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Memorial Day 2025

/ Richard L. Marrash / 2 Comments

Enough longwinded speeches. Enough artificial emotions. Enough manufactured poignant metaphors.

REMEMBER THE FALLEN

Remember why they fell, in what cause: Freedom from political oppression, from religious fanaticism, and from vicious and diabolical prejudice.

In Europe: They fought fascism, and the fascist dictators who were masters of “Big Lies” and deadly actions that turned most of Europe into killing fields for the sacrifice of the innocent to the false idol of the master race and other specious and self-serving myths.

In Asia: They fought to resist the falling dominoes of countries threatened by communist dictatorships and savage coercion into collective action on behalf of the state and the “people.”

In the Middle East: They fought mindless, violent fanaticism that knows no bounds, having defined the will of Providence as its exclusive possession and determined to bring all the world under its rigid theocratic heel.

They fought and died. They held back the tide of evils that continue to threaten us today. Indeed, those evils are gaining strength and spreading their poisonous atmosphere in every direction. The sacrifices of our fallen brothers and sisters in over a century of conflicts cry out to us to keep faith with them. Do not stay silent in the face of evil: lies, deceit, wanton aggression, and lawlessness.

REMEMBER THE FALLEN … AND IN WHAT CAUSE THEY FELL

Habemus Papam

/ Richard L. Marrash / 2 Comments

That announcement provides an easy and convenient verbal prop for making a post. We have a Pope! With the news of the election of Pope Leo XIV as successor to the late Pope Francis I, we are treated to a novel turn of events. It happened quickly, between the first vote in the evening and another the next morning. White smoke in less than twenty-four hours! A surprise to all, baffling even the official Catholic punditry that closely followed and commented on the candidates among the Cardinals gathered in Conclave at the Vatican to elect one of their own to become the Supreme Pontiff. Robert Francis Prevost, American, born in Chicago, and considered a long shot for the papal throne, defied most of the predictions and stupefied his American friends and fellow clergy from his university and seminary days. Might this qualify as a black swan event?

Rather than finding his American heritage a hinderance, his fellow cardinals recognized his profound pastoral understanding of the global mission of the Church as an Augustinian missionary priest who had spent decades serving poor communities in remote areas of Peru. Although he grew up in Chicago, Illinois, Robert Cardinal Prevost spent almost two-thirds of his life serving the Catholic Church internationally, not only as bishop in Peru, but also in Rome when Pope Francis I appointed him Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. His missionary experience in Peru made him particularly attuned to issues of social justice, poverty, and inclusion—aligning him with Pope Francis’s priorities for reaching out to poor and marginalized communities. Colleagues point to his years as an Augustinian friar that emphasize his humility, collegiality, and theological reflection. So although he was raised an American (with dual citizenship since he became a Peruvian citizen in 2015), Pope Leo XIV clearly represents the global commitment of the Church and the sharp focus on social justice promoted by his papal namesake, Pope Leo XIII.

When he emerged from behind the curtains and stepped forward on the loggia to greet the throngs of Catholic (and, of course, many non-Catholic) well-wishers, he spoke in Italian: La Pace Sia Con Tutti Voi! “Peace be with all of you!”

He went on to stress unity, dialogue, and missionary evangelization, and he invoked the blessing of his predecessor, Pope Francis. “This is the peace of the Risen Christ: a disarmed peace, a disarming peace, humble and persevering, it comes from God, God who loves us all unconditionally.” His speech reflected themes of humility, perseverance, and God’s unconditional love. Love … isn’t that an idea that we overlook these days? Don’t we tend to find it hard to love those that are not just like us? Don’t we prefer to denounce them for their difference, to eject them from our presence? We can’t abide their poverty, their otherness, and so we ignore their human need for compassion, dignity, and justice. Despite all that we profess about our integrity, our ethics, our compassionate society, we thrust them away from us and treat them as human rubbish. I say this in defense of humanity, not criminality. The latter must be dealt with by the laws that deal with crimes and criminals, and apply the appropriate consequences. But the former calls for humane treatment, fairness, and compassion, the basic traits of any civilized society that claims to value every human person as a child of God.

