s pagan times. All others were destroyed when Armenia adopted Christianity. (Armenia is the first country in the world that adopted Christianity as its national religion in 301 AD.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1kbMkoXdRc
Dance of the Rose Maidens, by Khachaturian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRO-BPmc0Ug
I enjoyed watching the conductor as much as listening to this piece, Lezginka, by Khachaturian. I can tell music flows in the conductor's blood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cECWCDhBHKE
I hear Komitas in my head, in my mind’s ears, whenever all is quiet around me. What a musical genius he was. And I often think of how he must have suffered during the Armenian Genocide, witnessing the horrors that drove him to madness. What a loss that half of his music was lost during the Genocide. Even though he died in an asylum in France, he is considered to be one of the victims of the Armenian Genocide.
The Crane (violin), by Komitas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYtv0YryUME
The Swallow, by Komitas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk3WOjAwEts
Cloudy Sky, by Komitas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYM7fIFBNos
My Red Handkerchief, by Komitas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLuPc8Q_dSs
Liturgy for Armenian church service, mostly by Komitas (This is an hour long, and I listen to it on some Sundays.) Etchmiadzin is the oldest cathedral in the world and is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oErAnzogksA&t=301s
Dle Yaman (duduk), by Komitas, played at Charles Aznavour’s funeral: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDwffiTgzKA
Even Yanni uses duduk for his music (Over 66 million views on this one in less than four years!!! almost 100 of which are mine:) ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKVzm0SBYtQ
And The Gladiator soundtrack, by German composer Hans Zimmer, is played with duduk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INHDEMP652E
Armenian spiritual music from the 10th century, by Saint Krikor Naregatsi, who was a monk, a poet, a mystical philosopher, and a theologian (whom Pope Francis recently declared “Doctor of the Church”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHY8W7LCjlQ
The above, Havoun-Havoun, performed by Lusine Zakaryan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIaPWSW5bXQ,
I sooooooo admire the violinist Sergey Khachatryan. Whether he plays Khachaturyan or Beethoven--doesn't look at a single note--music is in his head-- and heart--and soul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qY6GFKwhDI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqAMHSmvFGU
One can spend an inexpensive beautiful evening at the Opera House in downtown Yerevan. The Opera House is huge, but when they expect attendance more than capacity, the concerts are held outside, as this one. This is a montage (a mix of scenes from several songs). I see the President of Armenia and the head of the Armenian Church, His Holiness the Catholicos, in the center of the crowd—they don’t have front seats :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afdvJr5Wh3Q
And here, everyone (young and old) enjoying a patriotic song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LroyK43WCfk And another one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBtRA2WWFCo And another one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4CKvPNi4RA The enthusiasm of the crowd makes me want to be there...
And the youth in Armenia love American songs. This is System of a Down’s performance in Yerevan’s town center to commemorate the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Notice the huge crowd and how the youth react !!! Crazy !!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXpEcumKktk
I’m not into heavy metal, but I like some of the band’s songs. (The hard music grows on you.) And sometimes I hear myself humming “the toxicity of our city, of our city...”)
Aerials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-iepu3EtyE
Toxicity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iywaBOMvYLI
Chop Suey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSvFpBOe8eY (almost a billion views!!)
And the youth in Armenia love French songs. This is a short clip of Charles Aznavour’s performance in Yerevan’s town center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpFnAEo-cu8
I was very saddened when Charles Aznavour died in 2018. And yes, I cried. By a CNN poll, he was named “Entertainer of the Century.” In this clip, he is singing with his daughter, in Armenian, a piece by Sayat Nova: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZdf3CTPcus Sayat Nova was an Armenian troubadour who lived in the 1700’s. He worked in the court of the King of Georgia and was fired after he fell in love with the king’s sister. He then married someone else, was ordained as a priest, and was beheaded in a monastery in Armenia when Armenia was invaded by Iran, after he refused to convert from Christianity to Islam.
