Narek and Anna made it to our house tonight. They had some big news for us. Over a dinner of Grilled Pork chops, Steak, salad and baked potato, these two announced that they got married in January. Of our 11 AFS kids, Narek is the first one to have gotten married. They really are a handsome couple. Narek looks like a young Al Pacino, and Anna is drop-dead beautiful, with sensitive, dark eyes. But more importantly, she is a very hardworking young woman who is just pleasant company to be around. It’s not hard to see why they fell in love. Becky had Ian pick up an Ice Cream cake from Dairy Queen with a big yellow 70’s style smiley face on it. Narek and Anna told us that the master plan is for them to do a real Armenian service back in Armenia in the summer of 2008. They invited us, which meant a lot to me and Becky. I must confess, the idea is more than a little intrigueing. I have not talked this over yet with Da Redhead (that would be Rebekah), but going to an Armenian wedding IN Armenia would be cool as hell…and very much off the beaten tourist track for the typical Yankee tourist. I plan on giving this one more than a little consideration.
For those of you who need a quick Armenia 101, Armenia used to be part of the Soviet Union. It is a small country-roughly the size of Maryland with a population just under 4 million-that is surrounded on 3 of 4 sides by some countries that would love to see it wiped off the planet: Turkey, Iran and Azerbajian.(The Republic of Georgia does not seem to have any Ax to grind with Armenia at this time) Right before the start of the first World War, the Turks did their part to try to Exterminate Armenians.They Did a job of Ethnic cleansing that would have made the late Slobodan Milosovic proud. 500,000 Armenians were killed by the Turks. Surviving Armenians saw the bloody handwriting on the wall and got out of Dodge. This formidable Diasapora of Armenians fanned out all over the globe-many ended up in the US, Canada, and France, among other destinations. Armenia was the first country to take Christianity to it’s bosom as THE state religion. (That little detail may explain WHY the Turks, Iranians and the Azeris would like to have them wiped off the planet) One of the cruel geographic practical jokes is that in an area where places like Iran and Azerbajian are awash with natrual gas and petroleum, Armenia got the short end of the stick in the Petroleum Lottery. Given the importance of American air bases in Turkey, the US is not going to go out of it’s way to buddy up with Armenia. That, and lack of oil resources means that, like the last girl picked at a dance, Armenia has not had a lot of attention from the West. Hopefully, more western tourists will try to go to Armenia to check out the natural beauty, as well as the myriad Monasteries. Who knows, with they way that Western Europe has gotten so expensive, more Americans may try to make it to Armenia.
On a completely different note, it was last week when David Halberstam, one of my favorite writers, was killed in a car accident in San Francisco. You can find some examples of his writing through ESPN.Com
Halberstam was more known as a journalist, historical writer and social commentator. Even though he came to sports writing a little later in his career, he wrote two of the best books on baseball that I have ever read: “Summer of 1949″ and “October, 1964″. (My other two favorites, by two different authors :”The Boys of Summer” and “Only the Ball was White”. The former, about the 1950’s Brooklyn Dodgers, the latter about the Negro Leagues during the time pre-Jackie Robinson) Halberstam, for better or worse, was the first journalist to come out an criticize the Kennedy, and later, the Johnson Adminstrations on the American handling of the war in Vietnam. He wrote on a myriad of topics and was always an interesting panalist when on any news program. It’s sad to think that Anna Nicole Smith’s passing got so much more time in the press and media compared to this man who, along with the late Dick Schaap, was a true Renaissance man who wrote very well on a variety of topics, including sports. RIP Mr. Halberstam.
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