Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (Dec. 26, 2015)

Russian Proverb

Clever father, clever daughter; clever mother, clever son.

On Love

Love is said to be blind, but I know a lot of fellows in love who can see twice as much in their sweethearts as I can.

… Josh Billings

A Lady’s Wit

A young man, in a large company, descanting very flippantly on a subject, his knowledge of which was evidently very superficial, a lady present asked his name. “‘Tis Scarlet,” replied a gentleman who stood by. “Indeed,” said the lady, “then I am sure he belies his name, for I am sure he is not deep read.”

Daffy-nition

History is something that never happened, written by a man who wasn’t there.

A Precursor

In regard to the massacre of a whole race, we have a modern example in Turkish history. In 1770, the grand seignior, in full council, decreed that the whole Greek race should be exterminated; but Hassan Pasha interfered, and obtained for them a general amnesty.

… M. de Peysonnel, Voyages au Levant

Honoring God’s Saints

The following tale is told of Rudolf I, kaiser and king of Germany. One day a poor priest, taking the holy elements to a dying man, was stopped by a brook, greatly swollen by recent rains. Rudolf, then a simple knight, happened to be riding by at the time, and seeing the difficulty, instantly dismounted, and placed his horse at the disposal of the priest. When the man of God had crossed the stream, and was about to return the steed to its owner, Rudolf begged him to accept it as a gift. “Take it, father,” said he: “I am not worthy to use it now, seeing it has been consecrated to the service of God.”

What’s in a Name?

Varoujanian: Armenian in derivation, identified as an ornithological term, varoujan is defined as a male dove.

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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