What do you think?

Marash Girl's eternal question: "How do you know what you think until you see what you write?"

Two takes on reading

Watertown Public Library, Watertown, Massachusetts

Main Street, Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

A brief walk through Edgartown, or Wish I were there!

     A final farewell:   the mural on the wall of Stop & Shop in Vineyard Haven, opposite the Ferry taking folks back to "America", as Phillip Craig would call the mainland!

Grandma Gorilla: Sign Language and Sorrow

Grandma Gorilla mourns:  Franklin Park Zoo, Boston, Massachusetts

Raised by humans from infancy outside of the gorilla community, Grandma Gorilla was taught sign language at a very early age, and learned to communicate by signing. But soon sign language and signing gorillas were no longer the rage, in the scientific community there were no monies available to continue to train gorillas in sign language, and Grandma Gorilla was plunked into Franklin Park Zoo with a group of gorillas who could not sign, the first non-signing gorillas that Grandma Gorilla had ever met. She became pregnant, had baby gorillas, but never became a part of the community.   If you see an old gorilla dragging around a blanket, that's Grandma.  She needs her blankie for comfort because she sure doesn't feel comfortable with the gorilla talk going on around her.

A Fly in the Raisin Bread . . .

A bit late for publication, this post was written on the occasion of Mother's Day.

Breakfasting at Panera this morning, Marash Girl ordered a bacon, egg & cheese breakfast sandwich.  The sandwich arrived with great dispatch and Marash Girl, beginning to eat the sandwich, thought that something was amiss; as she peered between the layers of whole wheat toast, she noticed that, yes, something was not right.  The bacon was missing!  Going to the kitchen to report the missing bacon, Marash Girl was surprised when the cook did not simply hand her some bacon, but rather gave her the bacon enclosed in a whole "nother" sandwich.

Why did Marash Girl think the short order cook was going to simply hand her the bacon?

Flash back to Marash Girl's childhood and a favorite story of Marash Girl's father -- the story of the raisin bread.  This is how Peter told it.

"Abie, here's some money -- go to the bakery and buy a loaf of raisin bread."

Abie did as he was told.  He walked to the bakery and brought home a loaf of raisin bread.

On inspecting the bread, Abie's mother noticed that there was a fly in the raisin bread.

"Abie, go back to the baker and tell him that there was a fly in the raisin bread."

Abie walked back to the bakery and told the baker, as his mother had instructed,  "My mother said to tell you that there was a fly in the raisin bread."

The baker thought for a moment and replied:  "Bring me the fly and I'll give you a raisin."

United Armenian Brethren Evangelical Church, now Watertown Evangelical Church, celebrates 75 years, Cont'd.

Historical Review by Phillip Alajajian

Christ Jesus- The Chief Cornerstone of HIS CHURCH

Christ’s great commission: “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.”

1940s - mid 1950s

Founders of Armenian Brethren Church- Vartan Bilezikian, Socrate Amiralian

Vartan was saved at 25 yrs under the ministry of a Swedish evangelist, Fredrick Franson

“Apraham Hoja of Aintab”- a book written by Vartan in his later years tells his story profoundly; it  is available online at http://cosmades.org/

He experienced great revivals throughout Armenia but was imprisoned for publicly preaching the Gospel

Following his release from a prison stay for preaching the Gospel he left for the US at age 33

He planned to return to Armenia to preach the Gospel  (I.e., as with the early Apostles, the fires of persecution brought an even greater zeal in him to proclaim the Gospel)

In the meantime began preaching and teaching the scriptures in homes of Armenian families & later Dover Street Mission (renamed Union Rescue Mission)

A church is formed leading to the building of a church building in Watertown for $15,000 in 1938 (i.e., when average salaries were only $12/week)

Certain Godly women sold their jewelry to help finance its construction

The Bilezikian family was very instrumental in the construction of the building, esp. electrical needs

Vartan and Socrate focus was always on evangelism and growth in Christ likeness (Spiritual development)   - Meetings were held in Armenian and Turkish only, and later English

Leadership in Transition

Mid 1950s- 1960s

2^nd Gen leaders decide to conduct services in English only to enable their children to adapt to American culture

Breaking from Brethren tradition the leaders invite a full time pastor to preach the Word in English beginning with Dr. Stuart Lease

1960s - 1970s

A Crossroad Decision- Name change from UABEC to WEC

To better reach the community of non Armenians with the Gospel, a proposal is made

Armenian heritage versus Christian heritage?

