Month: January 2023

Twilight of an Old Knight

Photo by Piotr Makowski on Unsplash

I am not an outspoken extravert as people in this craft can be. I am not a raging bull claiming victories on the battlefield. I am no legend, I hold no magic. Others are cut from that miracle cloth, I am just warm durable denim. And maybe just worn-out not-so-durable denim. I don’t know anymore.

I have been doing this for a while now. A long while. It has taken its toll on me. Still, when the weight of the years is too much to bare, I try to remind myself. There was a time when I enjoyed doing what I did. It made sense. I could see it leading me somewhere.

You can find my seal in many places around the world. It is imprinted on the dozens of battlefields where I silently lead the troops to victory. It is barely noticeable. Stardust. But it is definitely there. It is by no means a magic seal, its purpose is not to dazzle. It is only supposed to make things work. To do the job. To bring soundness within reach so that “sound” stops being a luxury in these realms and starts to become a standard.

I do not find my craft to give meaning to my life, nor is it a vector of self fulfillment anymore, as maybe a doctor healing people or an explorer pushing the boundaries of the great human adventure would see theirs. Still, I enjoy the memories, and I have so many of them that they must amount to something.

I learnt so much on the road, I met so many people, overcame so many challenges. I can still remember the fun over the years, even across the crisis, the pandemics, and the inevitable passage of time. A dull walk in the parc would not have yielded so many tales.

I am so tired of the battles. I don’t know if I can lead one anymore, if I can fall back on my feet no matter how high the fall, no matter how shaky the ground. If there is still fun ahead. It is all about that in the end. How much fun can this old knight squeeze out of the remaining time to serve. I guess I will never know if I do not try. One last time.

May the force be with you, old Jedi.

Let the board sound

Rabih

Our Lords and Our Masters

Photo by Edmund Lou on Unsplash

You the poor, the weak, the orphan
The simple minded, the infant
The elderly, the immigrant
You, the black sheep and the black swan

Our Lords and our Masters

Let the board sound

Rabih

Small Angel

A small angel with a smile which only a child can make so sweet

Photo by Abbas Tehrani on Unsplash

September 2015. A small angel washes up dead on the Turkish shores. The most sacred of all had just been trampled by the powerful, the greedy and the fool. He was two years old.

He was wearing a red T-shirt, probably the Mystery Space Riders T-shirt he wore in another picture of him cheering in a playground, as only a child can cheer. He was radiant. It might have been his favorite T-shirt. It became his shroud.

“He is in a better place now”.

It depends of course on your belief in an afterlife or the lack thereof. One thing is for sure though.

We are in a worse place now.

There are household names and less known names signing articles on this platform.
Maybe they only write to promote candidates for local elections.
Maybe they only write to promote playlists and movies they played or watched in 2022.
Maybe they only write on how to write to make a couple of bucks.
Maybe they never read anything published out there.
Maybe they just don’t care.

But maybe they do.

So here it is, sealed in a virtual bottle and entrusted to the meanders of an ocean of electrons and bits, my rant for the new year.

Love the children in your life, whether they are yours, or just nephews, neighbors, or complete strangers you happen to walk by on your way to work. It will make you a better person and this world a better place.

Oh, and all my best wishes for this new year.

Let the board sound

Rabih