The Conflict in Egypt

Working with the elderly can be taxing. To remedy the insanity the best cure is to laugh. You must find the light in the dreary state that is dementia and embrace the hilarity that often comes with someone who is simply "not all there." My dear friend Anna was looking for a newspaper today. Apparently, she had one from yesterday but thinks she already read it. She wanted to brush up on her current events, though openly accepts she cannot remember them. Admittedly confused about the situation in Egypt myself, I asked her what she thought of it.

This is what she told me:

"Oh! Yes, there are a lot of Greeks in Egypt right now. Also, there are some in Turkey. But to be completely frank here, you were born a Greek and will die a Greek. The same goes for the Mosalins. Those countries like Afghanistan and Iran are filled with Mosalins, so is Egypt. Even Greece has some Mosalins. Why should we try to force them to become something else? They like being Mosalins, and I like being Greek, I won't change my ways and I won't ask them to. My great grandmother was born in Turkey. Did you know that? She was. And she had no problems with the Turks although they did try to wage war against her people, she knew that they wanted to stay Mosalin and that she could not try to change that. Eventually she came to America, it was better for her here. There are something like 18 million Christians living in Egypt right now, that is quite a few considering about how many Mosalins there are. They all seemed to be living fine until this thing started to come about. Tell me something, do you have the paper here? Oh, and how is your family?"

I think she meant Muslims.. but I can never know for sure. I nodded while she ranted, tried to be engaging and interjected when I could. I still know nothing of the situation in Egypt, but at least I know my place as a Greek.

Anna with a glass of brandy, 2009.