Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (May 16, 2015)

The Virtue of Hardship

If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?

… Rumi, 13^th-century Persian poet

Sanskrit Proverb

The dexterous make even untruths appear truths as those skilled in painting can make hollows and eminences on a level surface.

Out of Bounds                                                                        

In medieval times, no one with any personal defect was allowed to reign, and one of the most ordinary means of disqualifying a prince for succeeding to a throne was to put out his eyes. Scores of such instances occurred in English, Italian, French, Spanish, German, Russian, and Scandinavian history.

Fail-Safe

Good sportsmanship we hail, we sing

It’s always pleasant when you spot it.

There’s only one unhappy thing:

You have to lose to prove you’ve got it.

… Richard Armour

Daffy-nition

Marriage: An institution that teaches a man regularity, frugality, temperance, forbearance, and many other splendid virtues he wouldn’t need if he had stayed single.

Colloquy on Lineage

Haughty matron: I’ll have you know that I come from one of the oldest families on earth.

Joe Plebe: Who doesn’t?

What’s in a Name?

Gerektsian: Armenian in derivation, identified as a geographical location, Gerek/Kerek is the name of a village in the vicinity of Erzerum. Therefore, Gerektsi is a native of that village.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

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