Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (Dec. 6, 2014)

On Conversation

One of the reasons why so few people are to be found who seem sensible and pleasant in conversation is that almost everybody is thinking about what he wants to say himself rather than answering clearly what is being said to him. The more clever and polite think it enough simply to put on an attentive expression, while all the time you can see in their eyes and train of thought that they are far removed from what you are saying and anxious to get back to what they want to say. They ought, on the contrary, to reflect that such keenness to please oneself is a bad way of pleasing or persuading others, and that to listen well and answer to the point is one of the most perfect qualities one can have in conversation.

…La Rochefoucauld

Perfect Solution

A well-known actor was seated at the guest table at a dinner given at a prominent New York hotel. He was known for being a free thinker when it came to theology. When it was time for dinner, the toastmaster, a very religious man, noticed that there were no clergymen present, although some had been invited, turned to the actor, and asked him to give the benediction. The actor, without hesitation, rose, lowered his head, and in the midst of a deep silence, fervently stated, “There being no clergymen present, let us thank God!”

Pun Fun

Edo: Did you know that Zaven beats his wife up every morning?

Bedo: No!

Edo: Yes, he gets up at eight, and she gets up at nine.

Armenian Proverb

If I say it, I’m crass;

If I don’t say it, an ass.

From the Word Lab

Tsdel: the Armenian word for to pass wind noiselessly.

What’s in a Name?

Daghlian: Turkish in derivation, identified as a descriptive term, daghli is defined as mountaineer; coarse or unpolished man.

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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