We should all take time to reflect on the inaugural message spoken by Pope Leo XIV, our American compatriot, and commit to expunging hatred and division from our hearts, to promoting mercy and the love of God for all of his creatures. You don’t have to be Catholic to do this. I’m not. And as His Holiness begins his pontificate, let us join him in saying: La Pace Sia Con Voi! Pax Vobiscum! Peace Be With You!

Corruptio Optimi Pessima, Veritas Autem Vos Liberabit

/ Richard L. Marrash / 1 Comment

I don’t know how to begin, or what to say. All of us have seen the news. An incredible breach of operational security……by those charged with safeguarding the nation and its vital interests! What can you say or do? Those placed in charge have failed in the most elementary aspect of professional tradecraft–securing classified information (whether or not the word CLASSIFIED appears on the document or has been formally stated). Highly sensitive, mission critical information must be protected according to the required procedures and safeguards. Those are not suggestions. It is the law. If you don’t know that, and if you argue that “I didn’t see any classification notice” on the information or “no one mentioned that information was classified,” you do not belong anywhere close to a responsible position in the intelligence community. This security failure would never be tolerated in a new, junior member of the IC. It is catastrophic when it appears at the highest levels and among several of the heads of the most sensitive agencies.

These leaders of the most important agencies of our government used a marginally secure system, Signal, for a top-level discussion of classified information and even brought in a total outsider–a journalist–and were totally unaware of his presence on the discussion thread, while they went ahead and dumped restricted intelligence into the discourse, which should have been held in a SCIF (sensitive compartmentalized information facility). All while preparing to send U. S. pilots into enemy territory to conduct a dangerous operation.

As expected, the President has played down the breach, and, true to form, has attacked The Atlantic journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, incredibly, for being responsible for having been placed on the discussion thread. He was placed there by Mike Walz, President Trump’s national security advisor. The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, denounced Goldberg, The Atlantic, and the media and claimed that he did not disclose classified information. The other members present on the Signal discussion dodged any responsibility during their testimonies before the Senate subcommittee that began looking into the security breach. Except for a few courageous souls willing to face the Trumpian/MAGA attack machine, most Senate and Congressional Republicans have remained mute on the seriousness of the incident.

So while our current Government denounces Canada, the EU, NATO, Ukraine, and cozies up to Russia and its wannabe Tsar Vladimir Putin, the gates of our security system are thrown open. Russian, Chinese, North Korean, and Iranian hackers, among others, will hardly need to break into the system to seize our most sensitive information. They can just get a Signal account and wait for the clueless amateurs to simply leave lying around what these adversaries are seeking!

It goes without saying that these lightweights should never have been confirmed by the Senate for positions of such grave responsibility. Too late now, but at a minimum, Walz and Hegseth should resign. The others should receive at least official reprimands. But none of that will happen. The administration has continued to denounce Goldberg and the media in general for concocting a “hoax”, Mr. Trump’s favorite tactic when his actions or policies are criticized. It is the classic play of the demagogue: deny, deflect, distract. Instead of attacking him, the government should be praising the fact that Jeffrey Goldberg pulled himself offline once he understood that he was privy to a sensitive operational discussion conducted by top U. S. officials! At first, he thought it was a sham invitation to the group, but when the attack was ultimately reported in the news, Goldberg realized that somehow he had been included in a highly sensitive Signal thread–a discussion where operational details were revealed that could have forewarned our adversaries and endangered the lives of the U. S. servicemen who were carrying out the attack. We were very lucky this time.

This is not the United States of America that I recognize. Like many others of my generation, and those before and since, I swore an oath to the Constitution of the United States both in military service and again in federal service in the intelligence community. I have never retracted my commitment to that oath either as military or civilian. I am bound by it until the day I die. I am certain that nearly all of my fellow Americans who have served their country feel the same way. But I am outraged and distressed by the reluctance of the White House and the Congress to demand complete accountability and by the irresponsibility of officials serving at the highest levels of our government. We dodged a bullet this time, but it must not happen again.

