June 05, 2009

On Weird Dinner Conversations

These conversations never cease to amuse/intrigue me. Tonight, over dinner, we are discussing our weekend plans.

It’s a long weekend, since Sunday are the parliamentary elections, and we here in Lebanon always need an extra day to pour oil on troubled waters, so Monday’s off as well. Some schools were off today too. The times are uncertain, as this is an important election. Are we to follows the Saudis & the Americans, or will we go local and run after Syria and Iran?
Yet Another Sunset (at 5:49 P.M. indeed)

Saturday is deemed ‘safe’, and so we plan to do something outside the house. Sunday is doubtful. Shall we go on a road trip, or should we stay around the house, just in case? We suspect Sunday will be quiet; if things are going to stir up, it is likely going to be on Monday. The tension has been screwed to the sticking point, and is likely going to be released once – on Monday night – the results are out. Each member of the family argues his or her case, and we talk as if we have insider’s knowledge of the intricate emotions that motivate a person to go onto the street and shoot other people.

“Well”, argues hubbie, “if they are going to fight like last May, we’re going to the mountain house.”

The other family members are not enthusiastic about that idea. Nothing ever happens in the mountains; we want to be around where the action is. It was after all, explains my son, a great experience, the street fighting of last May.

I cannot argue with that. Needless to say we did not live through 15 years of civil war, and were lying at some beach in France during the 2006 summer war.
But we will not move around the house anymore like before, I announce. After I discovered all those bullet holes in the façade of my apartment, it is clear that my downstairs neighbors – who I disdainfully described as lemmings barricading themselves in the hallway - did have a point.

Fine”, says hubbie, “if you want to spend your time hauled up like rats in a windowless hallway, instead of sitting in the sun on your terrace in the mountains, be my guest.”

I mention that we have Wi-Fi, and so we can take our laptops to the hallways.

“Cool,” says my son, “then I can Facebook and MSN all day.”

And I wonder, while overlooking the Mediterranean sunset, if people in other countries have weird conversations like this? Where will you spend your election weekend?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Definitely practically identical conversations conversations of the exact same style in Greece. Definitely .-
:)

M.

Anonymous said...

isn`t is "cease "?

Sietske said...

Yes, it is seize! Will change that now!

Angie Nader said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Angie Nader said...

i hope that today leaves you and your family safe..
but really its very exciting after the elections with all of the fireworks...something i miss terriably living in the states

Anonymous said...

Tonight 10:59 PM June 27
We really don’t know when this happened!!!
On Monday night had to go at night (less traffic) to the airport for a small (mouamaleh) on our way to the airport we heard like a howling in the car when the car speed reaches more then 40 Km/hour so I say to my wife there is something strange with your car, yeap she replies I noticed this sound since several days well to cut the story short after a 5 days of wondering checking the car at the mechanical guy Chris crossing the tires nothing stopped this sound, today I told the electrician guy that I have a strange sound that appeared several days ago ( this is surely from the windshield he replies I had a car with the same problem and it took me 2 days to find the source of the whistle) so he checked the car and tapped on the roof top and told me ( hey come have a look you have a bullet hole on the top of your car above the windshield glass)
“J’entendais siffler le train “
weird conversation you‘ll say but it is living in Lebanon, yesterday we where swimming in the pool under the bullets flying above our heads and tonight we are sleeping under the bullets flying above our heads and wonder what tomorrow will bring another summer of 2006 ahead???
Alexandre