Category Archives: Friends / Family

I was hoping to write a couple of digressions this evening and tomorrow on a variety of subjects including Ballet and the confines of creativty and freedom; and ZP (Zapatero Presidente), George W and Reyes (the Spanish celebration of the Epiphany). Unfortunately, I just got news that my paternal grandfather is fairing very poorly. He has acute heart failure, and I am hoping for the best for him, whatever that may be.

The last time my grandfather, Grandpa Al (“the kiddies’ pal”), was this ill was in 1998 when he had to undergo open heart surgery. I remember that at that time, I was just finishing law school and studying for the New York Bar Examination. It was a pretty trying time for my family due to my grandfather’s condition. Unforunately, I was unable to give anyone much of my time because my schedule required 10 to 12 hours of uninterrupted studying, 7 days a week for 2 months. Luckily and regardless of a priest having given him his last rights, Grandpa Al pulled through and has lived now for 9 more years.

Whenever I hear the song “Good Riddance” by Greenday, I always think of those last days of law school and the 2 months when I studied for the Bar and just how important those people around us are in making life so worthwhile: Continue reading →

Now I will finally try to put together my thoughts and impressions from my trip to Marrakech with my brother which was also my first trip ever to Morocco or to the African continent for that matter. I have already told the story of Casablanca, so now to Marrakech. I suppose that I could summarize Marrakech in three parts: (i) full of fascinating people, (ii) amazing tones of red and orange under a sky whose blue is spectacularly infiltrated with streaks of these same reds and oranges as night falls, and (iii) a place that I could not fully enjoy until I had departed from her. If interested, here is my explanation:

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As a child, I was similar to the majority of the world at least in that I knew of Casablanca almost exclusively through the film of the same name. Maybe even more so, for my father was a dedicated fan of the movie which he played repeatedly on video. I knew the screenplay almost by heart practically due to osmosis. Later in college, I had a very good friend, Samya, from Casablanca. From that time on, Casablanca would always be synonymous with her. It was only natural then that when traveling to Casablanca for the first time (in route to Marrakech from Madrid with the Comment Killer), I would think of her. Actually, I was also thinking of how excited my father would be that I was in the city where Rick had fled to because he had been “misinformed”. Thus, my plane from Madrid to Casablanca flew to the tune of “As Time Goes By“. Here is my very curious experience:

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I have just recently returned from Marrakech (with my bro the Comment Killer), hence, my well-noted absence from the pages of this blog. Marrakech is a fascinating place to say the least. Once I have some free time, I will write down my thoughts, impressions, and other digressions related to my first trip to Morocco. Now, back to Arrested Development, which although completely addictive is less amusing to watch alone, especially without the Comment Killer’s commentary.