This is one of Aznavour’s concerts in France. I’ve watched the full concert many-many-many times: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM4F5KfPRIs
It never fails. This one always brings tears to my eyes. Each and every time. It’s a clip from Aznavour’s performance in Yerevan (in 2015) to commemorate the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Aznavour was 91 years old then. Hearing the same song doesn’t move me as much when I listen to him perform it in his younger years. But at 91 !!!... Aznavour’s last concert was in Japan in 2018, less than two weeks before he died at the age of 94. The title of this song is Hier Encore (not so long ago) or (only yesterday). Many famous singers (from Willie Nelson to Shirley Bassey to Julio Iglesias to Andy Williams...) have performed his song in English with the title Yesterday, When I Was Young. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWs_gSx-taI
I’m posting La Boheme because it has English subtitles. The correct translation of the title should be “the Bohemian times” instead of “the Bohemian.” (And as always, a lot gets lost in translation, especially in translating poetry): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmrUeGogRbI
Another Aznavour song with English subtitles (and also much lost in translation) Une Vie d’Amour (a life of love): www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YRm0Ayxu1c
La Mamma (the mother): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCDbvxeJVhc
And an Aznavour song, Mon Emouvant Amour, about a man who is in love with a deaf woman (violin): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=henMgfslBPQ
And my favorite non-Armenian singer is the immortal Edith Piaf. She was only in her forties when she died, but she gave so much to the world. And no words can describe her songs. Three of my favorites are:
Je Ne Regrette Rien (I regret nothing): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YGXsw3XK9I
A Quoi Ca Sert l’Amour (what’s the purpose of love): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtnTaUcMLjA
Mon Dieu (my God): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgvEV9B-IEw
I could go on and on with my list, but that would take pages and pages... Just one more--another non-Armenian singer I love listening to even when she sings in Greek (and I don't understand a word of Greek), is Nana Mouskouri. This one by her is the best version of a French song, Plaisir d'Amour (pleasure of love), I've heard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FAV2PrrRUs
I love YouTube. Everything is on YouTube—and not just music !!! Last month, I even learned how to refinish a bathtub, how to grow ginger... On YouTube also, I was listening to an interview with Charles Aznavour, and when asked whether he feels being more French or more Armenian, he replied, “I am 100% French and 100% Armenian.” At his state funeral in Paris, both countries’ national anthems were played and both countries’ leaders spoke. My husband (an American) knew I’m 100% American and also 100% Armenian. He knew my weak point. He knew how happy I would be when he brought home any news articles he came across on the wire about anything Armenian. Many of my friends had not even heard of Armenia before they met me :) because it is such a small country. But it has given so much to the world and has a very rich history. Anyone who knows me can tell I am 100% Armenian. But I am also 100% American and shall be buried in Kansas no matter where I die. I came across these YouTube sites during our Coronavirus Lock-Down. And when I was feeling low, they made me feel good—Armenians don’t only sing and dance :) :) :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-XeraUMqeI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HnziuQE2Zo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phUIxjCo5dA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m05R06M_w4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97HDyvlIGV4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S6aPPW9uuk
I don’t know if I could ever live without Google and YouTube (and one day I’ll say Facebook also). But I can live without television. When my husband and I moved to Bedford over ten years ago, we chose not to get cable service, and there’s no television reception here in the mountains without cable. I believe in the saying “you get used to everything,” and so I am used to living without television. For news, I read the paper and news.google.com, and if I want to watch a movie, I put on a tape. And my favorite hobbies these days? Doing lots and lots of hiking, reading, listening to music, and playing my own version of solitaire MahJongg where I always make myself win. And hobbies I used to love and my heart is not in them anymore? Crafting, gardening & yard work, construction work, and cooking.
As always, there are some exceptions to getting used to things. I could never get used to The Coronavirus Lock-Down. I’m sooooo glad it’s no more. And let’s hope one day people, without wearing masks, will be able to go to crowded concerts and not just watch them on YouTube.
June 24, 2020
In the last week of June and the month of July, the shop will be open only Saturdays, 9 to 5, not because of the Coronavirus, but because of work I have to do at home.
We’re in the "green phase" now, and it feels good. Last week, I found out that Rocky Gap Casino would be reopening. I immediately decided to go there in the first week it reopened, and, in anticipation, I got a nice dress ready. I normally wear pants and comfortable shoes, but I wanted to be dressed up on my first “green phase” very special outing.
I am not a gambler. Since I just came back from a casino, this statement might sound questionable. Well, the correct way to say it is--"I am not a real gambler." I once said to a friend, “I go to Rock;y Gap for their great breakfast buffet.” Smiling, she said to me, “Oh, yeah, I believe that.”
It all started when I went to a casino for the first time in my life with our Senior Center group. It was magical. Our Senior Center takes us to many outings--some we know the destinations of, others are called “mystery trips,” and twice a year, we go to a casino. I try not to miss the casino trips. I try not to miss also the mystery trips (with all the guessings we do while on the road), and the trips to American Music Theater and Sight and Sound, both in Lancaster. Those are magical too.
