The one thing I shall absolutely miss about American politics is Andy Borowitiz. I am absolutely positively sure that there is no Andy in the United Arab Emeritus committing satire upon its Rulers. This is Andy’s most recent: Trump Claims He Won the German Election. This is how it begins; Urging the German people to “stop the steal,” Donald J. Trump claimed that he was elected Chancellor of Germany over the weekend. Trump said that, once the official vote tallies have been recounted, it will be clear that he won the German election by a “landslide.”
The satire continues, becoming even funnier, if that be possible. “Reflecting on his purported win, Trump said, “I’ve always wanted to be the Chancellor of Germany. That’s a title that’s been held by some very fine people. “He revealed that he planned to send the former mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani to Germany to contest the election results. “He hasn’t been disbarred there yet,” Trump said.For his part, Giuliani said that he relished his latest mission on Trump’s behalf. “I can’t wait to get to Germany,” he said. “When does Oktoberfest start?”
The very funniest ‘line’, as far as I am concerned, is “the title German Chancellor has been held by some very fine people.” That is satire at its best. What is satire, you may ask. It is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Well, how can there be an Andy Borowitz clone in the UAE because there is not, at the present time, any stupidity or vice in the context of contemporary politics. There may have been some in the past, but we are talking the here and now. So if I am going to laugh, I will continue to look to Andy, either that or find another source of humor. I can always try.
But back to the here (Marin) and now (yesterday). The September 27, 2021 blog waxed eloquently upon the subject of Marin JCC and the joys of the jacuzzi. I recounted meeting a man who impressed me with his credentials, his mission and his goals. He said my knowledge and contacts could prove useful to him, his role being to serve Pope Francis in an advisory capacity helping the Pope invest responsibly. Do read the blog’s discussion of that concept. After our meeting he immediately reached out, sending me a text.
He: This is Eric.
Me; It is Alexis. Hope that is who you were trying to get in touch with. Hahahaha
Then sent an hilarious GIF with the caption: You saying Yes!!
Did not receive a response for days. Patience not being one of my virtues, wrote him.
Me: I think you are a phony. Said so in my blog.
Well, OOPS, he did respond.
He: Hello Alexis. Yes this is Eric who met you at the JCC. My apologizes for the delayed response. My father just passed away. So naturally, I am preoccupied with that at the moment. Thank you.
Well, I guess I was a little embarrassed, But how did I know as I do not read minds, well not the minds of strangers anyway. But as you see, I did rise to the occasion.
Me: Oh no!!! My sympathies with you. David Sedaris wrote a piece for the New Yorker about his father’s death. I will write about it on the blog and send you the link. It is most poignant.
Me: I leave for Dubai in a couple of weeks. The limo shall whisk me away at noon. So I will be here until then and be able to meet with you.
He: Thank you for the kind words and the reference. I hope we can meet as it would be good to resolve this longstanding dispute with these people from Dubai. All the best!
Me: We shall meet and we shall resolve. I promise. I can do the presentation to the Pope (to you not he) with a half day notice for further research. It will be a practice run. I was made for this job. Hahahaha
He; 👨💼This is the enterprise I run in our work with Pope Francis and The Vatican
laudatosichallenge.com
Me: Fabulous.Will check it out. Doing Ikebana at the moment. I am so talented. And ever so humble. Hahaha 😂Can I mention your web site on my blog.
He: Of course. Thank you1
Me: Great. It is exciting. It would give me pleasure.
Now you, go for it, look it up! It is WoW. Straight from him to you. (With me in the middle). This is a case study called Aqus; Supplying Clean water in Africa.
“The collaboration between Aqus and The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, that helped to stop the spread of cholera by providing clean water to 40,000 people, in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai, is a good example of our model in action. In addition to investing $100,000 into Aqus, The Laudato si’ Challenge has been working with the Aqus team for three years—to advance and accelerate their commitment to impact even more broadly.
On one side, a bold entrepreneur with an innovative solution; on the other, the Church with influence and distribution. (Read more about the collaboration between Aqus and The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.)”
Impressive but wait until you see this. “Pope Francis’ hope is to see the challenges of Laudato sì taken up in credible initiatives and actions.
The Laudato sì CHALLENGE is one such bold response!”
—His Eminence Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson, Prefect, Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and Patron of The Laudato sì Challenge
So there is no two ways about it, I do lead an interesting life but also a dull life, at exactly the the same moment in time. The day I met Eric I woke up, geo out of four poster bed bought in Santa Fe about thirty years ago, jumping onto a step as it is too high off floor, put on old bathing suit with existing chlorine damage, drove a leased car on back roads as still not supposed to go on freeway as have not been driving for six and one half years. Got to JCC got into a heated pool, jumped up and down in water in time to music, stretched at the conclusion of the class. Got out of pool, got in jacuzzi that is conveniently located next to the pool. Then things got interesting (at last). While in the jacuzzi talk to a man who advices Pope Francis on investing, but Dubai investors are stubbornly holding onto an idea that oil is still a good investment. Spoke lf my knowledge of Dubai and volunteer to help. So, not bad for a Friday. Do not remember what happened after that.
Now how did I get to be such an expert on Dubai. Now that is a whole other story but that story is accessible. It is on this blog but as this blog now contains over a million words it might be difficult to find. The story of my expertise began in the hotel lobby of a humble hotel in London in November of 2019. I looked up and saw my first Arab, a man described on the blog as wearing a dress and a scarf. I scurried over to him.
Me: You are the handsomest man I have ever seen.
He: Thank you.
Me: I write a blog. Here I will show you on my phone. It is just my name. Alexis McBride
He was dressed in Arab garb, grey with red and white stripped head gear. I had no idea who he was but he had a name tag around his neck that said Sultan. Did not know what a Sultan was, so I went to my room and Googled it. Then I wrote about it. The rest they say is history.
“The rest is history” is an easy enough idiom to parse. It means that the remainder of a story is so well known that it belongs to that part of the past which gets to be history: it doesn’t need to be told. Where does the phrase come from? Often used for a biographical or autobiographical account, this phrase dates from the second half of the 1900s. Nigel Rees cites a play on it by Alan Bennett (Oxford Today, 1988), describing his career change from an Oxford history professor to a Broadway revue artist: “The rest, one might say pompously, is history.
There you go – as they say in Canada.
The photographs are ones taken at the humble hotel – if I can find them. If I cannot find them they will not be there. I did not take a selfie of the meeting of the Sultan and Alexis McBride, so do not wake up for it.
