Lorena's Epiphany

Mouwathafeen 3

January 25, 2010 at 1:28 pm Leave a comment

Although I’m no longer working the full-time gig, there are still lots of stories to tell about others working around me.

Take for example the two men I met this morning. Let’s call them Khalil and Boutros for lack of their real names. Right around the corner from my office is an unidentifiable little shop that on the outside looks like a hairdresser shop, but on the inside is actually a Dekeneh (a mini grocery store). I’d always walked past it thinking it was a hairdresser’s because of all the hair products on display, until I accidentally took a peek one day.

With a few shelves and some recycled display tables, it’s home to Khalil and Boutros’ “business”. They have a small fridge, newspapers and magazines, cigarettes, hair products and god knows what else in there. (It was too dark to see it all) I walked in this morning to pick up a pack (I’m hopelessly failing at quitting), and saw the tiniest old men crouched over a 8 inch television with shaky reception. They obviously didn’t enjoy being disrupted from the horse race that was playing on the screen. As I was paying Boutros (the owner, I presumed), I caught Khalil jotting down Arabic numbers on a wrinkled paper.

I’ve never been to a horse race here in Lebanon and was surprised to find these men so actively involved in the results. I wondered which horse they were betting on and if they ever won. Or maybe this was just a hobby. Who knows? More than anything, I wished I was carrying my camera to capture their unfaltering gaze at the screen. Both in their knitted sweaters and low chairs, they were quite the sight.

An old couple of men trapped in time, enticed by a sport so many have forgotten. One day I’ll visit the races here, but until then, I’ll keep updated through Khalil and Boutros.

Entry filed under: Floating. Tags: beirut, gambling, grocery store, hairdressers, hobby, horse racing, Lebanon, old men.