Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (May 17, 2014)

Sultan’s Version

A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo.

… Howard Bell

A Modern Aphorism

A true egoist is a loner. He enjoys only his own company.

From the Trivia File

Although they didn’t meet until they were teenagers, Prince Albert and Queen Victoria were born in the same year and delivered by the same midwife.

Armenian Proverb

He is asleep, his luck is awake.

Sage Advice

Don’t be so broad-minded that you forget who you are.

A Myth Explained

Both the ostrich and its eggs are the subject of many strange myths. The best known is probably that of hiding its head in the sand if danger approaches. The belief is maintained by Pliny and Oppian, and Pliny adds that it also hides its head in a bush, but Diodorus says that the hiding of the head is not stupidity, as is usually assumed, but to protect “the tenderest part of the body.”

Tall Tales

Edo: What did you do during World War II?

Bedo: I was a pilot in the Army Air Corps. I hadn’t won my wings but a couple of months when I blew up two ammunition dumps and shot down six fighter planes.

Edo: I guess after that they decided to send you overseas.

What’s in a Name?

Kahramanian: Turkish in derivation, identified as a descriptive term, kahraman is defined as a gallant and brave fellow, a hero.

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CK Garabed

Weekly Columnist

C.K. Garabed (a.k.a. Charles Kasbarian) has been active in the Armenian Church and Armenian community organizations all his life. As a writer and editor, he has been a keen observer of, and outspoken commentator on, political and social matters affecting Armenian Americans. He has been a regular contributor to the Armenian Reporter and the AGBU Literary Quarterly, “ARARAT.” For the last 30 years, Garabed has been a regular contributor to the Armenian Weekly. He produces a weekly column called “Uncle Garabed's Notebook,” in which he presents an assortment of tales, anecdotes, poems, riddles, and trivia; for the past 10 years, each column has contained a deconstruction of an Armenian surname. He believes his greatest accomplishment in life, and his contribution to the Armenian nation, has been the espousing of Aghavni, and the begetting of Antranig and Lucine.

Latest posts by CK Garabed (see all)

• A Reminiscence: John Najarian - February 19, 2020
• Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (Aug. 5, 2017) - August 7, 2017
• Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (July 22, 2017) - July 22, 2017