Cancer: The Cruelest of All Maladies

More than 2 years ago, in the midst of my late wife’s struggle against cancer, I attempted, to no avail, to understand the history of that disease, that disease which has been given all different names including the title of a book written by Siddhartha Mukherjee, namely: “The Emperor of All Maladies”.

In recent years, apart from my dear wife’s final surrender to that disease, I witnessed several of my family members and friends struggle to beat different forms of that disease but, alas, they all finally succumbed to the violence of that enemy that has no age or sex discrimination!

Alas again, scientific studies and research over the past more than a hundred years in the field of cancer and how to conquer it, has shown little progress in spite of the funds expended in finding effective remedies and/or cures.

Needless to say, families and friends that witness the struggle waged by those who are afflicted, end up suffering from mental wounds and are left with scars of varied magnitude that persist for the rest of their lives.

Apart from hoping and praying for an effective breakthrough in beating that disease, I am left with no better description than to say that this has been and continues to be the Cruelest of all Maladies!

Hani Badawi
November 25, 2017

Role Models

People choose role models for various reasons and motivations. I, for one, find myself echoing many of the words that my late father-in-law used to quote repeatedly on pertinent occasions.

As I get older, I note that echoing these quotes is a form of acknowledgement and assertion of the profound impact that he left on my thinking and reasoning on one hand, and on my analysis and deduction on the other.

We now talk about “band-width” when we describe the extent of knowledge that a person commands. The term “well-rounded” or “all-rounded” also serves the same purpose, and I always associated the the term “rounded” with the process where the “sharp-edges” of our youth are smoothed out by our acquired knowledge.

How I would have liked to discuss this with my father-in-law, as he would, as he always did, shed more light on this and other vital matters of my existence.

Indeed, without a shadow of a doubt, he was/is my role model and I hope that I could live up to his level of wisdom and knowledge, but, as he always would remind me, “Only God is Perfect” or “الكمال لله”.

Further to the foregoing comments, I wish to opine that: “If you ever, inadvertently become a role-model, you must take on the responsibility of living up to the principles that you propagate”, and, “share your ideas and principles generously because, if you don’t, they are of no use to you or anyone when you’re gone!”

Hani Badawi
February 21, 2011

Love, admiration, respect and appreciation

I’m sure the words and feelings in the title of this note are very familiar to all of us and I am certain that if left to our own devices, the definitions will differ widely from one person to the next, depending on the unique circumstances experienced by each.

Definitions serve the purpose of describing the general and accepted norms of the meanings of any adjective but I question the absolute accuracy of any definition because it simply cannot encompass all the intricate unique feelings embodied in any of us.

So, I love, admire, respect you all and appreciate you taking the time to read this!

Hani Badawi 

November 19, 2017

Hope, expectation and the road in between

In a simplistic way, in what I’m about to unroll here, I hope to be able to explain myself and expect you to make up your mind as to whether I make sense or not!

Our road between hope and expectation is more likely to be rugged, unpaved and difficult to travel and certainly more so than when we initially set out on any hope-driven journey. Needless to say, most journeys commence with a hope and with the aim that our expectation is our ultimate destination.

Before attempting to expound on the topic of this note, allow me to invoke a few important requirements that will ultimately lead to a successful journey between the two milestones; hope and expectation.

On any physical journey, by whatever vehicle we choose to travel, we need fuel, knowledge (maps or GPS nowadays) and, depending on the length of the trip, refueling, rest-houses (for sleep, food, coffee etc.) and vehicle maintenance. Absence of any of these components will evidently take a toll on how, successful, arduous or long the trip will be.

With that in mind, let’s consider any trip that starts with hope and ends in a destination that matches (or closely matches) our expectation.

In the same way as a physical journey, a hope-expectation journey must be supported by many elements or tools: knowledge (education, experience), determination, dreams, support by loved ones, recreation, etc. They’re all needed, otherwise the trip will end up being one with an illusion as a starting point and a disappointment as the arrival point (and obviously not a destination!!).