Whatever your political feelings, you should feel ashamed that we have come to this state of affairs. As Americans, it appears that we cannot even count on our leaders to protect our national interests. Their duty to do so is enjoined by their sworn oaths to the Constitution. To avoid any future disaster due to reckless, avoidable breakdowns in security, we must insist on complete transparency in getting to the bottom of this thoughtless blunder. Instead, we are being subjected to denial and deflection and the whining excuses of those who have shown us clearly that they possess neither the character nor the professional qualifications for the high offices they hold. They have demonstrated their woeful incompetence to the whole world. It is inexcusable. May God save the United States of America.

Lieb Vaterland Magst Ruhig Sein

/ Richard L. Marrash / Leave a comment

I begin this post with an email exchange between Linda, and myself. Linda is my longtime friend from our University of Michigan days and a frequent email correspondent :

Read about the influencer behind the Tech Bro turn to the Right politically. I’d only recently heard of this man.  Take a look. 

Linda

“The Dubious History of America’s Most Famous Monarchist,” by Jamelle Bouie, The New York Times, Jan. 22, 20251

In a recent article describing the country’s progressive inclination toward oligarchy, I did read a reference to someone touting monarchy for the United States. Thanks for sharing this NYT article with me, Linda, it makes clear who that “American monarchist” is and what he is about. 

The article Linda shared with me got me to thinking about some troubling current events, and I jotted down my thoughts as follows.

For my own part, the greatest threat to our nation is illustrated by the pardoning of the entire roster of January 6 insurrectionists. Many duly convicted of violent sedition and insurrection. This smug bunch and their affiliated anti-government militias, and similar groups and individuals whether organized or simply like-minded, have now become an unofficial, private army for Trump to call on whenever he feels the need. Remember his directions to the Proud Boys, “stand down and stand by.” He has empowered them to act beyond the reach of legal consequences by showing his readiness to pardon them–so, then: “Stand by,” America, for any future actions he will decide to use them for. Exaggeration? I think not. He referred to them as “patriots,” “political prisoners,” and “hostages.” But they are criminals, unquestionably, observed in their violent actions and words on TV screens all over the world, and subsequently convicted according to law. Yet, the President is even now indicating he will invite some of them to the White House!

In the 1930s, while he was tightening his hold on political power in Germany, Adolf Hitler had his Sturmabteilung (SA), popularly known as the Brown Shirts, thugs wearing swastikas, who went around harassing and beating those who opposed him and his Nazi party. We have just experienced the first step in that direction.2 Count on the Trump Administration to push forward with its agenda heedless of constitutional and institutional norms. The Constitution and the rule of law apparently need not apply to Trump and his coterie of sycophants.

That Trump has a taste for the use of naked force to achieve his ends comes as no surprise. He is deploying thousands of active-duty military to the southern border and launching mass deportations of illegal immigrants. No serious person disputes that both ineffective control of the border and the broken immigration system have been for decades thorny, unresolved problems that both political parties failed to address. But at least a preliminary attempt was offered in the bipartisan immigration bill that Trump scuttled lest it interfere with his 2024 election campaign. Conservative Republicans as well as Democrats had worked on the bill together and believed its passage would have been a step forward and provided something to continue to build on. Trump, on the contrary, prefers to use brute force to make that happen. While only a couple of days in office, already he is aiming his ire and vindictiveness at the institutions of government and the employees of agencies that have aroused his resentment for a host of personal grievances including such offenses as: DEI, wokeness, LGBTQ, and of course the sin of disloyalty of the various offenders on his enemies list. The way of the dictator does not bode well for the nation once known as the “land of the free and the home of the brave” where today the emboldened Executive Branch of the US Government goes forward increasingly unchecked by the cowed Legislative Branch and empowered by the acquiescent Judicial Branch. This nation appears ready to raise its outstretched arm in salute and shout, “Sieg Heil!”

Now, every time I think about the consequences of what these actions are leading us to, Benjamin Franklin’s warning reverberates in my mind. When asked following the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 what kind of government the delegates had established, he replied tersely: A republic, if you can keep it. I try to be optimistic, but I’m not sure we can.

