Chocolate Chips and Herald Sulahian

One of the fondest childhood memories for Marash Girl was the visits made to our home by our cousins, the Sulahian family.  Why?  Aside from the fun, it was the chocolate chips.  Chocolate chips, you ask?  Yes!  Chocolate chips.  Because all of the kids in the family loved chocolate chips, Mother Jennie could not keep them in the house unless she placed them on the very top shelf of the kitchen cabinet.  That worked.  It worked, that is, until Marash Girl's cousin Herald visited.  Herald is very tall and he, too, loves chocolate chips, or did, way back then.  I wonder if he still does . . .

Happy Birthday, My Little Three Year Old Anoushig!

S . . . . r

For years, Marash Girl found it an embarrassment when someone (probably from Watertown where all the tai-lingual Armenians live) would drive by with a Massachusetts license plate that flaunted a lewd Turkish word.  Although in Massachusetts, all vanity plates were scanned before issue in order to avoid such an occurrence, apparently the scanner didn't know Turkish.  As Marash Girl hasn't seen this license plate in years (and she won't tell you the word, but you can guess it . . . and it didn't start with F . . .), she assumes that the scanner has learned Turkish as well!

If you live in Takoma Park, Maryland, Vote for Lorig for Progressive Leadership!

Dear Friends,

I am thrilled to be able to announce that today I am now running as a team with SENATOR WILL SMITH, DELEGATE DAVID MOON, and DELEGATE JHEANELLE WILKINS.

I am proud to be running with a team whose members have been endorsed by a number of progressive organizations and a coalition of activists and community servants. We are running as a team because we have shown a track record of legislative success and share a profound commitment to our community and positive progressive politics. Together, we bring our deep connections to every part of District 20. Together, we will become a powerful team to represent you and we are asking for your vote.

As Will Smith wrote in announcing our team, “...especially in this national political climate, I have become all the more appreciative of the type of politics we have inherited in District 20, a great tradition of progressive activism and positive politics. We have always looked to expand our tent and to bring more people in to the civic space so as to open the doors of opportunity for anyone willing to work hard. I believe our team will continue to advance and uphold those ideals in Annapolis.”

To join our campaign and help us win the primary, click here.

With hope for our future,

Lorig Charkoudian

P.S. Early voting for the primary starts on Thursday, June 14, 2018 and runs through Thursday, June 21, 2018 from 10 am until 8 pm. Election day is Tuesday, June 26th. You can obtain additional election information by visiting the Maryland State Board of Elections website at: https://elections.maryland.gov/voting/early_voting.html

Paid for by Friends of Lorig Charkoudian, Jill Feasley, Treasurer, Tebabu Assefa, Chair

Friends of Lorig Charkoudian
P.O. Box 11281
Takoma Park MD 20913 United States

If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please  unsubscribe.

Armenian Ceramics and Pottery, Armenian Quarter, Old City, Jerusalem

                              Armenian Ceramics and Pottery, Armenian Quarter, Old City, Jerusalem    


                                       Thanks to an unknown Marash Girl enthusiast for above photo!            

Happy Birthday, Dylan Marie!

Photos to Follow!

The Leaf Stealer

A short story?  Not yet!  But a true story!  Medzmama, born in Marash, a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, was as generous and as honest as a summer's day is long.  But when it came to house plants, you could not trust her.  In the hope that she would come across a plant with a stealable leaf, she would always keep a wet handkerchief, or in later days, a wet kleenex, or a wet paper towel in a small plastic bag in her purse, with the hope that she would come across a stealable leaf, a leaf that she could carefully remove from a full-grown house plant (a plant in someone else's house), to take home hidden in the wet handkerchief in the plastic bag in a side pocket of her purse, and plant in the soil of an established potted plant, in the hopes that it would root, and that she could transplant the rooted leaf into a pot of its own.  And she did exactly that, ending up with a houseful of plants that she had started from leaf.