At first voted down, it is eventually welcomed and adopted in 1964

Early Pillars of Faith at UABEC-  Vahan Terzian, Barkev Amiralian

Vahan was a gifted Bible teacher and organizer of Christian ministries

He took the initiative and received support from Vartan and Socrate to become an elder/minister

Barkev excelled at Church administration and helped organize Children’s Sunday School and ministries for well over a decade

Many Armenian families were faithful in attendance and in ministry: Alajajians, Amiralians, Bilezikians, Chorlians, Ezekielians, Harutunians, Kechadorians, Kechajians,  Kricorians, and Terzians, among others

Among the non Armenians who joined WEC between 1960s thru 1980s were: Bruce & Karen Daggett, Jean Fault, Davis Family, Natalie Collela, Paul Capazolli, Steve & Carla St Germain, Gary & Ann Lentel, Bob & Marie Marchessault, Sam & Eileen Meier, Paula Usten, Andre & Julia Wu, among myriad others

Guidance and Growth in Ministry

Twelve pastors have served the church since the departure of the founders to Glory

Originally the primary services were Sunday School and Morning Worship and Prayer Meeting on Wed nights

The first missions conferences took place annually in the 1960s with themes like

- “Go Ye Into All the World and Preach the Gospel”

- “The Night Cometh When No Man Can Work”

From the 1960s onward the church added programs for youth

- Boys Brigade

- Pioneer Girls

- Youth groups

1980s

3^rd Gen members, David Terzian and Phil Alajajian are appointed leaders at WEC

Ken Umenhofer serves as first interim pastor for 3 years in 1978

Bruce Daggett begins a tenure of 17 years as pastor of WEC in 1981

Seeking church growth WEC adds the following:

- Small group bible studies

- Nursery

- Dramas

- Choirs

- Praise and Worship Team

Looking Back over 75 years

We see where we have come from and how we got here

We need to reaffirm our commitment to knowing Christ individually and as a Body of believers, walking with Him in the Holy Spirit, and in making Him known by the same Spirit to a lost, fallen world in desperate need of His saving grace.

Praying at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem

Praying at the Wailing Wall.

Special to the New York Times

Published: March 21, 1989

A group of Jewish women trying to hold a prayer service at the Wailing Wall were attacked today by rigorously Orthodox men and forced to flee when the police fired tear gas to disperse the attackers

New York Times ‎- May 11, 2013

JERUSALEM — Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews tried to block a liberal women's group from praying at the Western Wall (more commonly known as the Wailing Wall)  on Friday morning, ...

These ongoing notices in the New York Times, although very serious in nature, bring to mind a joke that Marash Girl heard recently.

A journalist covering Jerusalem,  walked by the Wailing Wall  every day, and every day he noticed the same man praying aloud, praying for peace at the Wailing Wall.  Finally, after a month, the journalist stopped, waited until the prayerful man was ready to leave, and asked him,  "Every day for the past month I have walked by the Wailing Wall, and every day I hear you praying for peace.  How does that make you feel?"

The man looked at the journalist and answered, "I feel like I'm talking to a wall."

N.B.   Politcally correct folks now refer to the Wailing Wall as the Western Wall.

Trees in Massachusetts History

A giant Pagoda Tree still stands on South Water Street in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Photo Credit: Marash Girl

"The Giant Pagoda Tree, Edgartown, Massachusetts: (A Chinese Nuai Tree - Sophora Japonica) was brought from China in a flower pot in 1837 by Captain Thomas Milton to grace his new home then being built. This is believed to be the largest of its kind on the continent." Photo Credit: Marash GIrl

No longer standing in Concord, Massachusetts is Jethro's Tree - 1630-1930:  "Near this spot stood the ancient oak known as Jethro's Tree beneath which Major Simon Willard and his associates bought from the Indians the "5 myles of land square" ordered by the General Court for the plantation of Concord, September 12, 1625.  Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission. Photo Credit: Marash Girl

No Photo Available

The Oak Tree atop Wilbraham Mountain, Wilbraham, Massachusetts

Central to the lives of an Armenian family who summered at the top of Wilbraham Mountain was a giant White Oak Tree, a tree that had survived for 300 years, a tree under which the family picnicked for many a summer, a tree which was central to their summers and their lives,  a tree around four people could stand and still not touch hands, the tree under which their Uncle Harry slept on the day that he went to be with the Lord, the tree that fell soon after Uncle Harry's passing.  Marash Girl has yet to find a photograph of this tree.

