Do you know Ernie & Bert? They are two fictional Muppet characters from the long-running children's television show, Sesame Street. And, do you know my brother & sister? They are two real world characters from the long-living famous Al-Badawi's.

Long ago when they were kids, my parents brought them two little key chains shaped as little Ernie & Bert, where of course Enie the little trouble maker goes to bro & world-weary Bert goes to sis...typical, isn't it ;). 

Well that's not the story anyway. The story starts when on one of the weekly family gatherings, my bro and sis started showing off their key chains, you know how kids get excited when they have something the other kids would envy them for ;). And during the show, and while my sister was showing little Bert to cousin Marwa, she left her for a while, and came back to find it vanished!! Little Bert just disappeared. 

Searching everywhere, asking everybody, crying, begging and screaming...Bert just never came back, and noone had a clue where it might've gone. But for some reason, sneaky little cousin Amr kept telling my sis that grandpa took it!! "It's grandpa I'm telling you...HE took it", he said, "You left it on the table, and he took it". And considering that at the time, my sister wasn't too close to grandpa, as my family was always away in Saudi, she believed sneaky cousin, and went accusing grandpa who insisted that he doesn't know what little Bert was she talking about. Bert just left for good.

20 years later, grandpa passed away...Oh, don't worry, my sister was on better terms with him then. So, the family was going through his stuff, they opened his drawer, and there, a little Bert, came out of it, smiling at my sister, who cried out "I KNEW HE TOOK IT...um...God rest his soul...uhm".

Our grandpa, had many other things in that drawer that he's gathered throughout the years, the old man was a collector, he had all sorts of things, wallets, perfumes, "seba7", weird candy that he's used to get us every time he's back from the prayers...etc.                                                                                              And as for my sister, she now has two Bert & Ernie dolls, and she keeps buying any Bert & Ernie she finds at any store. Little Bert! it was given it to youngest person in the family at that time, cousin Nora.

Isn't it amazing how the elderly can behave like childern :D.

...Ania, from my memory book...

Do you know that eastern people, or at least Egyptians for all I know, are too shy to speak about the money? To ask for money others owe you, for deserved allowance, for rent sometimes...etc. Some people find it embarrassing to. Yea it is ridicules when you read about it now...but trust me it happens...now check out how some can use that...

Sometimes you go into a store or a supermarket, like something and wish to know it's price, so you turn for the ticket of the item and read..."size M - wash dark colors separately...blah blah" or "Whole wheat...Made in China"...no price. So you turn for the salesperson and ask, but he replies in such an arrogant manner "it's XXXX" where XXXX here stands for a price way more than the item is actually worth.

That's quite alright, but what really bothers me here is the arrogant salesperson who's giving me that look of "OH NO, You're asking about the money, shame on you...Don't do that, just buy the thing". And if you say something to imply that this item is way too expensive for what it's actually worth(Sometimes the thing is actually really low on quality or made of cheap material), he turns his head and acts like you're not worthy of existing in this store, it's only for people who aren't that cheap and care not about the money, it's like he's thinking "I Want your money...Show me the GREEN stuff or go away, don't waste my time".

That's one example...And I have many more to tell...

Ania...