Such a story...
November 18, 2015 9:21 AM   Subscribe

This is the sort of story we need to hear in these divisive and troubled times. A touching account of a chance airport encounter written by San Antonio poet Naomi Shihab Nye.
posted by Agave (15 comments total) 24 users marked this as a favorite
 
Lovely. And so right about the mamool.
posted by benito.strauss at 9:27 AM on November 18, 2015


This is lovely, and exactly what I needed to read today. Thank you so much for posting it.
posted by bibliogrrl at 9:33 AM on November 18, 2015 [2 favorites]


Naomi Shihab Nye also wrote one of my favorite poems, which is in much the same spirit as this story:

Shoulders

A man crosses the street in rain,
stepping gently, looking two times north and south,
because his son is asleep on his shoulder.

No car must splash him.
No car drive too near to his shadow.

This man carries the world’s most sensitive cargo
but he’s not marked.
Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE,
HANDLE WITH CARE.

His ear fills up with breathing.
He hears the hum of a boy’s dream
deep inside him.

We’re not going to be able
to live in this world
if we’re not willing to do what he’s doing
with one another.

The road will only be wide.
The rain will never stop falling.
posted by yasaman at 9:37 AM on November 18, 2015 [28 favorites]


I found myself thinking Why don't they make that "Does anyone speak Arabic?" announcement in Arabic? And then I realized that I really need some lunch or something.
posted by Etrigan at 9:40 AM on November 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


yasaman, that is a beautiful poem. I know several people who need it. Thanks.
posted by dubwisened at 9:52 AM on November 18, 2015


And now I'm weeping. Thanks for posting this.
posted by billiebee at 10:16 AM on November 18, 2015


Beautiful story. Thank you for sharing. This is the kind of world I want to live in, too.
posted by sevenofspades at 10:57 AM on November 18, 2015


I was quite amazed when I got far enough into the story to discover they actually correctly identified arabic.
posted by phearlez at 11:12 AM on November 18, 2015


Delicious clarification
posted by growabrain at 12:05 PM on November 18, 2015


I found myself thinking Why don't they make that "Does anyone speak Arabic?" announcement in Arabic? And then I realized that I really need some lunch or something.

Sadly, I think some cowlike people would become distressed by the sound.

Mamool cookies look a great deal like a certain Greek cookie -- I forget the name, it's in Amy Sedaris' cookbook. I'd bet they have a common ancestor. It ought to teach us something.
posted by Countess Elena at 12:52 PM on November 18, 2015


This has gone around a few times in my online communities; I'm mildly surprised it hasn't been on the blue before. But it's a really good time for it to appear.
posted by immlass at 12:53 PM on November 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


Oh, I love this poem (or story. I consider it a poem). It is indeed a tonic to read it again right now. Thanks for posting.
posted by aka burlap at 1:15 PM on November 18, 2015


Oh I'm weeping at work. I am so grateful for the story, and the poem. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
posted by ZakDaddy at 2:48 PM on November 18, 2015


This story reminded of that picture of the Buddhist monk praying for a man who died in an airport waiting for his flight, albeit with a much happier ending.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 9:40 PM on November 18, 2015


I am a bit saddened that this seems to be a blog of someone who simply copied this story from a book of essays.
I wish the author was getting the ad revenue from our eyeballs.
posted by Megafly at 4:21 PM on November 19, 2015


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