The Historic Trees of Massachusetts

 By James Raymond Simmons published by the Plimpton Press in Norwood Massachusetts in 1919 and housed in the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, is now available online as an e-book.

United Armenian Brethren Evangelical Church, now Watertown Evangelical Church, celebrates 75 years, Cont'd.

The Armenian Brethren and the Turkish Language . . . a reminiscence written by James Bilezikian

          I was ten years old and I had been hearing sermons on sin and redemption for seven years. The sermons were proclaimed from behind a pulpit, by my uncle Vartan.   The pulpit was neither attached to an ascending ladder, curved and pregnant with the promise of levitating heavenward, nor was it attached to a stairwell curling downward with the threat of judgment. Our pulpit was bound to the earth at the front of a stage, three feet above the floor, a general in command of an army, of pews.   The pulpit stood there in its summer sweat, and in its winter freeze. 

           We, the bodies of that congregation of brethren from halfway across the world, now within a picnic ride from Plymouth, we sat there, not as Plymouth Brethren, but as Armenian Brethren, smelling of garlic, weeping in silence, and singing from the heart. The hearth of our home was from across the Atlantic, through the straits of Gibraltar, even further, beyond the colossus at Rhodes, where the towns and villages lay, by the way of the 'ten thousand', and before that, the wonder of Alexander, as he trooped his way through western Asia, on his journey to the land of rupees and maharajahs.     

          We were neither cowered by that history, nor emboldened. It was but another event under the reflection of the gaze of the ark, as her glance bore down upon us from her confinement in snow and ice, in the solitude of her wood and timber. That was our pale, the knowledge that the ark was above us, and everything below was a stage on which was written the cries of Noah's children.

          From the pulpit, the sermons coursed their way to my soul through the filter of a translation. As they were preached in Turkish, a language unknown to me, although surrounding me, I received the truth, second hand, in the car ride home, and during the lunch that consumed half the afternoon, whose humor and intensity satisfied the mist of our history, and sustained our cord to the 'old country'.

          I learned, during these bouts with Sunday afternoon, stories of the bible. My favorite was David and Goliath, if only because David's weapon of choice was my father's in his battle with the Kurdish boys in the mountains surrounding the city of Marash, his birthplace. Dad fought them when he was younger than the age David was when he fought Goliath. Dad was small, the weapon even smaller, yet everything grew large in my eyes which beheld the wonder of my father waging war at the very same age I was.

          These stories provided life to the hours and Sundays spent in church listening to sermons in a language that was incomprehensible. I learned, also, how hard life could be, not from listening to the sermons, but, from sitting in those pews, which unlike the god about which I was being taught, were unforgiving. The oak benches, their back set at a puritan angle of discomfort, were hot and sticky in summer, cold and condemning in winter.

          From all these Sundays and stories, I learned that the life of the Christian was an heroic one.   I found myself, weekly, saving the congregation from interlopers, bandits, thieves and thugs.   Jumping down from the balcony in a surprise attack, and overwhelming all with my derring-do, was normal fare for me on a Sunday morning, and only fitting to the fulmination against evil coming from the front of the sanctuary.

          From the pulpit emanated always the sound of love.  Because the sermons were in Turkish, the sound of the Turkish language was inseparable from the sound of love. In that language, also, I experienced the smells of mother's cooking, the taste of her fare, the laughter of our guests, and the frustration and comedy of backgammon. That language was a mountain stream, capturing the sun by day, and the moon by night.    It touched everything in its path, cooling the sun and warming the moon, and sending the single note of its cascade around one stone into a serenade over thousands. The forest, nearby, rang with the sound of its serenade, and the darkness at noon, in the depth of the forest, was lessened at its fringe, by the reflection of the sun on the maiden face of the stream.

