Archive for June, 2009

Happy Fathers’ Day

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

Happy Fathers’ Day to all the fathers out there.

I wrote the following poem a long time ago (2000) to my late father.  It’s not here for awes or complements; It’s my gift to him on this day.

It’s been over nine years since you were gone6

A fact that is always on my mind I can not condone

I don’t know if this will get to you but I have to let it out anyway

I have been holding it inside hoping it would go astray

However, my efforts to forget went in vain

Nothing compares to the way I feel but agony and pain

Whenever I remember the way you smiled I break down in tears

Your laugh was always the thing that wiped out my fears

I still remember the day you left like yesterday

I always wish I knew, maybe I could stand in your way8

I know it was beyond our powers to change our fate

Nothing good on this earth stays or lingers as was said

I get so happy whenever I have you in my dreams

I wake up weeping though realizing it is not what it seems

I just hope that I would grow up to be half the man you were

touch souls the same way you did and be always fair

I miss you father and will always have you on my mind

The day you left I lost my best friend, a person very hard to find

I just wish that one day we will meet again my dear

I just have to work hard to get to where you are or near

9

Tags:
Posted in Haitham | 4 Comments »

A letter to the President!

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

Dear Mr. President,

I hope this letter finds you in good health.  My name is Haitham Gasim and I am a very proud resident of this great country that you are the head of.  I felt like writing to you to let you know how appreciative I am of everything you have done so far.  Furthermore, I wanted to show my optimism of my future and humanity’s future in general.  I am not sure if it will get to you in person, but I am a big supporter of giving credit when it’s due.

I think your biggest strength is not the fact that you are articulate, cool or accommodating of different views, but rather your care and respect for “THE PEOPLE”. You always talk about the plight, the needs and the rights of the people, regardless of who they are and what they stand for.  An example of that is your quest to provide for everyone affordable healthcare, better environmental conditions, etc.

Your recent speeches are historical and will be reckoned with for decades to come.  Personally, my own family solidifies the points you were trying to make in Cairo.  People can live together in peace regardless of their backgrounds as long as they respect that fact that those particular backgrounds might exhibit  fundamental differences.  Concentrating on what is common and emphasizing what is mutually exclusive might actually result in diminishing the effects of the aforementioned differences.

I know a lot of people have had high hopes ever since you got elected and have expected you to fix everything that they think is broken right away. I also know that those hopes keep shrinking as long as nothing or little is being done.  I think what needs to happen is for them to ask themselves what realistic steps or events need to happen before an issue is fixed or changed.

By nature, humans are very skeptical and unwilling to change anything that might be of inconvenience to them or might disrupt the natural flow of things.  Conforming to a certain ideology and basing one’s opinion and decisions on it, while disregarding practicality and sense, will mostly lead them to hit some kind of a wall or no where.  One should always consider trying different shoes or vessels before they get on a path.  One should always think about what is good for not only them, but everyone and everything that surrounds them.

To conclude, I want to request that you keep up your remarkable guidance and vigilant pursuit of a better life for everyone. I want to assure you that I understand the power of the forces that you are up against and that my support for your causes will never fade away.  May all the seeds you have planted and the initiatives you have established come to fruition. May you and your family be safe and sound.

Yours faithfully,

Haitham Gasim

Posted in General Matters | 3 Comments »

My Beef with Forwards

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

I think I am a pretty reasonable person and I try my hardest not to let things get to me. I am a people’s person and I am always looking for news from family and friends.  However, when the only thing I am getting from certain folks is just forwards, it annoys the heck out of me.

I keep scratching my head trying to remember the number of letters I had received back in the day, when there was no email and no internet, that started with “FW: ” .  Letters that had pictures of kittens attached, religious scripture or even just requests to put the letter back in the envelope and forward it to everyone that I have addresses for (if I don’t do so, I will have bad luck for x number or years). The answer is always zero!

What happened to “Dear Haitham, how are you?  I hope this email finds in you good health.” or “What’s going on man? I was thinking about you and thought I would say hello.”?  Don’t get me wrong, I get a lot of those and they always make my day, but I also receive a lot of what I am talking about and I don’t read them.  I just delete them before opening them sometimes.

I AM always looking forward to hearing from you and hearing your news.  I want to know how your job is going and what the kids are up to nowadays.  I want to be here for you when you are down , wanting an honest opinion about what you are going through, or when you want to share your joy with me.

I AM NOT interested in Microsoft paying me a $100,000, why the end of time is here, or the funniest little johnny jokes.  When I have time during my day, I can get all of that with a few keyboard strokes and a mouse click.

If I had done that in the past to you, please forgive me.  I promise it won’t happen again.

Yours truly,

Haitham

Posted in Haitham | 1 Comment »