Late Sunday night, or early Monday depending on how you look at it, I was trying to write a post that covered my feelings about the bombings in Beirut and a book I'm currently reading, but really it was about one of my dearest friends in all the world who happens to be from Lebanon. For the past few months he's been talking about moving back; it wasn't something I felt was due to happen imminently, but I know his desire to be closer to his family is genuine, not a fleeting bout of homesickness.
To make sense of my thoughts, I started from the beginning, when we first met over 10 years ago. I kept writing, but the points I'd hoped to make were still far off indeed. After 2 AM, I stopped and realized that what I was writing wasn't a blog post but the beginning of a book, a biography: his.
Reading I, the Divine which he recently sent me has made me want to know more about his life growing up. It's a part of his life I'm only now starting to grasp.
Anyway, it's not a book I expect to finish writing, because I want him to write it.
One year ago at TTaT: tip of the week- savings account with $25 opening bonus
tags: Lebanon, biography, writing
First there's the niggling detail that I don't know that he'd want a biography of himself written. I've pitched it to him though so we'll see if that leads anywhere. I would gladly help him with it if he wanted.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I could write our years but I wouldn't want to invade his privacy in several matters. Also, I think some of the most compelling aspects of his life are parts I know far less about, like life growing up in Lebanon and his reactions to the fighting at various times in his life. I could comment on his feelings now, but I couldn't do justice to his youth. That's where I think the book lies.
My anecdotes would be amusing and so forth, but they'd probably be more self-serving than the story I have in mind for him to tell. I have more the workings of an introduction on my hands now. I suppose I'd love to organize and polish his story for him.
i was going to email you and ask where walid was these days; i thought of him this week, and his beautiful description of beirut as we ate breakfast and chatted one morning in LA... I hope he's well.
ReplyDeletehey C- I'll tell him you asked about him. I'm sure he'd appreciate it. More in email in the works...
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