          Like all of life, the stream carried at its waistband, ready for adornment, the mask of death. I learned at an early age why this language was hidden from me, why it was not spoken to me, why all those around me shrunk back from teaching it to me. I learned at the age of ten that it was the language of the murderers of our race.   It was a language that embraced me, but impaled the history of my people.  It was a language whose origin and ownership was of and by a people who hated to death my ancestors and their progeny, and yet a language that provided a bridge for the establishment of a new life on a new continent. That was the brute of it all, the marriage of good and evil in the melody of a language.

          Yet, it was from the English translation of this language of a people of the Koran, that I learned the Bible. From that rough sound flowing from my uncle, who was dressed in a suit, made by his own hand, and whose face was whiskered by the stones and mountains of his loss, I learned the consequence of sin, and the commitment of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to the redemption of His people.

                                      Notes to the Reader

1) Presumed is the knowledge of the genocide of the Armenians, by the Turks, in 1915, where an estimated 2,000,000 people, 80% of the Armenian population of Turkish Armenia, were exterminated.

2) Most of the Armenians arriving in this country after the First World War were survivors of that genocide.   For various reasons, many spoke Turkish, exclusively.

3) The 'ten thousand' are the 10,000 Spartan warriors, who undertook a   march of 1000 miles, back to Greece, led by their elected leader, Xenophon, an Athenian, following a defeat in upper Asia, in the fourth century, B.C.   That march led them through the western reaches of Armenia.  It was a march of epic proportion, unique in military history.

4) Of the many Protestant denominations, one is called the Plymouth Brethren, a conservative, fundamentalist denomination.   The Armenian Brethren is an ethnic derivative of the Plymouth Brethren. 

5) The remains of the ark putatively sit on the western face of Mt. Ararat, facing the western part of historic Armenia, modern day, eastern Turkey.

6) The church, the locus of the experience described here, was established in 1939, and still exists, today, at its original address, on Arlington Street in Watertown, Mass.

Victorious Violets, or The Will to Survive

Violets amidst the concrete

United Armenian Brethren Evangelical Church, now Watertown Evangelical Church, celebrates 75 years, cont'd.

Watertown Evangelical Church celebrates its roots after 75 years.

Rev. Vartan Bilezikian, the founder of the United Armenian Bretheren Evangelical Church of Watertown,  who preached  every Sunday in Armenian, English, and Turkish,  to his congregation of survivors of the Armenian Genocide and their children and grandchildren.

The stained glass windows from the sanctuary of Watertown Evangelical Church

Love One Another: Watertown Evangelical Church Celebrates 75 Years cont'd

Ever see those bumper stickers that read, WWJD?

Rev. Bruce Strickland, past pastor of the Watertown Evangelical Church, guest preacher at Watertown Evangelical Church's 75th Anniversary Sunday service, referred to the New Testament's "One Another" commandments .  Marash Girl, curious to know how many there were, looked them up (see below), so if you are ever wondering what Jesus would do in any given situation, just check these out, and if you don't understand the English, send Marash Girl a note under the comments below!

THE “ONE ANOTHER” COMMANDS IN THE BIBLE (N.I.V.)

• Mark 9:50 - "Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."
  
• John 13:14 - "If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet."
  
• John 13:34 - "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another."
  
• John 13:35 - "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
  
• John 15:12 - "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you."
  
• John 15:17 - "This I command you, that you love one another." 
  
• Romans 12:10 - "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor."
  
• Romans 12:16 - "Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation."
  
• Romans 13:8 - "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law."
  
• Romans 14:13 - "Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way."
  
• Romans 14:19 - "So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another."
  
• Romans 15:5 - "Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,
  
• Romans 15:7 - Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God."
  
• Romans 15:14 - "And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another."
  
• Romans 16:16 - "Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you." 
  
• 1 Corinthians 11:33 - "So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another." 
  
• 1 Corinthians 16:20 - "All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss." 
  
• 2 Corinthians 13:12 - "Greet one another with a holy kiss." 
  
• Galatians 5:13 - "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."
  
• Galatians 5:26 - "Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another." 
  
• Galatians 6:2 - "Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." 
  
