Ayse's Life and Etc.

Hmmmm this is pretty bad, I have not posted here for months - many times I wanted to write but for some reason or another I was not able to. But the writing bug is back in my system and I will try and keep up better with the new year coming. I have hopes for the year 2013 - maybe for some reason I've always preferred single digits to double, my own superstitions also like and believe that the number 13 is a luck number for me. The small things that we humans look for to give us encouragement! The below message I wrote for the New Year will probably be my last posting for the year but maybe not. Dear Family, Friends and Colleagues, So the 12 months of the year 2012 are almost at an end, in fact the year which the Mayan calendar said was the end of the world as we know it......or at least the end of their calendar! I have my own theories on this as everyone else; one is that the person who was making the calendar quit as the talks between the union and the workers went bust; or maybe that is the date that the Mayans come back to reclaim their rightful place (are they now walking among us)? Anyhow those are the two that come to mind immediately. And what a year it was. Personally life was fine as I got a chance to see most of my family and friends, albeit at different times but still good to be with them. The two oldest members of the Sumer and Dogrusoz clans have both turned 91, Nezahat Hala and Halim Dayi, and we look forward to more years with them. Everyone is healthy and pursuing their activities and hobbies. The younger ones have now a life of their own, and the toddlers are growing up and bringing great joy to their families near and far. Plans are already being made for the new year, trying to fit in opportune times to see loved ones. I cannot but stop a minute to look at the year in the context of the history of the world. We have seen and are continuing to see the aftermath of the Arab Spring, none of those countries have settled their issues, and in some cases the struggles are still active and unfortunately just as bloody as it was when it sparked. In Syria the human situation has become even more devastating with bloodshed continuing - not discriminating the children, women and elderly. It is not Arab Spring but a very bloody war, with sectarian strife that is impacting its neighbors including Turkey. Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan have seen and are incessantly exposed to extreme radical violence. That is the ME and Near East. The civilized world as we know has had its share of horror stories, including natural disasters such as the devastation of Hurricane Sandy but none of those shocked us all from our core than that of the shooting at Sandyhook Elementary School in Connecticut. The United States and many in the world are still talking about and reeling in the vertigo of that pain - the deaths of 20 children and six adults. Sadly extreme radical religious fundamentalism; killing in the name of God; guns and bullets; sectarian divisions; racism; intolerance and bigotry continued to dominate the global agenda. We need positive, and good deeds to make us look forward, and for me John Lennon has said that in the lyrics of his beautiful song 'Imagine.' I still am a dreamer and want to believe in human strength for doing and being good. With that I wish you all the best for the holiday season and a year of beautiful dreams, filled with love, health and goodwill. As always - Ayse Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people living for today Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people living life in peace You, you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one I hope some day you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people sharing all the world You, you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one I hope some day you'll join us And the world will live as one