and the close of the school season, the movement of comings and goings to and from Lebanon increases: some arrive for summering and touring, others set off for Europe or America for a change of air and recreation. And it always pleases us to record the movements of our readers whenever we come to know of them.
Mrs. Cléance Samara has returned from a trip to the United States that lasted ten weeks; she was in the company of her husband, Mr. Raif Samara, notary public of Beirut.
The trip, says Mr. Samara teasingly, was a second honeymoon!! And Cléance corrects him: it was merely a change of air, a look at the New World, and getting acquainted with dozens of relatives living there! The result is the same!
As for Cléance's delight in the Americans and her admiration for them, it surpassed her husband's delight and admiration. She was astonished by this true democracy on the social plane. Where could we, at a soirée crowded with bridge and poker tables, tell apart the millionaire's wife from the secretary, or even the waitress in the restaurant!!
And the Americans gasped, in their well-known way — gasped in astonishment, unbelieving that Cléance has five children, the eldest of whom, Bassam, is about fifteen years old!!
A number of receptions were given in honor of the two gracious guests, the most important being the dinner party to which Lebanon's two consuls, Mr. Halim Shbaia and Dr. Alif Jabara, invited them at the Lebanese consulate, attended by a crowd of the Lebanese colony there, especially people from Marjayoun — the birthplace of Mr. Samara and his wife.
... Mrs. Olga Shammas invited a bouquet of family and friends to a small family party, which turned out afterward to be the occasion of her birthday — the secret was betrayed by a large cake set in the middle of the table... with candles on it!!
It occurred to me, deep in my musings, as I watched Olga stepping elegantly among her guests and the members of her happy family — made up of her husband, Mr. Shukri Shammas, and her eight children, God keep them — it occurred to me: "Why should Olga Shammas not be elected Mother of Lebanon?" And what has become of that cause? For years we have heard no news of it.
As for me, I wish for every woman and every wife that her husband honor her and value what she gives him, as Shukri Shammas values what Olga gives him. As a gift for her birthday, he invited her to accompany him on a two-week trip to England, in which they would call at the summering haunts in the land of the English. By the time this issue appears, the happy couple will have returned from the trip. So welcome home, in advance!
It seems this summer has brought our friend Miss Nur Salman an
abundance of luck — may it all end "as well as could be wished." On June 13 last she flew from Beirut... to Copenhagen, and from there to Moscow, in answer to an invitation from her uncle, Mr. Abdullah al-Najjar, Lebanon's Minister Plenipotentiary there. Nur expressed her amazement... how, do you suppose, will she pierce the Iron Curtain??
Among her traveling companions on the plane were His Grace Bishop Samaha, resident in Russia, and two nuns, the Sisters Maalouf and Catherine. In the streets of Copenhagen this stately procession drew every eye, with Nur in its midst carrying her crocodile-leather handbag!
No one yet knows when Nur will return from Moscow... her return depends on how well she takes to life there... and he who waits shall see!!
On Sunday, June 17 last, the remains of the late Asaad Tarcha,
husband of Mrs. Heneni Tarcha, the Responsible Director of this magazine, were borne from Beirut International Airport — where they had been brought from the Mahjar — to his birthplace, Mimas. The body was carried in a great cortege in which walked the notables and people of Hasbaya and the neighboring villages, and his burial was solemnized with imposing ceremony. Around the widow of the departed, Mrs. Tarcha, gathered throngs of family and many friends, offering condolence and comfort.
• Iskandar Mufarrij, director of the Union Trading Company, and his madame have been blessed with a baby girl, whom they have named Rita — God keep her, together with her brother Johnny and her sister Joyce.