• Ephesians 4:2 - " . . .with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love." 
  
• Ephesians 4:25 - "Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another."
  
• Ephesians 4:32 - "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."
  
• Ephesians 5:19 - " . . .speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord. . ."
• Ephesians 5:21 - " . . .and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ." 
  
• Philippians 2:3 - "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;"
• Colossians 3:9 - "Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices . . . "
• Colossians 3:13 - " . . .bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you."
• Colossians 3:16 - "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God."
• 1 Thessalonians 3:12 - " . . . and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you."
• 1 Thessalonians 4:9 - "Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another . . ."
• 1 Thessalonians 5:11 - "Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing."
• 1 Thessalonians 5:13b - "Live in peace with one another."
• 1 Thessalonians 5:15 - "See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people."
• 2 Thessalonians 1:3 - "We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater."
• Hebrews 3:13 - "But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
• Hebrews 10:24 - " . . .and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. . ."
• Hebrews 10:25 - " . . .not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."
• James 4:11 - "Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it."
• James 5:9 - "Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door."
• James 5:16 - "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."
• 1 Peter 1:22 - "Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart . . ."
• 1 Peter 4:8 - "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins." 
• 1 Peter 4:9 - "Be hospitable to one another without complaint." 
• 1 Peter 4:10 - "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."
• 1 Peter 5:5 - "You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
• 1 Peter 5:14 - "Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ."
• 1 John 1:7 - " . . .but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."
• 1 John 3:11 - "For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another . . ."
• 1 John 3:23 - "This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us."
• 1 John 4:7 - "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God."
• 1 John 4:11 - "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 
• 1 John 4:12 - "No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us."
• 2 John 1:5 - "Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another."

Get it?

Watertown Evangelical Church Celebrates 75 Years

This past weekend, Marash Girl attended the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the Watertown Evangelical Church (formerly known as the United Armenian Bretheren Evangelical Church of Watertown), the church in which she grew up, the church established by her Great Uncle Vartan, the church that her Grandmother and Grandfather helped to fund.  Marash Girl will be commenting over the next few days about her reminiscences, but today, she wants to share a bit of downright disappointment.

When Marash Girl was 5 years old, she appeared in a Christmas Pageant on the  stage of this very church . . . Marash Girl played the part of Mary and Leo played the part of Joseph.  Marash Girl was so excited then . . . and has never forgotten the experience, but when she saw Leo at the church anniversary celebration this past weekend,  she asked him if he remembered the Christmas Pageant of years past, the pageant in which he played Joseph and Marash Girl played Mary.  He shrugged his shoulders and answered, "No..." 

"It was so romantic, and he doesn't even remember!" wailed Marash Girl, several hours later.

"Unrequited love," quipped Marash Boy with a grin.

Leo

Overheard at a Newton High School Reunion

As folks grow older, the men go bald and the women go blonde!

Conflicting Messages from Edgartown Harbor

Overheard at a Newton Cafe

 We can be in whatever time zone we want!

Butterflies in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard

Butterflies in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard

Katherine Hall Page, THE BODY IN THE PIAZZA, at Stellina's Restaurant, Watertown Square

Stellina's Restaurant in Watertown Square was the site
of  a book signing and talk given yesterday by Katherine Hall Page.

The book launch for Katherine Hall Page's new mystery, THE BODY IN THE PIAZZA, took place yesterday evening at Stellina's Restaurant in Watertown Square.  [Yes, if you've been watching the news, the very same Watertown Square, 3 blocks from the police shootout and capture of the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon terrorists.]  

Katherine Hall Page:  "Whenever I go to a party or a gathering, folks ask me what I do. Once it is known that I write murder mysteries, invariably someone sidles up to me during the event and whispers, 'I have the perfect way to kill someone without anyone ever finding out.'  Well, that certainly gives me pause!"

Page explained that she writes in the tradition of Agatha Christie; she writes a puzzle mystery where the author is matching wits with the reader, giving clues that are fair, without strewing any red herrings.  "When you have finished reading the book, I want you to say, 'I should have guessed that!'"

She described her murder mysteries as "soft-boiled" as opposed to "hardboiled", and quoted earlier critics of the genre as placing such mysteries in the "cozy" genre . . . more tea than blood!  "Murder mysteries play on the difference between appearance and reality," she commented.

