When I am a lemon tree

Today I have been asked to be a lemon tree…
And because I am the nicest person on earth I could not refuse the DEMAND of the most loving person on earth…

This is the monologue of an earthly grounded lemon tree…

I have been planted here for years, I had no choice, it was imposed on me…

I grew up in this neighborhood…

Behind me a grey wall…not very talkative…sometimes bitter…and sometimes surprisingly sweet… but always reliable…It always provided me with the security I needed…

On my right side…an olive tree…we are cousins…we have a lot in common…our passion to serve others and make them happy is great…Who has ever complained about a perfect lemon and olive oil dressing?

But have you ever thought how much pressure does the olive tree put on the lemon tree?

The lemon tree always feels that its resources are limited…that its horizons are restricted…compared to the olive tree…

Many times I get frustrated…why can’t I be like the olive tree with its unlimited use, with its indefinite utility?

But then again I remind myself that I am a lemon tree…which is different than an olive tree…which means I have a different life to live…

They see my lemons…They think I am old…but I am not…

I am a baby tree…who always needs to be taken care of with maybe sometimes sweet little compliments like you smell nice today…

What I hate the most is when people stop looking at me when I lose all my lemons…

Without my lemons…do I lose my charm?

I always forget that there are times where I do not carry lemons…but that doesn’t mean that I do not exist anymore…or that I should feel sad…

But I always do the same mistake…I fall into the trap of the seasons…

I should keep reminding myself that I will always carry lemons…the old ones go…new ones blossom…

When I am down, when I am sad…just a look to the blue sky above me changes everything…

A look from above is what I need to fill my branches with life again…

I am sitting here for years…at the entrance of this wonderful restaurant…

Some notice my existence…others are completely indifferent to my presence…

Some love to sit under my branches…others prefer the coziness of the pizza oven…

I love people…I love their enthusiasm…their energy…

I feel happy when I am surrounded with people…

I feel delighted to see smiles around me…

I exist because people exist around me…

I am a green lemon tree with a mission to conquer the world…even if I am grounded on this little piece of land…

My branches reach high…I can’t live if my expectations are low…

I will have to bear the heavy consequences of this ambition…but at least I won’t surrender to my limited resources…

I will fight till the winds break my branches…


I am the green lemon tree of Beirut…

sad moments

This is a monologue of a sad person...

I stopped sharing my pain and sorrow with them
Though I need them to hold my hand… to tell me everything will be ok

I don’t want them to see my sadness…I don’t want to add misery to a world full of grief

If I can’t be the joy in their lives…I don’t want to be around their lives…

Melancholy is not people’s best friend…

There is a hole in my heart…I feel empty…

What I want I can’t get and what I have I don’t want…

Life is great…people are greedy…

Don’t look back…keep on walking…

Throw your troubles away…hang on to your joyful days…

For a moment you feel nothing is working…but be patient…

Keep on producing and the universe will respond one day…

When you feel all doors are closed know that a grand opening will follow…

You are never alone…even when you badly believe so…

There is always an angel somewhere taking care of you silently…

Alfred Nobel and Hassan Nasrallah

Alfred Nobel, the Swedish chemist and engineer who invented dynamite, left $9 million in his will to establish the Nobel Prizes, which are awarded annually, without regard to nationality, in six areas (peace, literature, physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and economic science) "to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind."
The first awards were distributed in 1901, on the fifth anniversary of his death.

Hassan Nasrallah, the Lebanese Shiite religious sheikh, who created a state within a state in Lebanon, is leaving 1 million Shiite to blow themselves against Israel and its allies to establish the Nasrallah Prizes, which are awarded annually without regard to nationality, in six areas (war, propaganda, nuclear arms proliferation, satanic alliances, creative martyrdom and poverty) “to those who, during the preceding year shall have conferred the greatest harm on mankind.

This year will be the first year to grant awards, on the first anniversary of the divine victory.

The Nasrallah War Prize goes to Hassan Nasrallah, Ehud Olmert and Georges W. Bush.
The Nasrallah Propaganda Prize goes to Al Manar Television.
The Nasrallah Nuclear Arms Proliferation Prize goes to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Nasrallah Satanic Alliances Prize goes to Bashar Assad.
The Nasrallah Creative Martyrdom Prize goes to the Qaeda branch in Iraq
The Nasrallah Poverty Prize goes to the 8 march movement in Down Town Beirut

Congratulations to all the winners of the Nasrallah Prizes…Keep up with the destructive job…You are doing great!

Alfred Nobel…you are old news!!!

Floating in the Dead Sea is one the experiences in life that no one should miss…

It is a great sensation…to be able to walk in the sea…or read a newspaper or a book while floating on the water…The sun shinning above your head…Mud on your face…

Great place…the Dead Sea…

And as always I was looking for stories to share with you while on vacation…

Well if you are wondering…NO…NO…NO… I do not have political or Israeli stories this time (eventhough Israel was in my face all the time I was relaxing or floating in the Dead Sea)…

My story of the Dead Sea goes as the following:

Early morning on Saturday I took a walk around the hotel…ended up in front of a pond with Japanese fish…

The Koi fish didn’t arouse my interest…

I was more interested in the sign in front of the pond… “Please do not feed the fish” in three languages… English, Arabic and Russian… (See the above picture)

Nothing special till now…Isn’t it?

Well, look at it!!!

The English version is 6 lines long…
The Arabic version is 3 lines long…
The Russian version is one line only…

What does that mean?

I was so amazed by the symbolism of that simple sign…

It wasn’t just a sign…It was a whole way of thinking…

The English version: Please do not feed the fish- and a whole five lines to explain why people should not feed the fish…A deductive way… Very Western

The Arabic version: Please do not feed the fish- and a line to explain that the fish have special food…Thank you for your cooperation…but nothing like the English version explaining the reasons…The Arabic way of dealing with things…You receive the order with very little explanation…and always sound polite with sentences like thank you for your cooperation…but amazingly sounding very threat alike in case you don’t abide… Very Arabic

The Russian version: Please do not feed the fish. Nothing else…You don’t need to know why just follow the rule… Very Soviet

James Blunt is spinach to the Soul

James Blunt…you like him or you don’t like him…
Like anything and anyone in life…

Some might say James Blunt is as pink as a chewing gum…whatever that means!
Some might say James Blunt is as green as Popeye’s spinach…that is deep!

How can you not like James Blunt?
He has been able to transform the ugliness of war into a beautiful field of songs…
He has created life from death…

James Blunt…I like your songs…

I got his new album “All the Lost Souls” and I am eager to share with you some of the phrases from his songs:

-One day they’ll tell you that you’ve changed, though they’re the ones who seem to stop and stare

-And so I sent some men to fight, and came back at dead of night. Said he’d seen my enemy. Said he looked just like me

-Give me reason but don’t give me choice, cause I’ll just make the same mistake again

-And they were all born pretty in New York City tonight, and someone’s little girl was taken from the world tonight, under the Stars and Stripes

-I’ve taken ship-load of drugs, I’m so tired of never fixing the pain, Valium said to me I’ll take you seriously and we’ll come back as someone else, who’s better than yourself

-I killed a man in a far away land, my enemy I’m told. I really want you to really want me but I really don’t know if you can do that

-And when silence greets my last goodbye, the words I need are in your eyes and I’ll sing

-Cause Annie you are a star that’s just not going very far

-So run, Yoshimi, run. Cause Billy’s got himself a gun and you’re right to be afraid: they’ll send you to your grave cause you’re strange and new

The magnificent James Blunt- All the Lost Souls…