Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (July 9, 2016)

A Modern Aphorism

Self doubt is the most sincere manifestation of humility.

Ryan’s Law

Make three consecutive guesses correctly and you will establish yourself as an expert.

The Promise of Religion

Oh, to be in a state of bliss forever!

Daffy-nition

Mother’s Day: Nine months after Father’s Day.

Nostalgia

In the old days when Dikranagerdtsi women were sitting around discussing adult themes, and a child wandered into the room, one of the women would warn the others to be on guard by uttering the phrase, “Badi vran janj igah” (There’s a fly on the wall.)

From My Persian Dictionary

Chirágh: lamp, light (candle)

Kinár: lap

Dukhtar: lass

Άkhir: last

About Face

Edo: Listen, I was sitting in a theater with my wife when an old girlfriend of mine came to where we were sitting and said “hello.”

Bedo: That’s nothing. I was sitting in a theater with my girlfriend when my wife came over and said “hello.”

What’s in a Name?

Vaniskhian: A variant of Vaneskehyan, which is Armenian (from Hebrew) and Turkish in derivation, and identified as a combination of proper noun and a calling, Vanes is the diminutive of Hovhannes, and kehya or kahya is defined as village head or elder, or steward.

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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