Yesterday was Eid and it was the greatest Eid ever,, also my first. Although I did fast during Ramadan last year I was mosque-free, did not know anything about the glorious day and missed out. Not this year, but do admit that my celebration was more than a bit unusual.
I knew what to expect because I am on the mailing list of Al Rashid Mosque in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The mosque gave me instructions and made it possible for me pay my Zakat Al-Fita on line and to them. They thanked me via email. How strange and unusual to be in the UAE – a Muslim country and be celebrating with a Mosque in Canada. The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is for show and glory – not a place where the devout gather. I did have two profound religious experiences in the Women’s Prayer Room but, as I discussed with a Muslim woman staying here at the Premier Inn – if you have a profound religious experience every day it becomes ordinary. So five times daily prayers offered by Muslim men would not have the same effect – they are being obedient and literally following the Islamic Faith but it can have no meaning. I once knew a San Francisco Muslim man who did regularly and routinely pray but that is all he did – well tally up every cent he gave to charity (with other people’s money) thinking for sure he was on his way to Jannah. I do not think so Mr. Khan.
I learned from the Al Rashid Mosque what was expected of me and I dutifully followed the instructions on May 2, 2022. The instructions from the Mosque were intensified by videos illustrating the procedures for offering the Eid prayer at home. These videos were helpfully filmed last year when Covid had closed the mosques. Eid prayers could be offered fifteen minutes after sunrise then until noon. I ate seven dates, kindly supplied by a woman at Nuevo Restaurant the day before. Then I had a bath, as suggested by the Edmonton Mosque. (The Middle East suggested showers, I hate showers.) Then prayed exactly as instructed. It was purifying, inspiring and powerful. Read passages from the Qur’an that were most meaningful.
Then got dressed in my finest clothes, put on perfume and joined the world at Costa Coffee. I did a reel of me in all of my glory and posted it on Instagram. Had breakfast, chatting with many, speaking with many hotel guests as well. I was SO happy – I accomplished Ramadan, did as I intended. I had to stop fasting at one point but followed all of my other Intentions. At some point shall write of what I learned and what I shall carry with me from Ramadan 2022 but not now – as you all deserve some humor.
Yesterday, after a couple of hours I returned to my room. During the day received, via texts and emails, many good wishes from people which I reciprocated. But the greatest gift of all was to hear from Grand daughter. We had lost touch with one another. She reached out with such good news – she had taken a course to become a care giver – she had been an employee at the Rixos Resort. She would arrive to clean my room and we would chat – we had a day together at the St. Regis when she had a rare day off. She is from Uganda so looks nothing like me – hahaha. We talked about the possibility of her coming to live in Canada but I do have to get settled first. I cannot possibly express the feelings of joy I felt hearing from her and hearing of her continuing affection for me.
I woke this morning for prayers, then received a text from a woman met here from the UK who was going to Malaysia to live. It was absolutely great to connect with her again. Then a text from an interesting woman, also met at the hotel in the Costa Coffee shop. She and her Intended are here in Abu Dhabi – she is excelling in her job her and her Intended, an engineer, is seeking employment here. I wished them continuing success and we promised to stay in touch.
So life is good. I am leaving the flakes behind – also many, many good people but we promise to stay in touch and there is more than one person who is thinking of joining me in Canada.
The other utterly unusual thing I did was to read tens of obituaries from the Edmonton Journal. I have no idea why I began the exploration – I suppose to find our if people I had previously known were dead or alive. So far I have found no one I knew that died but it is interesting to read about the lives of others – many ordinary people, some extraordinary. The tragedy of many – died unexpectedly is code for suicide. One promising young man was fifteen and so theatrically talented. Donations were to be made to anti-bullying organizations – that being a component of childhood suicides as reported on a prior blog. But others, leading a grand, eventful and fulfilling lives. Do readily admit that it was a strange thing to do, but who cares?
I promised humor and here it comes. Again from the New Yorker. It is Commonly Misheard Song Lyrics. The first one is perfect as it is MY song. Correct lyric: “See that girl, watch that scene, digging the dancing queen,” from ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.” The misheard lyric is: See that girl watch her scream, kicking the dancing queen.
Then this one:Correct lyric: “I want to hold your hand,” from the Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Misheard lyric: I want to hold your HAAAM.
And, correct lyric: “Sweet dreams are made of this,” from the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). Misheard lyric: Sweet dreams are made of cheese.
Then, Correct lyric: “I can see clearly now the rain is gone,” from Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now.” A guy in a movie theater saying: I can see clearly now Lorraine is gone.
Last one of the morning: correct lyric: “Or should I just keep chasing pavements,” from Adele’s “Chasing Pavements.” It was accompanied by an illustration of a woman chasing penguins.
So you must see this for yourself, as there are more and they are cleverly illustrated. Here is the link: https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/commonly-misheard-song-lyrics?utm_source=onsite-share&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=onsite-share&utm_brand=the-new-yorker
This particular funny New Yorker article is a play on earthly existence. This Mattress Sale Will Not Last Forever (Nothing Does). It begins with these words: “Quick! This weekend only, you can get fifty per cent off your entire Sweet Dreamz Mattress order. Just enter the code customer at checkout. This is the perfect opportunity to replace your old, worn-out mattress with a brand new, high-end one at half the cost. But you have to act fast. Because, like all things in the universe, this sale is temporary.Change is life’s only constant. The world of mattress sales is no exception. The sooner you can embrace this bittersweet fact, the sooner you can finally know peace and rest easy.”
Continuing in this manner:” After the weekend-long sale, we can reflect fondly on its memory. We will think to ourselves, Ah, yes. That was a wonderful mattress sale. It will live on in our collective consciousness. We will celebrate the profound impact it had on us all (for instance, the super mega savings). Because, try as you might, you can’t preserve this blowout sale in amber. So, please, whether you’re taking advantage of this amazing deal or not, after the fact, simply let it all go, and don’t look back. You may be inclined to dwell on the road not taken, but you can never undo your choice. That sale will be gone forever.”
“So, please, whether you’re taking advantage of this amazing deal or not, after the fact, simply let it all go, and don’t look back. You may be inclined to dwell on the road not taken, but you can never undo your choice. That sale will be gone forever.”
“Hopefully, the ephemeral nature of this sale will remind you how important it is to seize the mattress deal while you can. You only get one life. You might as well fill it with a top-of-the-line mattress that you can’t buy anywhere else, according to ten thousand happy customers and counting.”
There are more to explore. Here is the link: https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/hurry-this-mattress-sale-wont-last-forever-nothing-does
It is a commentary describing one’s existence on this planet earth.
Two very dissimilar photographs are attached to this blog. One is of my partially consumed EID cookie, photograph taken at Costa Coffee. The other a photo taken at the Grand Mosque., I think upon my first visit there. If you want to see me in my finery on the Instagram reel go to Instagram where I am Alexis McTwit (for some unremembered reason.)