[Note: the title of this post is from the German patriotic anthem, Die Wacht Am Rhein. The translation of the verse is, “Beloved Fatherland, May you be at peace.” I wanted to share the laudable sentiment, but at the same time let the German words resonate with a warning about the trend toward extremist nationalism that I have tried to describe in this post.]

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  1. The NYT article identifies a “prolific Internet commenter” named, Curtis Yarvin. The author of the piece summarizes his political philosophy: “The path to national renewal, Yarvin argues, is to unravel American democracy in favor of rule by a benevolent C.E.O.-monarch drawn from a cadre of venture capitalists and corporate oligarchs.” ↩︎
  2. See the guest essay in the New York Times, January 5, 2025, } “For Many of Us, Jan. 6 Never Ended,” By Aquilino Gonell. Mr. Gonell is a former sergeant in the Capitol Police and the author, with Susan Shapiro, of “American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy.” ↩︎

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AMERICAN HEROES WHO DEFENDED THE U. S. CAPITOL ON JANUARY 6, 2021

These officers and their families remain under threat by right wing extremists because of their testimonies before the January 6 Committee and current legal actions involving the insurrectionists of that day. Several have appeared on television and in the newspapers to bear witness to the “criminal behavior” of those who attacked and brutalized them and their colleagues defending the U. S. Capitol. Obviously, I can’t mention here all of the names of the dozens of Capitol Police and D. C. Metropolitan Police who suffered similar violent experiences at the hands of the mob.

Harry Dunn, Capitol Police (Retired, wounded on Jan. 6)

Michael Fanone, DC Metropolitan Police (Retired, wounded on Jan. 6)

Aquilino Gonell, Capitol Police (Retired, wounded on Jan. 6)

Brian Sicknick, Capitol Police (RIP, died of wounds received on Jan. 6)

Daniel Hodges, DC Metropolitan Police (Wounded on Jan. 6)

Steven Sund, Capitol Police chief, (Scapegoated, resigned under pressure)

Pearl Harbor Day

/ Richard L. Marrash / Leave a comment

It’s automatic. It’s visceral. Every December 7th, I remember, as do most Americans of my generation–born when World War Two swept in and seized America by the throat–that fateful Sunday morning in 1941 when the world burst into flames. No, I wasn’t there, but throughout my childhood in the 1940s, we learned at home, in school, in the neighborhood about the stealthy Japanese attack on our naval base in the Hawaiian Islands, that dreadful surprise that President Franklin D. Roosevelt called “… a day which will live in infamy.” On the radio, we heard the song, “Let’s Remember Pearl Harbor” again and again. And we followed the course of the war waiting for husbands, fathers, uncles, brothers, and friends to come home. Over the decades, the emotions surrounding the “sneak attack” and the sorrow over the losses have faded, but have not disappeared entirely. Few still remember, but mention December 7 to anyone over 70 and you are sure to get a knowing response, “Yes, Pearl Harbor Day.” They know the story.

I have always felt bound to commemorate this day, to honor the sacrifice of those who suffered its grim ordeal. It has symbolized for me the terrible destruction and death unleashed on a sleeping nation and the courage, faith, and resilience of the American people that led to ultimate victory over the aggression and brutal militarism of authoritarian powers across the world, not just in the Pacific.

I don’t think it is necessary to go beyond what I have mentioned here. This brief remembrance is enough, for me, at any rate. There are more details in one of my earlier posts, if you are interested.

Remember Pearl Harbor!

Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens

/ Richard L. Marrash / Leave a comment

It’s hard to believe that as the fraught year of 2024 is drawing to a close, we are revisiting the science behind the pasteurization of milk. I don’t suppose many of us older folks are milk drinkers–although I do admit to enjoying ayran, my favorite yogurt drink–but fans of RFK Jr. should still exercise caution about feeding raw milk to their kids and grandkids. As Dennis D’Amico, animal science professor of the University of Connecticut, says, “… there’s no reason to have raw milk,” he said. “It’s a risk that is not necessary.”  Hmm, I just felt a slight tremor…Louis Pasteur must be rolling over in his grave.

