BeardCon pics, leading to the Middle East lack-of-conflict
So for your viewing pleasure, a photographer named Khalid took professional pics at BeardCon and he just posted them. When he introduced himself, I said, "... nice to meet you, Khalid."
"Oh my God, you pronounced my name right!"
"... yeah? It's not that hard."
He then saw my flag. "Ah, that explains it!! I FIGURED there had to be some Middle Eastern thing going on!"
He was very easy to work with and pretty damned friendly.
And then I noticed it. Over the next couple of hours, I kept hearing other people refer to him and/or call him. "So yeah, Kah-leed is taking pics." "Kel lead says he's going to post those pics in a couple weeks." "Has anyone seen Hal ad?"
I called his name while he was doing a shoot. "I'm listening," he said, his eyes never moving from his subject.
"Oh my GOD. You're right. NO ONE can say your name!"
He let out a laugh. " I TOLD YOU!"
His subject looked perplexed. "How DO you say it??"
"Xa: lid."
She just blinked, and turned her head in confusion.
And that leads to something I find uniquely bizarre, but in a way it instills me with a little bit of hope. I admit, sometimes I'm a bit wary to discuss my ties with Israel. Sometimes, the country is like that relative who you love to death who makes really really shitty decisions, and I can understand why people would be pissed at it. That being said, this is the second event in a row, where my disclosure of those ties have lead to this odd "Middle Eastern brethren" tie thing going on. Khalid was a great example, and he seemed to get WARMER after knowing that connection. Another competitor, Sharif, referred to me as a "brother." "We go back a few thousand years."
And then we chatted a bit in Arabic. It was a great experience, and I still smile thinking about it.
Something similar happened at Midwest Bearfest last December, when Aaron and I ran into two Arab men, one very drunk and flirty. I asked the non-drunk one, "Where are you from, if I can ask?"
"Guess," he said.
"Al-Urduun? Al-Lubnan? Al-Maghreb? Al-Gitaar?"
"Al-Sa'uud." (Saudia Arabia)
So, again, we all talked about where we were from, talked about our respective languages, and I learned the drunk gentleman was from Jordan, to which he smiled, hugged me, and said, "HI NEIGHBOUR!"
"Hey yourself! I have to say, your queen is GORGEOUS."
"She is on SO. MANY. MAGAZINE COVERS. You should totally visit!"
"I'd love to ... at least I can," I remarked, referring to the bilateral travel limitations.
"I know. Fucking politics!!"
Fucking politics, INDEED.
"Oh my God, you pronounced my name right!"
"... yeah? It's not that hard."
He then saw my flag. "Ah, that explains it!! I FIGURED there had to be some Middle Eastern thing going on!"
He was very easy to work with and pretty damned friendly.
And then I noticed it. Over the next couple of hours, I kept hearing other people refer to him and/or call him. "So yeah, Kah-leed is taking pics." "Kel lead says he's going to post those pics in a couple weeks." "Has anyone seen Hal ad?"
I called his name while he was doing a shoot. "I'm listening," he said, his eyes never moving from his subject.
"Oh my GOD. You're right. NO ONE can say your name!"
He let out a laugh. " I TOLD YOU!"
His subject looked perplexed. "How DO you say it??"
"Xa: lid."
She just blinked, and turned her head in confusion.
And that leads to something I find uniquely bizarre, but in a way it instills me with a little bit of hope. I admit, sometimes I'm a bit wary to discuss my ties with Israel. Sometimes, the country is like that relative who you love to death who makes really really shitty decisions, and I can understand why people would be pissed at it. That being said, this is the second event in a row, where my disclosure of those ties have lead to this odd "Middle Eastern brethren" tie thing going on. Khalid was a great example, and he seemed to get WARMER after knowing that connection. Another competitor, Sharif, referred to me as a "brother." "We go back a few thousand years."
And then we chatted a bit in Arabic. It was a great experience, and I still smile thinking about it.
Something similar happened at Midwest Bearfest last December, when Aaron and I ran into two Arab men, one very drunk and flirty. I asked the non-drunk one, "Where are you from, if I can ask?"
"Guess," he said.
"Al-Urduun? Al-Lubnan? Al-Maghreb? Al-Gitaar?"
"Al-Sa'uud." (Saudia Arabia)
So, again, we all talked about where we were from, talked about our respective languages, and I learned the drunk gentleman was from Jordan, to which he smiled, hugged me, and said, "HI NEIGHBOUR!"
"Hey yourself! I have to say, your queen is GORGEOUS."
"She is on SO. MANY. MAGAZINE COVERS. You should totally visit!"
"I'd love to ... at least I can," I remarked, referring to the bilateral travel limitations.
"I know. Fucking politics!!"
Fucking politics, INDEED.