Page traced the genre of the murder mystery back to Medieval times and the battle of good vs. evil, where order is finally restored.  "In the 1980's, such writers as Sue Grafton and Sarah Peretsky broke through the glass ceiling (years after Agatha Christie had begun to lead the way), and women started authoring murder mysteries.

Commenting on her own love of reading, she commented, "I can't remember a time when I couldn't read.  If I have nothing to read, I read soup can labels, the backs of cereal boxes . . . whatever I can find."

Unlike her earlier mysteries, most of which were set in Maine, The Body in the Piazza is set in Italy.  

The Body in the Piazza concludes with recipes for the dishes mentioned throughout the novel, and it is for that reason that yesterday evening, following the book signing, Stellina's served an Italian dinner using those very recipes.

"Nothing you can think of is as strange as reality," said Page. She said that when she begins writing, she knows who the murderer is and how the book is going to end.   Page admitted that when she writes, "It's as if I'm taking dictation from my imagination."  

"Nothing you write cannot be made better. . . I have great editors!"

Katherine Hall Page talks about her new book, THE BODY IN THE PIAZZA.

Bingo, or, Taking Democracy for Granted

Manning the polls at yesterday's special primary election for Senator Kerry's seat in the U.S. Senate, Marash Girl once again witnessed a very sparse turnout of folks showing up to vote in a city that touts its educational system. (Folks who move to Newton and are willing to purchase homes at over the top prices in order to live in a city where the schools are considered excellent.) In one precinct of this very city, a representative precinct at that, only 20% of registered voters turned out to vote.  The attitude was summed up by one woman who arrived and exclaimed, "What?  No Bingo today?  Well, if I can't play Bingo, I might as well vote!"

The Danger of Letting your Hair Grow!

Marash Boy: It's all your fault!

Marash Girl:  What?

Marash Boy:  You wouldn't let me get a hair cut last week, and when I returned to Springfield on Sunday afternoon, and was walking across Main Street, a young boy on a bike asked asked me, as he was riding past, "Would you like to buy some marijuana, sir?"  First time that's ever happened!  And it's all your fault!

Tying the Knot

"Even when the rope is broken, the knot is always there," Peter told his son many years ago.

What was he referring to? Marash Girl asked. . .

He was referring to marriage, of course, answered her brother.

Oh, of course, answered Marash Girl. . . Tying the knot is an expression we've always used in the United States for getting married, but I never knew where that expression came from.  Could it have come from the ancient marriage ritual in the Armenian Apostolic Church?

During their wedding ceremony in St. Gregory's Armenian Apostolic Church in Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, Marash Girl and Marash Boy were asked to place their foreheads together as the priest placed a silken rope around their heads and tied the knot.

Shining on - Edgartown Lighthouse

The moon shines on Edgartown Lighthouse, Edgartown Harbor, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

Any day on this side of the earth

"Beautiful day," said Marash Girl to the fellow digging in the soil in front of his house in Edgartown, on Martha's Vineyard.  

"Any day on this side of the earth is a good day," answered the fellow . . .

 "What did he say?" asked Marash Girl, thinking the fellow might have said,  "Any day on this side of the ocean is a good day . . .",  a concept which Marash Girl heartily agrees with.  

Marash Boy pointed down to the soil.

"Oh," said Marash Girl, finally getting the point.

"How old do you think he is?", asked Marash Boy.

On Texting . . .

Overheard in an Edgartown shop:

I slipped and fell, and the girl who was walking behind me, texting, just walked around me and continued texting.

Buy One, Get One Free

At a "Buy one, Get one free" sale in Edgartown, Massachusetts, Marash Girl pondered over her two selections.
The saleswoman approached. "Can I help you?"
Marash Girl: "I can't decide which one I'm buying and which one I'm getting free . . ."
The saleswoman, irritated: "What difference does it make?"
Marash Girl just laughed.