The quote above appears in the Well Being section of the Washington Post in an article by Teddy Amenabar, November 21, 2024  titled, RFK Jr. says he drinks raw milk. How safe is unpasteurized milk? The subtitle states, “Raw milk is risky to drink, especially for children and older adults, food scientists say.”

I would like to think that I’m preaching to the choir. Sometimes it’s hard to tell these days when faced with full-blown and scornful dismissals of medical science and science-based institutions. Oh, I know, someone will haul out well-worn arguments pointing out the errors committed and counterindications where science and medicine have dropped the ball. So what? Mistakes occur in every human endeavor. There is no absolute guarantee of error-free progress in all of human history. Nor is there any absolutely risk-free procedure in medicine–that’s why you sign a consent form before your doctor undertakes even a small procedure on your behalf. You acknowledge that you understand the risks. But such criticism should likewise encompass the flagrant mischief committed by popular pseudoscience where false or exaggerated claims about treatments and cures are rarely subject to rigorous scientific scrutiny or real accountability. At its best it has been ineffective, at its worst it has caused harm that was totally unnecessary, but occurred because of popular gullibility. People should remember some of the nonsense that has been spread around by quackery: remember the Laetrile controversy back in the 1970s? It was touted that “Laetrile will cure cancer, but the medical establishment is suppressing it.” How many desperate people ran off to Mexico to obtain laetrile treatment at “clinics” run by quacks because it was discredited as a cancer treatment in the United States? That had tragic consequences for many cancer sufferers. Other more recent examples of quack medicine are available for examination by anyone interested. I won’t attempt go through the history of quackery, it is too tedious, and I have little incentive to do the research and collect it all. But the lineage of quack medicine and pseudoscience is a long one.

All right, next. Is there corruption in some of the mainstream institutions? Does Big Pharma have too much influence over the pricing and availability of pharmaceuticals? Do the insurance companies have too much clout in determining medical treatments? Etc., etc. Those are legitimate questions, and unfortunately the answers to some of those questions are disturbing, even scandalous. But the concerns generated by those controversies do not constitute a legitimate basis for the wholesale trashing of medical or scientific advice and the institutions dedicated to the investigation of the myriad issues in science, medicine, and human health. Such hyper-generalized criticisms–most often but not exclusively launched at government institutions–only feed the confirmation bias of certain peculiar ideologies that in themselves have no foundation in logic and rational inquiry, but rather represent a growing, popular trend: the peddling of dark conspiracies where none exist and the sowing of mistrust of any traditional or “mainstream” institutions of health, science, and education. Populism has a long history, not all of it edifying or decent, but generally it represents the response of angry swathes of the population who feel ignored and misled by their leaderships: i.e., an acute sense of disgust, disillusion, and deprivation. The answers to their problems fall properly under the categories of political reform, social policy, education, and civics, but too often they find their outlet in the adoption of absurdities peddled by unscrupulous self-promoters and opportunists.

The power of special interest groups and corporate lobbyists to influence decisions affecting the public inrerest constitutes a major problem for society in general. These entrenched interests leverage their connections to win government contracts and promote their organizations’ brands and products, and certainly their profitability. They are not easy targets for political reform–indeed, they are major contributors to their political favorites and expect tit for tat. So it will take determined long-term efforts by individuals and groups acting in the public interest to improve the situation. But the search for truth goes on. Knowledge grows with experience, and science has its fits and starts while always acknowledging the tentative nature of current theories and welcoming the process of continued discovery of new ones, validated by the scientific method. Society must not be encouraged to dismiss scientific evidence. If your conclusions are not supported by evidence, you must question them, and look for the truth. I would put it simply this way: a head in the sand invites a kick in the ass.

So why have I given this post a title in German that translates as, “Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain”? To answer that, here’s an explanation I copied from Wikipedia, “… the quote is from Friedrich Schiller’s play Die Jungfrau von Orleans (The Maid of Orleans), written in 1801. It’s a powerful line that reflects the struggle against human folly and ignorance.”  