The Harvard Reunion

Ever take a look at yourself in the mirror?  Most of us flee the opportunity.  Actually, Marash Girl's mother-in-law used to tell Marash Girl that once she had passed the age of 50, she stopped looking into the mirror, at least not for very long!  (She was once the beauty of Marash!) But attending Marash Boy's Reunion made it impossible not to look reality square in the face, even if it was not your face!  There they were, all Harvard Men, all of an age before women were allowed into Harvard, all looking their age. Had that much time really passed?

Water Your Garden With Waste Water!

Summer gardening got your water bill up?  If you can't afford to put in a water waste system that will double as water for your gardens, then do as the old folks did! Keep a pan in the kitchen sink, a catch all for water that comes from the faucet when you wash your hands, rinse a dish, run the water to get cold (or hot) water for food preparation . . . And empty that water . . . frequently, right into your garden!  (Sound gross?  Not if you empty the pan frequently!) And don't worry if the water is soapy.  That soap will wash away the insects that may be resting on the green leaves of your plants!  

You'll be surprised what a difference this simple system of water reuse will make in your water bill, how the environment and your plants will smile at the fact that you are using the water that you once, thinking it was waste water, threw down the drain!

Eshin bashu

See blog post of Thursday, November 15, 2012

Spitting on the head of a donkey . . . 

And so Marash Girl was entertaining her soon to be step-grandchildren, walking down Bigelow Avenue, surrounded by Armenian churches, and what did she find appropriate to discuss?  Turkish swears, of course!  (Not that she knew very many of them!). As, dear reader, you may be aware, it is said that Armenians pray in Armenian and swear in Turkish!

And so Marash Girl was telling her soon to be grandchildren how she was greeted when she first arrived unannounced at the door of Marash Boy's home in Springfield, Massachusetts. (You may have read this in an earlier blog, but so be it.). Marash Boy's mother answered the door, and went to get her son from his third floor study.  According to Marash Boy's mother, her son, upon hearing of Marash Girl's unannounced arrival, cursed, "Ashekin bashinu tukururum."  In English?  "I spit on the head of a donkey!"

Back to the present . . .  on a Saturday evening, Marash Girl was telling her step-granddaughters  the above story and ended the story by teaching the young ladies the phrase under discussion:  "Ashekin bashinu tukururum."   In order to get the curse perfect, they had to practice it over and over again, and there they were, Marash Girl and her granddaughters, cursing and screaming with laughter on a Saturday evening, as they walked down Bigelow Avenue, surrounded by Armenian churches!

It should be known that generally speaking, Marash Armenians pray in Armenian and curse in Turkish.

Your thoughts?

If You See Something . . .

Today, the expression in popular use goes something like this: "If you see something, say something!"

But growing up, Marash Girl was stertoriously commanded, "If you see something (on the ground), don't leave it there!  Pick it up!"  Remembering, the command related to a "something" that was in the house or on the house grounds, a "something" that did not belong on the floor!  But to this day, Marash Girl is wont to leave any "something" on the ground that doesn't appear to belong there, even if it's not her ground!!!!

Yard Sale Season!

Yard Sale Season!  Marash Girl's favorite season of the year, both for the weather, AND for the yard sales!  Such fun, sailing around the city, meeting folks, exchanging stories, and finding little treasures (which, of course, no-one needs, including the buyer and the seller) . . . Memories of the good old days, "yard sailing" around East Longmeadow with Shirley Tashjian, God rest her soul . . . Memories of the good old days, "yard sailing" throughout Monson (before the tornado took the cottage on the top of Wilbraham Mountain!)

Anyway, enough with the memories, and off to the yard sales!  Marash Girl will let you know if she has any luck today, finding a treasure for which she has no need!

Thank You, My Most Wonderful Amin!

Here I've been unable to write anything on my blog for a month, and Amin came and saved the day!  Thank you, Amin!  I love you like my own son!  Anyone who needs help with a computer or blog, let me know and I'll send you Amin's contact info!