In all the 28 years we were married and the 11 years we dated, my husband had never taken me to a casino. His father was killed returning home from gambling after some win when my husband was only six years old, and that must have made him vow never to gamble. He wouldn’t even buy a lottery ticket, but when we went grocery shopping, he would sometimes ask me on our way out, “Did you remember to get your lottery ticket?” Here in Pennsylvania, the proceeds of the lottery go to senior projects (my excuse for buying a ticket every now and then).
One time, when my husband and I were driving by a casino in Charlestown, W.V., I told him how much I wanted to see the inside of a casino. He drove to the parking lot and told me that he would read in the car while I went inside (he always carried a book with him), and he asked me not to be gone too long. I chose not to go by myself, and I never asked him again to take me to a casino.
So the first time I went to a casino was with our Senior Center, three years after my husband died. And today, in our "green phase," on the very first week Rocky Gap Casino opened, I was there.
The casino is less than an hour away from Bedford. Happily listening to music, the drive in the countryside was soooooooo beautiful that I didn’t want it to end, but when I reached the parking lot, I couldn’t wait to get out of my car. I speed-walked to the door. Guests didn’t have to touch the doors as they were being opened and closed by two young men. Wearing masks was a must to enter the casino, and almost everyone was smiling while putting on their masks. (And those who weren’t, must have made a big effort to withhold their smiles.)
I can write about all that went on inside the casino, but that would take too long. All that excitement, the lights, the singing sounds of all those machines... If one is embarrassed to be seen inside a casino, what a great time to go there now, with a mask on, incognito !!! Just kidding, because it doesn’t work. I recognized two friends from Bedford, and we exchanged hugs. The hugs were spontaneous—you see a friend, you hug. And yes, people next to us stared. I remember looking at those people and saying two words, “Oops, sorry.” They probably thought I was apologizing for hugging someone without fear of this Coronavirus. Not so. I was just sorry we are living in a time when we can't have a simple human connection with a friend, a hug, without fear of this Coronavirus, and without people staring. I hope this “social distancing” will be a thing of the past soon.
At the casino today, there were many hand sanitizing stations, the free coffee and soda machines were blocked, there were plexiglass barriers at some locations, and every other slot machine was disabled. But none of that mattered. The crowds were there, and the excitement was the same, if not more. And today, there were many times when I was ahead, but I usually don’t have the willpower to leave while I’m ahead. That happens only when I’m with friends and one of them physically drags me out. To me, being at a casino is like spending time at an amusement park, paying for the rides with my "casino allowance," and staying there until my money is gone :) Five hours had passed, I was tired, ready to leave, but I was ahead, on a winning streak. The five hours included a break I took from the casino to have a hamburger at one of the casino’s restaurants (with my winnings). It also included the time I spent doing some walking around the lake.
The casino is right next to a state park, is surrounded by mountains, and its Lakeview Restaurant is appropriately named as it overlooks the beautiful Lake Habeeb. I was sorry it was closed today (as it is a buffet restaurant, and buffets are "no-no" during these times). I always used to get a window seat when I went there, but I didn’t go there just for the view. I sure missed their omelets today, with feta cheese and spinach and mushrooms, and their bacon, and their sausages, and all that sinful stuff !!! They used to have yogurt and all sorts of berries too on their buffet, but not for me. I eat yogurt-and-berries kind of foods at home. When I’m grocery shopping, I read the labels, and if I see any word I don’t know the meaning of—I don’t buy the item. If I see too many ingredients—I don’t buy the item. But all bets are off in a restaurant when it comes to my resolution of eating healthy (my friends know).
When I left the casino today, I had this nice, weary feeling that comes from a full day of playful activity. Either that or because I still had money in my purse--"seed money" for my next trip :) And I had stayed long enough that I felt I was ready to leave. Other times, when my money would last for only an hour or less, I would feel bad about not having brought a little more. But then again, I have promised myself not to take with me more than my fixed “casino allowance” that I can afford to lose, no matter what, and I’m sticking to it. For that, I do have the willpower. So—I’m not a real gambler :) I just love going to a casino once in a while to have a good time. It is very soothing to me. I "lose myself" when I'm inside a casino, and I completely forget all my problems and the long "to-do" list I will always have.. At the casino, I'm not alone, I'm surrounded by people and machines that "sing to me," and nothing else matters, at least for just a short while. And by feeding the slot machines, I'm doing my share in increasing state revenue :) :) :)
Last month, during the “yellow phase” of our times, a friend emailed me a link to a news article about all the sanitary precautions casinos would be taking when they reopened in the “green phase.” I always read people’s comments below news articles. One man had written, “My wife just saw a post where casinos are offering curb-side valet service during the "yellow phase" when they are closed. You park at the front door, a valet will come to your car, and all you need to do is hand over all your money." :) :) :)
But that’s not the same, I say !!! I shop at Goodwill and thrift shops, and I probably would be highly upset if I lost my “casino allowance” anywhere else. But leaving a casino, I always smile (a real smile, not a fake one) after losing money, but having had a good and very distracting time. Today, as I was leaving, a woman, also on her way out, smiled back when she heard me say, “out to real life.”