We have a cultural tendency to throw babies out along with bath water. We want simple answers to complex problems, no matter how unproven or absurd, and we rush to adopt those that conform to what we want to believe, facts notwithstanding. We admire and praise those who purvey them, whatever their reputation, and hasten to support their agendas and follow them: Education and Experience Not Necessary, Apply within!

“What fools these mortals be.” Ah, Puck! Whither art thou gone”?

Octogenarian On the March

/ Richard L. Marrash / Leave a comment

It seems to follow me around from my mirror to my bath: the signs of seniority (but not senility yet, I hope). I am the cranky, uncooperative victim of the march of time. I keep thinking I should follow Dylan Thomas’s advice: Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Today (October 3) marks another milestone on that dreadful march: the marking of 82 years. Tomorrow begins the third year of my ninth decade. How does one make sense of having survived more than half of the twentieth century and almost one quarter of the twenty-first?

I started this post two weeks ago, but left it unfinished. I post it now just to put it out there. My thanks to all of you who sent me birthday greetings. And I’ll try to address my own question (above) later on.

80 Years Ago Today…

/ Richard L. Marrash / Leave a comment

…the world held its collective breath as the Allies undertook the long-awaited invasion of what the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler called his Fortress Europe. D-Day cost the lives of thousands of American and Allied soldiers, and it was only the dogged courage and perseverance of those troops that drove them to fight their way off the slaughterhouses that were the Normandy beaches that fateful day, June 6, 1944. Earlier in the war, Churchill had said of the British victory in November 1942 over German forces at El Alamein, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” But after D-Day, one could imagine that it was, in fact, the beginning of the end, and from that foothold in Normandy, the Allies pushed on to the final victory in Europe almost one year later. On May 8, 1945, with Germany’s surrender, World War Two officially ended in Europe: Victory in Europe, V-E Day!

About D-Day, most Americans need to be reminded…a few still remember that day. For most Europeans, it lingers in their collective memory what it was like to live under authoritarian regimes and suffer the brutal occupation of what once were free societies. Eerily, it feels as though that once-crushed viper of fascism has slithered out of a dark hole and is at large once more. The new generations who have grown up in an era when messaging is instant, and in too many cases extremely insular and uncircumspect, have less and less exposure to disturbing realities that have gone unrecognized, and truth has become the victim–indeed, even the notion of what truth consists of, and how it is genuinely arrived at. The philosopher George Santayana warned that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” America hovers perilously at that critical point, and what is at stake is our democracy, our republic.

Authoritarianism has found renewed vigor and is rearing its nasty head all around the world, and–unthinkably–even in the United States of America. Every American should feel a sense of obligation to our past, to our defenders who fought so valiantly to vanquish the ugly fascist scourge that menaced Europe decades ago, and now threatens us again. Do not stand by and curse the darkness. Shine light on big lies that self-serving demagogues and shameful hucksters propagate for the sake of power and personal gain. Mischief and chicanery hate the light. Keep faith with our traditions and our great past generation. They are counting on us to safeguard their legacy. Don’t let them down.

In Honor Of (uncles, father-in-law, father):

George Marrash, US Army, WWII, DOW France, 1944

Tony Marrash, US Army, WWII

Sam Sadie, US Marine Corps, WWII

Louis Gramesty, US Army, 8th Air Force, WWII

Elias T. Marrash, Auto-Ordnance Co., Thompson Submachine Gun makers, WWII

Mora honoris causa

/ Richard L. Marrash / Leave a comment

I have few words to offer on this day. Every year we celebrate, and every year we offer the same platitudes about our honored dead. Yet the list of those grows every year as more of our serving military lose their lives in turbulent, hostile places across the globe. Many have died over the past year. More than likely others will follow as these brave men and women faithfully carry out their critical missions: their stalwart presence helps to assure that we can continue to live in a world governed by respect for the rule of law. That respect is waning; nevertheless, United States of America remains the indispensable nation for preserving and defending that world order–the legacy bequeathed to us by the generation that defeated fascism in World War Two. We must not fail to preserve and defend that legacy, and that duty begins right here at home.