April 24 - Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1923

Peter (Daddy, Grandpa Peter, Otro Baba), born in Marash, Ottoman Empire, in 1912, survivor of the Armenian Genocide, felt it was a waste of time arguing with the Turks about the fact of the Genocide.  "It doesn't matter what they say; we know what happened."  Yes, he knew what happened, and he survived to tell the tale.
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/newton/2010/03/peter_bilezikian_survivor_of_a.html

Armenians who survived the Genocide, or The "Good" Turk

At a public meeting of Armenians with the Mayor of Newton, Massachusetts, at least a decade past, Peter stood up and stated, " If it weren't for the Turks, not one Armenian would be alive today."  

Needless to say, the statement stirred up a hornet's nest, to use an inept metaphor, but Peter knew of what he spoke, and soon a newspaper reporter approached to learn from Peter what only Peter (at least in that room) could admit.  Many a "Good Turk" had put their lives at risk to save Armenian lives.  Peter would always remember  the Mutasarrif (Mayor) of Marash who promised his Uncle that he would do what he could to save the Armenians of Marash.  . . . and he did . . . until one day, the Mutasarrif disappeared and was never heard from again.

(See tomorrow's blog post for a link to the newspaper article that resulted from the interview.)

CONFLICTED!

                             This car actually drives along the streets of New York City!

Sheltered in Place Noodles

Sheltered in place, Marash Girl looked through the kitchen to see what she could throw together for lunch, as all the stores had been ordered closed by the Mayor in light of the hunt for the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon Massacre.  

Looking at the ingredients on hand, and with some advice from Barley Jim who had come visiting despite the shelter in place order, Marash Girl and Barley Jim came up with a concoction that can't be beat!  And it's vegan to boot!

Here is what we threw together:

Whole wheat noodles (freshly cooked, or, as in our case, cold and left over from the day before)
Tahini (you determine how much -- perhaps several tablespoons)
Tamari (to taste)
The juice of a fresh lemon

Toss the dressing over the noodles, and reheat if the noodles are cold.

Absolutely delicious and ready in minutes.

A New Way To Kiss

Iffar & Enila delight in kissing, especially "Eskimo" kissing and "Butterfly" kissing the people they love, but last week, they came up with a new combination, a kiss that delighted them like none other:  the Butterfly Eskimo kiss. Just brush your eyelash against your loved one's nose and there you have it . . . from the under 10 set, a new way to share your love!

Newton Grieves Victims of Boston Marathon Massacre

On Wednesday evening,  April 17,  2013, Mayor Setti Warren speaks to the gathered on the steps of the Newton City Hall War Memorial, a haven for the grieving on Monday following the devastation at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Congressman Joseph Kennedy III, U.S. Representative for Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District, addresses Newton Citizens on Wednesday evening at the Newton City Hall War Memorial.

Robinson Crusoe and the Community of Ethnics

There was a shipwreck with only one survivor, a Jewish fellow who washed up on a small island where he lived with Robinson Crusoe for five years until he was rescued. He was showing the rescuers all the things that he done, including the synagogue that he had built. A little later around the other side of the island the rescuers saw a smaller synagogue and they asked; "What's that?"
"Oh, that's the one I don't go to."

Sassountsi David writes, "The above joke was another of my father's favorites. Tatoul tells me that it's gone around as an Armenian joke." . . . 

A joke from Sassountsi David

Goldstein retired and he wanted to find something to occupy himself with. He tried tennis, stamp collecting and other things but nothing really took him.
Then he decided to try Christianity and he "took instruction" in a good Episcopalian church. The day came for him to made a member of the congregation and after the service the minister announced;
"Today we would like to welcome into our congregation Mr. Abe Goldstein.  Mr. Goldstein would like to say a few words on this momentous occasion? "
Goldstein comes up to the pulpit. He's choking down tears of emotion and can barely speak. Finally he manages to blurt out,  "Fellow Goyim...."

(Sassountsi David, Marash Girl's Jewish Armenian wanna-be friend was kind enough to email Marash GIrl the above joke. . . More to follow)

Duck, Duck, Haddock!

A favorite story often told by Marash Girl's dad, who had close friends in both the Jewish and Roman Catholic communities, was the following.

Although he was Jewish, Isaac lived in a Roman Catholic community, and decided that, in order to be a part of the community, he should join the Roman Catholic Church.  He went to the church, and related his decision to the priest.  The priest, after going through the conversion ritual, held his hand over Isaac, intoning, Isaac, Isaac, you are now McIsaac.

