and what I learned from them

It was a warm day. I looked up from my laptop screen to a tattoo. A barely legible one from where I was sitting and from where she was standing. Her back to me, picking up her drink. Something drew me to her. I squinted at the darn thing. Too far to read. It was too quick of an encounter for me to react.

To my left, she sat slightly shifted, looking out. Occasionally sipping from a cold drink, her virtual team meeting on her screen was engaging. This woman was so loud that I had no choice but to listen. Obnoxious, I thought! The volume of her towering voice owned the store.

It was a hot day. Noonish. 30+ Celcius. Muggy. An authentic Beirut summer day. If you’ve been, you know what I’m talking about. I’ll attempt to describe this 2021 special blend.

Hold the coffee. Meeting Nancy was over steak and sauteed vegetables. As we prepared lunch, two Martinis, an intriguing discussion, and air-conditioning, we were isolated from the 42 degrees in Doha.

Ah! Her laugh. I can still hear its reverberations. Contagious. Starts deep from the guts and blasts out to a high-pitched giggle. The 6-second roar detoxes your spirit like a 60-minute massage relaxes your body. Happy, clean, pure, and joyful!

Three children buzzing in that suburban house. Each has their own needs, quirks, and wants. And when do they want it? Now. Mamabear is a master juggler. She's a zen master, fearless in her moves, caring, giving, knowing, and elegantly sloppy. At 29, Jeanine surfs life with zest, faith, and laughs.

They lived alongside this one traditional family whose customs were like the Lebanese villagers of a century ago. The man woke up at dawn, carried his steel pick, and walked down to the valley to work his orchards at the river bank.

A ball of fire. A bull at work. A big teddy bear at home. I met him through a common friend in Baskinta — a beautiful village in Mount Lebanon. Anthony encouraged me to have a coffee with the man. Fady has a story. A few weeks later, we met at Starbucks.

She’s clear-headed, in a good place, and grateful. An hour of intense conversation about the people who left an imprint in her life. The ones who helped her be what she is today. “I’m here because of them. It all started with us eight.”

I met her a day before her birthday (A gentleman never forgets a lady’s birthday but always forgets her age). She loves Aquarians. That’s me. She’s happy, grateful, thankful, and full of empathy towards other people. She is spiritual and works on her inner harmony.

When my usual conversations with him cover technology, entrepreneurship, and politics, this one took us to a different level altogether. He roared with laughter when teasingly I asked him: “Why don’t you just give up on Lebanon?”

As journalists, they met many people and witnessed firsthand the industry's technological and financial fluctuations. Unfortunately, they see a decline in moral, ethical, and political standards. People in charge today don't have the same fabric as the statesmen they knew.

The 13-year-old boy would spend all his savings buying 33 and 45-rpm records. As a kid, he loved radio and Western music. At 16, with a voice that hadn't matured yet, he presented a program in French on the once-top radio station — Magic 102 FM.

She wasn't sure what to talk about, and I didn't know what to expect from our conversation. Once she warmed up, the words rolled out from within — logical, emotional, clear, and intense.

I sat with Yusuf at the Starbucks on the Corniche by the American University of Beirut. A walk away from his office at the Olayan School of Business. He would frequently refer to his father in our talk, who passed away a couple of weeks prior. From his mentions and non-verbal cues, I could tell he loved and admired him.

The clarity of where home is for him and not leaving home is his driving force. He understands other people, but for him, immigrating is not on the table. He doesn't question how happy or not he'd be if he left. He decided to make home a better place for himself, his family, and everyone else.

She's bubbly, sharp, energetic, and self-aware. She knows what she knows and knows what she doesn't know. Mental health is her thing. Coffee is not. Yet, she indulged me with a chat around a coffee table and got straight to it.

I met her once on April 13, 2011, for a project. Social media suggested her posts as of a year or so ago. A mutual friend got us back together. We met at 7 a.m. at Starbucks in downtown Beirut on a beautiful Saturday morning.

I called him to North Carolina. We chatted for over an hour. It's a long way from our Starbucks conversations 4+ years ago in London. The foggy city got us together, time made us grow fonder, and the distance became insignificant with technology.