Chapulling and Making a Deal with God

It's funny to think about the last food I ever fed my love. It was Armenian food of grape leaves and hummus. He just barely ate some of the grape leaves. I must have made a million stuffed grape leaves and for me, it never gets any easier. Today, the people of Turkey are demanding more rights. It was always a secret about the Armenians in Turkey and what terrible things happened to them. I'm no expert on the history of Turkey, but I do know something about the genocide of Turkey's yesteryear. I have known a woman from Communist Russia. She immigrated with her father to Russia from Lebanon for a better life. Eventually, after giving birth to three children and really struggling to give them a better life, she made a deal with God to get her and her family out of Russia. God must have really wanted her because he got her out of Russia and to America! Historically, that is a big deal. She taught me to cook Armenian food and the time we spent together was happily in the kitchen. I rolled my first grape leaf with her. Am I with the Turkish people today as they attempt to protest? "Chapulling" is a Turkish word that has to do with fighting for one's rights. The meaning of the word changed from being an insult to being a rebel cry.  My love went to Turkey many times and loved it. I never went. Most of the people who have died in these protests were young men in their 20s. That's the age of my sister's grandsons. How would one grieve these young men? I cannot imagine their pain. My sister is supposed to visit Turkey this summer. I was so overjoyed when I heard she would be going to Istanbul. I have dreamed of that place all of my adult life. I imagine the Blue Mosque as the most beautiful building in the world. I know a little bit about its history and I can only imagine the centuries of joy and sadness contained in its walls. Now, I am not so happy about her plans. They don't seem so magical or even practical. Taking a holiday in such a place seems unthinkable, and yet I know people do and life goes on. Whichever way life goes on in Turkey, chapulling or not, my heart and prayers are with all the Turkish people (Armenians, presidents and young men in their 20s).