Several years later, McIsaac invited the priest home for dinner.  McIsaac welcomed the priest into his dining room, and after the priest said grace,  McIsaac, with great fanfare, brought in the Friday night dinner on a platter.
The priest was startled to see that there was duck on the platter.
McIsaac, don't you know that we Catholics cannot eat meat on Friday?
McIsaac paused and answered,  "Isaac, Isaac, McIsaac; Duck, Duck, Haddock."

Pray for the Victims of the Boston Marathon Massacre

The Fox that Couldn't Catch the Ferry!

"That can't be a dog, Marash Girl thought as she looked into her rear view mirror at a sleek dog with orange fur and a white-tipped tail loping north across Church Street; "we have a leash law in Massachusetts, and anyway, that dog looks healthier than any dog I've seen in a long while . . .  It must be a red fox!" 

An hour later, looking out her kitchen window, Marash Girl saw the sleek red fox trotting south through her back yard towards Cabot Woods,  probably heading home to its young.

Checking MassWildlife to learn more about the habitat of red fox in Massachusetts, Marash Girl learned that the "red fox and gray fox are common and abundant in Massachusetts and can be found throughout the state, except  on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket."

"Why do you think that is?" Marash Girl asked Marash Boy.

Without missing a beat, Marash Boy answered, "They probably couldn't catch the ferry!"

Starbuck's, Watertown Square

The Starbuck's in Watertown Square is affectionately known among Armenians as the "Armenian Starbuck's".  Yesterday Marash Girl learned that an Armenian jokester has actually translated the name of the coffee shop into Armenian:  աստղիկ դրամ, or transliterating into English, Asdghig Terram!

Overheard at the Watertown Starbuck's

Americans say goodbye and leave.
Armenians says goodbye and never leave.

This T-Shirt says it all!

 T-shirt in Newport, RI, shop window reads, 

"I support two teams -- the Red Sox, and whoever beats the Yankees!"

Robot Greets Marash Girl at Boston University

If you've never seen a robot before, take a look.  S/he's saying, "Here's looking at YOU!"

A Shout Out for the Newport Playhouse and Cabaret Restaurant, Newport, Rhode Island

Welcoming visitors to the Newport Seaman's Church Institute is this 1930's handpainted map of Newport Harbor  

Surprise of surprises!  Dinner, theatre, cabaret, and friendly folks!

The Newport Playhouse and Cabaret Restaurant (http://www.newportplayhouse.com) is a family owned business based on the premise that all of the actors not only act on stage, but cook, serve, sing and dance.  Unbelievable talent for an unbelievable price in the heart of Newport, Rhode Island!  [Check out Friday nights when they offer a special for two!]  A magnificent buffet which is prepared on the premises greets the theater goers -- a variety of "home cooked" entrees, salads, and desserts  that cannot be beat.  Sitting at long, cafeteria style tables, the diners have the opportunity to meet and greet one another in a casual, friendly atmosphere.  Not until everyone has finished eating do the doors to the theatre open; diners leave the dining room (where later the cabaret will take place) to enter the theater -- a theater small enough so that every seat in the house is a good seat!  [Marash Girl & entourage attended, the comedy Spreading It Around by Londos D'Arrigo, which is playing from April 3 - May 25, 2013.) Bordering on slapstick, with a serious message to convey, the actors never failed to entertain, and were not "acting" but rather "living" their parts.  [The surprise was to see the very same actors later singing, dancing and joking around in the cabaret, and then later, at the end of the evening, to have them greet us at the door as we left.]  The theatre provided one of the most entertaining evenings Marash Girl has experienced in many a year. 

The cabaret after the theatre

Standup comedy at its best!

 The Newport Playhouse and Cabaret Restaurant (102 Connell Highway • Newport • Rhode Island • 02840  (401) 848-PLAY (7529) is worth the trip to Newport, Rhode Island.  And by the way, if you hesitate to go because of the price of hotels in the city, try the Seamen's Church Institute (401-847-4260), a "Seamen's Bethel" which has "welcomed Newport mariners and visitors for over 93 years" with rates less than a third of the rates of the hotels in town . . . (www.SeamensNewport.org).