Rabih! ❤️❤️❤️
Conversation
I've always wanted to write about the natour of the building in Ain el-Mraisseh where I lived. He couldn't make sense of the men coming in and out of my place, and how shocked/embarrassed/horrified when he finally figured it out. He'd blush and mumble every time he saw me!
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Where did you live in Ain el Mreisseh? I was there off & on for ten years or so b/w diff houses (ie I knew it well) until I was run off by the incident I described....
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I was teaching at AUB in 2003. It was a furnished apartment called Seaview or something like that. One street up the corniche and the big monstrosity blocked quite a bit of my view.
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Oh I know Seaview (& that monstrosity belying the name) well! I lived down the street, in the bldg next to what was a gas station in 2003. I'm sure the natour probably tried to tell himself you were one of the depraved ajeneb so it would be easier to turn a blind eye....
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And then when he couldn't anymore he just didn't know how to react... I'd enjoy reading a piece about that. Afterwards we'll put together an anthology called Nawateer Ain el Mreisseh
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That would be fab. The intriguing thing about this was that he was at a loss as to how to behave. Mujtama3 had not trained him for someone like me. I wasn’t young, I was respectable and demanded it, istaz, and not discreet. I completely confounded him.
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Yes, I know that posture well & have seen that moment of dawning realization vis-a-vis friends: Wait, you can't be... gay!?!!! Why, you're a perfectly decent, lovely person!!
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The anthology that should be done would be simply called Beirut, with essays about the various people living in all the neighborhoods, different classes, sects, races, nationalities. Show all of Beirut and not one of the essays be allowed to use the descriptor “war-torn.”
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Yes, something vast in scope and also confounding
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Replying to
You know what. The more I think about it, the more I like it. I'm going to write Nicole and see what happens.