In traversing a hope-expectation journey, there will be many challenges and obstacles on the way, many of which will be impossible to predict. Finally it is the support tools and their mobilization that will ultimately lead to the desired conclusion!

Yes, many would be right in saying that it’s easier said than done. My retort is that with enough preparation and determination for what is “said”, the easier it will be “done!!!”

Hani Badawi

November 19, 2017

Kind, Kinder and Kindest

What kind of kind are you?

How do you evaluate your own level of kindness and how do others evaluate you?

Is there a universal standard or metric that one can use for such an evaluation or is it basically a perception that hinges on a situation or more?

There are kind greetings, words, gestures, deeds and many other forms of kindness but the general use of kind as an adjective to describe a person may be misleading!

Does the use of the comparative terms kinder and kindest imply that there is a scale for measuring out the level of kindness?

Often times people associate kindness to naïveté and on other occasions to stupidity and/or weakness of character. Does that perception reflect a less kind assessment of the person being judged?

Let us not forget that “unkindness” can also be construed as the opposite of kindness and therefore, as an adjective, may suffer from the same ambiguity that “kindness” does! Note that an unkind word or behavior may be necessary to rectify or resolve a problem or a situation.

Some people derive more joy from giving than taking. Does that make them kinder than the ones whose joy emanates from receiving?

How about the kindest of them all? Is there a fair competition that leads to crowning an individual as kindest of them all?

As a challenge, why don’t you think about the many sides of kindness and let me know what kind of thoughts you have on this matter 😃.

Kindest regards to all 😃.

Hani Badawi

November 17, 2017

Who Am I

What you think of me - May not be what you see
What you think - May be changed in a wink
Is it my personality - Or is it your fantasy
Is it my demeanor - Or are you just a dreamer
Is it my mind - Or what you divined
Am I for real - Or is it how you feel
In your opinion - I may be a villain
In your view - I should be in a zoo
In your mind - I may be unkind
Am I interesting - And worth trusting
Am I erratic - And not sufficiently dynamic
Am I arrogant - And also an irritant
What you see - May not be the real me
What you think of me - May not be what you see
Do you really know who am I - Or is it what you see with your own eye

Hani Badawi

November 14, 2017

Trump-load of Rubbish

Has the United States elected a president who is wasting the country’s time????

Isn’t it said that instead of Trump learning about the needs of his citizens and serving them as he should, his citizens are not only trying to understand what he’s about, but they’re surprised and distressed on a daily basis as they find out that his personality is as shady as some individuals (advisers and/or operatives) that he surrounded/surrounds himself with!

The county is now mobilized to serve him rather than the other way round. What a travesty!!!

His arrogance and bully characteristics are as clear as crystal and yet the majority of the Republican Party individuals who are in power are shying away from confronting him and I suspect that they do so in fear of his venom rather than believing that he’s worthy of support. Shame on them!

What a waste of time and opportunities in the contemporary history of America!

I wonder, when will justice reign and when and how will this charade end????

Hani Badawi 

November 6, 2017

Gun Lobbyists/Osrtiches!

President Donald Trump said Today that Sunday's mass shooting at a Texas church "isn't a guns situation" but instead "a mental health problem at the highest level."

This is the dumbest statement that anyone could have made, let alone by the president of the USA!!!

Doesn’t he realize that all shootings of this type are initiated by mentally deranged or disturbed individuals!!!! That being the reality, it is more of a good reason to address this chronic problem, one that is perpetuated by gun lobbyists who continue to, like ostriches, bury their heads in the sand taking shelter in the second amendment to the constitution which was adopted 226 years ago on December 15, 1791!

Don’t the modern day adherents to the second amendment realize that when it was ratified back then, it was done in a different context than how they choose to interpret it today? Furthermore, don’t they realize that NO one at that time could have predicted the degree of sophistication of arms nor the complexity of life in the 21st. Century?

I wonder if some politicians need to be made aware that they no longer live in the 18th Century!!!!!

Hani Badawi
November 6, 2017