Reflections on a BBQ
by Magda Danish
Attendance at the EAS Spring BBQ picnic was disappointing to say the least. When you send out 600 invitations for such an event, a 10% turnout is usually expected. We ended up with less than 5%: 30 adults and 6 children!
'You reap what you sow' is the saying that came to my mind as I remembered with remorse many picnics held by my predecessors, former EAS presidents Ashraf Seddeek and Amany Ghanem, where my family was often absent for no valid reason.
I also felt a tad jealous when I heard that the Lebanese American Association - who was also holding its annual picnic at the Lake Elizabeth Park - had somewhere between 100 and 150 participants. Kudos to the Lebanese Americans for loyally supporting their organization and here's to wishing them many more years of success!
I am not trying to send any of the EAS esteemed members on a guilt trip by writing these comments, just sharing my thoughts and giving those who happen to read them something to brood over.
Having said that the EAS picnic to me and hopefully to those who were there was a cozy and fun event. As with all Egyptian gatherings, the lack of people was offset by the abundance in delicious and tasty food.
Special thanks to Sausan, owner of Al-Masri restaurant in San Francisco, for generously contributing four delicious trays of oriental dessert.
Special thanks also to Joseph and Robert whose surprise visit added a funny twist to our picnic and kept us laughing and speculating throughout the day. I will say no more about these two guys except that they were very friendly, extremely helpful and full of resources.
To Joseph and Robert: "If you are reading this, thank you for coming and please do keep in touch. I am sure you won't have problems finding any of us."
To all other readers dying to know more about Joseph and Robert: "Well, tough luck! You should have come to the picnic in the first place."
And finally my eternal gratitude goes to all those who showed up and made this day a very special one.
Enjoy the pictures!
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