Real life is not going to be exactly the way it was, not overnight, and maybe not anytime soon. And we all know we have to proceed with some caution. Now, I’m pleasantly tired, I’ve had a good day, and I pray that we don’t get any lock-down orders again, and I pray that our "green phase" gets greener and greener every day. I pray.
May 15, 2020
Today is the start of our “yellow phase.”
I’m posting this blog on my website because my shop is not on any social media platform—yet.
Right now, like all of us, I’m "braving" going through this COVID-19 world we're all living in. My entire plans for the year have changed, but instead of having my previous thoughts of what's going to become of me, I’m now making new plans.
My shop has not been as affected as others because it had been closed for over five years, and I had just reopened it in 2019 with not-so-regular hours. For right now, the shop will be open only Saturdays, from 9 to 5. (I’m working on my husband’s book and that, together with some construction work, is taking up most of my time.) As soon as I can, I'll have more open days. And hopefully, I’ll be able to open the shop sometime in October with regular hours, Thursdays-Fridays-Saturdays 9 to 5.
When I was telling my mother that even though I’m losing money by being closed, none of the government help given to businesses applies to me as my shop is not my main source of income (I’m on retirement/social security)—my mother’s response was, “Don’t let your eyes have a hole.” That’s an old Armenian saying, meaning, be content with what you have and don’t wish to have everything your eyes see because that hole can never be filled. My parents have raised us to be content with what we have and my mother still reminds us of it every now and then. And her favorite words still are “If you have contentment, you’ll be happy; ask God only for good health.”
I often ask my mother for advice to make her feel that her opinion matters. And she always has an answer for things that happen. While talking to her a few days ago, when I hurriedly hang up and called her back, she asked for the reason, “I spilled my coffee and had to wipe it,” I said. “Spilling coffee is good luck,” she replied.
And just a few hours ago, I asked her, “Some pigeons are roosting under my roof, on an electric wire, and they’ve sh#t all over my gutter and front steps. What shall I do?” “Nothing. It’s good luck,” she replied.
And about the Coronavirus—“They’ll find a way to stop it, and it will be over.”
By origin, I am Armenian--the first Christian nation in the world (before even the Roman Empire). After the Genocide (in 1915, when the Ottoman Turks massacred one-and-a-half million Armenians), Armenians scattered all over the world. How my family ended up in Lebanon is a long story, and how I left everything behind and came to America in 1979 is another long story. I lived in Beirut during its civil war that lasted many years. Those times were much-much-much worse than what we're going through now—electricity, water, and mail service cut off too often, bombs falling indiscriminately, snipers on rooftops, armed militia in the streets, and people getting killed even while standing outside bakeries (when those bakeries were able to open every now and then) trying to buy bread for their families... A bomb fell on my brother’s friend and killed him, a sniper killed someone from our office... Too many horror stories. And we got through it. I have repressed my bad memories of the civil war years, and I shall forever cherish the good memories of the years I spent in Beirut.
I can’t wait till we get through this too—a “new normal” for a while, and eventually, a return to our normal way of life, the way we were, and better, with a strong economy.
This is only temporary—an intermission. We’re all cocooning, and soon the butterflies will be ready to fly off. I think about how good life and the economy will be when this is all over, and how we will all appreciate the smallest things we took for granted, the simplest outings... My friends know where exactly my first outing will be (smile), as soon as the “green phase” starts—can’t wait.
We live in a country where our Government is here for us helping “All the Way” (my husband’s favorite words, from his 101st Airborne days), our State Representative is here for us, working hard to help overcome these most trying times, our Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Bedford are here keeping local businesses well-informed of new developments and all the help available, our Senior Center staff are here working hard—all doing the best they can. We have much to be grateful for.