cameras, rockets and honey battle gravity, chemistry and tradition


Grandchildren Sept 20 2020 on Turtle

Who didn’t want to take any more pictures? And, if you don’t want to take pictures, is a wedding the best place to be? Who is able to thrill three children by spotting a snail — and a column of migrating ants? How long does it take for a centrifuge to spin a couple of frames of beehive sufficiently? Why was the model rocket named “Vlad”? In what ways is a vinegar and baking soda powered volcano superior to a vinegar and baking soda powered rocket? How many ways can a model rocket parachute fail to deploy? Read More...
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magic calendars morph birthdays into wedding day


dan wedding talk 2

What’s the next date in the sequence: 6/13/14; 7/15/16; 8/17/18? If you ‘guessed’ 9/19/20 you’ve divined the subject of the latest issue of The Weekly Letter? Why are these dates special? Does it have anything to do with California wildfires? How about California grandchildren? Or, say, their parents? Where do they take a lot of pictures? And who wants to be, eh, who demands to be in every picture? What event would be suffienctly momentous to bring Mitra from Los Angeles to California? Will FedEx and the bad hair witches subvert the plan?
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Massachusetts Museum with bathroom-challenged 17th Century house


Siblings Sept 29 2018

Will United Airlines fall for Dan’s disguised identity? More to the point, will they deliver a trouble-free flight before they realize that Dan is on-board? How would you handle a New England museum tour guide who treated the tourists like third graders? Would you be ready for show and tell? Is there a men’s belt shop in Salem, Massachusetts? (And why do we care?) When was indoor plumbing commonplace? Where did all of Dan's siblings come together in September, 2018? Read More...
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Refunds abound while BOBOLYNE Pilots stop for hamburgers

Arrow looking cool August 31 2018


How will Dan and Nazy spend the refund check that they received from the medication insurance plan? Hint: They are considering an option that involves splitting a low-dosage aspirin tablet. Has your flight ever been delayed because there was a “long line at McDonalds” where the pilots stopped to get a hamburger before sauntering to the gate? Who forgot to sign their passport before an international trip? (And how many times was it missed by heavy border security?) What is the name of the
dullest airport on the planet? Would you remove the training wheels on your bicycle before or after a collision with a (thorny) rose bush?
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backgammon craftsman foiled, great apartment found, flight home fumbled


Walking in Typre

Will the backgammon craftsman remember Nazy? (Of course he will! But, more importantly, will he remember the price he quoted the last time she was in Beirut?) Did Darius find a great new apartment in Beirut? (Of course not, but he did find a beautiful and capable wife with skills in that direction.) Did American Airlines provide a pleasant surprise with good service and edible cuisine — edible food — let’s not go overboard. (Well, yes, but how did they blow it in the end?) Read More...
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Tireless Tyre sees Sidon Cedars in the Mt Lebanon Chouf


everyone in AUB

How do you determine the age of a tree — specifically an ancient Cedar Tree — without chopping it down and counting the growth rings? (Hint: think repurposed colonoscopy equipment.) Who hired a travel agent named Lucifer? (No! It wasn’t Dan.) What’s a narghile and who tried it out? What do Tyre, Sidon, the Chouf and AUB all have in common? Read More...
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Don’t forget: Kiss the bride, don’t order fried, Hope roads are wide

saying I

How did a crazed waiter and a flawless wedding hijack last week’s edition of The Weekly Letter? Was the wedding flawless? Did Darius remember to do everything in the plan? Did Christiane stumble on a word? Did the fireworks ignite at the right time? Where do they prepare fried shrimp in the shell? (With the heads and legs?) How did Christiane get The Martin Family to bypass the enormous lines at Beirut airport immigration? Read More...
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tiger selects somnolent sommelier, sees Jupiter in Cyprus wedding

thewedding party orchestrated by TigerIMG_3777

Did Dan read the ‘Remember to drive on the left side of the road’ sign in time? If the gearshift lever and the mirror are on the wrong side of the car, is it fair to blame the driver for small miscues? Is it possible to win an argument with a Cypriot waiter who insists on serving an anorexic full-bodied wine? How can Tiger’s desires (he wants to walk the bride down the aisle) be reconciled with the (he is supposed to walk down the aisle with balloons)? Will Darius remember his lines? Read More...
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Soggy flight, London night, car not right, see the sight


Everyone at the Stafford

How will Tiger cope on a nonstop flight from Los Angeles to London? More appropriately how will the accompanying adults (Tom, Melika, Nazy and Dan) cope? How will British Air cope? What about the poor guy from India who is assigned a middle seat between Nazy (with Tiger) and Dan? Who failed to appropriately secure the diaper before handing a satiated baby to Dan at the very beginning of the flight? Will the London Marathon foil the family sightseeing plans? Can Dan master a car with the steering wheel on the ‘wrong side’? How does Tom compare with the silicon-based navigation system? Read More...
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