I have little to add, so I will close with the message I sent in my Memorial Day ecard to my mailing list.

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To Family, Friends, and Veterans of every era,

Remember to take time out of your weekend of holiday activities, picnics, barbecues, and beach time to reflect on why, in a world filled today with war and devastation, we have the freedom to enjoy such leisure, unhindered and unsuppressed. We owe a debt of gratitude to those men and women, who in every major challenge to our nation, paid the ultimate price for us. Our Republic and its freedoms stand because of their willing sacrifice. Let’s pause, and remember them today.

Have a wonderful holiday this weekend,

Richard and Adele

In Memoriam: George A. Marrash, Pvt. US Army, 23d Inf. Reg., 2d Inf Div., Died of Wounds, France, 1944.

44 Years!

/ Richard L. Marrash / 2 Comments

I haven’t posted to the blog in several weeks, but I can’t let April depart without mentioning a few dates important to me and my lovely lady, Adele. First off, a joint occasion that, happily, does not refer to income tax; rather, on the 12th day of this month, Adele and I celebrated our forty-fourth wedding anniversary. It was a simple affair, just she and I along with our friends from next door, Greg and Ramona. We had been itching to try the menu at the Thai restaurant not far from us in Oro Valley, and so we invited our friends to join us. Reviews we had read were mostly full of praise for the service and the food, so we were excited about discovering another good place to dine. What a sad disappointment! We had the worst meal in decades, greasy messes of noodles all glued together with mere tiny fragments of the meat or fish that the dish was supposed to contain. Appalled, we felt terrible for our guests, whose meals were as bad as ours, or worse. And as though things couldn’t get still worse, the inferior red wine they served (the choices offered were meager) was warm! Not room temperature, but warm! As though having sat in the sun for hours. The chilled wine glasses did nothing to improve that warm, bodiless fluid. The evening was nearly a total bust, and we left with profuse apologies to our guests for the terrible dinner, while unhappily I was reminded of T. S. Eliot’s opening to his poem, The Wasteland, “April is the cruelest month….” But Greg came to the rescue, and had us stop in at one of his favorite pubs a few doors down from the Thai restaurant. After a couple of very generous Old-Fashioned cocktails and some nice conversation, my depressed mood dissipated, and we ended the evening on a happier note. All thanks to the intervention of our thoughtful dinner companions.

But there’s more. This past Saturday we celebrated Adele’s 75th birthday. Her birthday is actually tomorrow, April 23, but the weekend was more convenient for our guests attend. Our daughters, Leila and Mona, came down from Chandler, and our old Connecticut friends Miki and Jay who live in Tucson, and their son and daughter-in-law, joined us, as well as several of our friends and neighbors from all around Del Webb. The sangria was flowing (the fruit was as potent as the drink), and the beverages ran the gamut from Rieslings and Cabernets to Stella Artois and Guinness Stout. But the food! Oh what a different dining experience was there this time! We had a feast catered by The Persian Room, delicious and plentiful: savory dips and crudites started us off, followed by beef and chicken kebabs with stewed tomatoes and onions, saffron rice, hummus bi-tahineh, flat bread and mixed salad with feta cheese and olives. We have ordered from The Persian Room before, and dined there several times. They do not disappoint. Dessert was prepared by Adele herself consisting of absolutely scrumptious trays of knafeh with walnuts, a sweet and tasty Middle Eastern delicacy. Although we missed a few friends who were unable to attend, the music, games, camaraderie and conversation, and our daughters pitching in to entertain, serve, and clean up, made the evening a complete delight. It was indeed a very happy birthday for Adele.

That same Saturday, the 20th of April, was important to me for one other reason. It was the anniversary of my mother Mary’s birthday–born April 20, 1921 in Soueidieh, Syria, then still a part of the Ottoman Empire. And I remembered her with a silent prayer. As we say in the Orthodox faith, + Memory Eternal +.

Although having missed posting in February and March, I do pledge to post again in May, at the very least for Memorial Day. So for now I will close, with the thought that maybe T. S. Eliot was wrong, April hasn’t been such a bad month, after all.