Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (Sept. 29, 2012)

Here’s the Difference

Talent is what you possess; genius is what possesses you.

–Malcolm Cowley

Danish Proverb

He who takes the child by the hand takes the mother by the heart.

Great Expectations

Thalestris: A queen of the Amazons who went with 300 women to meet Alexander the Great, in the hope of raising a race of Alexanders.

Modern Aphorism

The proper function of penal laws is not merely to punish crime, but to prevent it.

On the Tombstone of a Pedestrian

This is the grave of Mike O’Day

Who died maintaining his right of way.

His right was clear, his will was strong,

But he’s just as dead as if he’d been wrong.

A Good-Natured Toast

To your birthday, glass held high,

Glad it’s you that’s older—not I.

From the Trivia File

Wolves can appear as were-animals, and in Armenian legend can be a form taken by witches and warlocks who can also ride wolves.

What’s in a Name?

Zanazanian: Armenian in derivation, identified as a descriptive term, zanazan is currently defined as different, various, diverse, sundry, distinct. According to Avedisian’s Armenian Name Dictionary, zanazan has had different meanings, but during Armenia’s Golden Age, it meant beautiful, fair, handsome, elegant, admirable, superb.

Note: Many of Uncle Garabed’s articles previously published in the Armenian Weekly may be viewed on www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/C.K._Garabed.