In the Bus, with Eric Berne

Now that it is 7:35 PM in Baghdad in my parents' house watching the photos I took today with my mobile phone, it seems they come from a long time before. The "now" seems so strangely real in front of those pictures which served to stop some moments back in this same day we are still in.

I have tried in my mind to see "mentally" a summary of "Games People Play" but I failed. After reading the book, understanding 50% of it, forgetting another big part, I really have nothing specific to say about it but, it does made me apologize to a friend of mine today for a "Game" I diagnosed myself playing it with him. The apology was very brief: "(Friend's name), I am sorry I commented last Thursday that comment in front of that student". He said that it is okay and we are friends. I said: "No, if I wanted to say that to you, I should have said it quietly and while we were alone. I am sorry"

My friend invited me to a lunch. (Eric Berne talking: Ahh, you came out of nowhere this morning to your friend and said you are sorry then you get a lunch! Let us see. Is this a new game you are playing? A game entitled "I say I am sorry, I owe you a lunch"?)

Thank you friend for your generosity that embraced me. I have learned from you a lot. (Eric Berne talking: I do owe you a dinner now!). Another thanks goes to Eric Berne. Another thanks goes to Abdul-Khaliq Al-Rikabi and his novel "The Book of Eternity" which talked about games friends play, in an occult way, with each other.

As I see the pictures, I knew that I have read two newspapers today. Al-Sabah, bought originally because I saw an article written by Khudair Miri in it, and my usual newpaper: Al-Mada (=The Horizon).

Khudair Miri, an ex-inpatient in Al-Rashad hospital, the only Iraqi asylum for the mentally ill,  who wrote many books about his experience in Al-Rashad, was talking, again, about Michel Foucault. I don't understand Michel Foucault, till now. Nor Khudair Miri. The only thing I did understand was that, next to the article, to the right, there was an article about one of Steven Spielberg movies. And it was about a horse. And a war. Uhum!

Pictures about many Iraqi tragedies are in black and white almost daily in newspapers. The caricatures were better in Al-Sabah than elsewhere. 

 Al-Mada is my newspaper. Since days and the articles are discussing that last killing and physical abuse of many Iraqi young men and women only because they tried to express themselves in a non-traditional way in clothes and hair-cuts and make-up. They are called the "Emo"s. Many talking about the involvement of the Iraqi minister of internal affairs in those killings and physical abuses.

Iraqi Communist Party was talking about a trial to make a secular group of many liberal and democratic parties in front of the non-secular parties. Anyway. 

 I folded the newspaper and handled it to the old man sitting next to me: "Do you like to read Am'mo (Am'mo=uncle)?"

I took the supplement and read about the life of this Baghdadi diva. Fifteen pages say nothing but good and happy incidents that occurred to this "happy" female singer. Just few words said that she had to leave Baghdad to Beirut for some time "due to some problems". Her childhood? Was very happy and marked by her love of music which is told in brilliant words all over the 15 pages. No word about her family attitude towards her when she "chose" to take this career. 

 Whom are you trying to deceive? An Iraqi woman, born in the 1937, and was singing in bars and cabarets. All that and she was happy? And talented?

As you read her life in those 15 pages you will confront a biography of musically talented angel who was happy all the time and full of good.

She was not threatened at all, nor have any indecent behavior.

That’s the way our history is told, and re-told. Full of happiness and good things.

Denial? No! Stupidity!

Let's go back to Al-Sabah to Mohammed Gazi Al-Akhras article about the praise that Abdul-Salam A'arif, the Iraqi presedent in the 70s, had received from many Arab thinkers like Malik Bin Nabi. Malik Bin Nabi, an Arab thinker, from the so-called "enlightenment" period of the Arab countries, described Abdul-Salam A'arif with the most beautiful idealistic words, and regarded him as the typical man who can solve all the Arab problems. Yaaay!

Eric Berne, hope to meet again in a bus. So long.  

  

Closing "The Book of Eternity" and starting a game

I had "The Book of Eternity" on my table since years. I knew I have tried before to read it but I thought I didn't complete it. When I was reading it, every page seems to be read before. When a page seemed to be new to me, I usually conclude that I haven't read it before. But some later pages seemed familiar. It was only when I finished the novel that I knew for sure that I have read it before.

Accuse my memory of lethargy, accuse me of pretension, but this novel, is not a novel that you remember for a long time.

I have just finished it yesterday and today I am finding myself forgetful of the post that I thought I should write yesterday. Yesterday I felt so sleepy after that long trip and I had some written work to do, so the writing of the post was postponed till today, and it faded in my mind. Filtered out.

Waheed Hilmy (=Alone Dreamy) and Hanan (=Sympathy) did enter the writer's house and use his computer and find that desktop picture of the four drawings. One of the drawings is put as a cover for our novel. The four paintings (by: Edouard Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Velasquez, and ????) share the common character of including the painter himself in the painting. Waheed knew this fact about the paintings when consulting Talal Shakir (=Fine-rain Thankful) who knew that the four paintings got some relation with the experienced novelist.

The novel tells the story of a difficult relationship between three friends, where no positive emotions were sensed, but strong envy, jealousy and aggression.

The novel talks about how pain is necessary for tasting the pleasure of life.

The novel mentions, on the other hand, a quote by Nietzsche that is unforgettable: Amor Fati

The one personality that I liked the most was Yousif Shaba, an Iraqi Christian whose poverty and beauty made him play the role of a model to the students of beaux-art in Baghdad. He loves classic music, and he claims that he is writing a novel since years.

We knew about that particular piece of music of Beethoven that helped Talal in his partial recovery from paraplegia, the 14^th quartet, the last piece of music composed by Beethoven before his death.

The novel tells about how relations between friends can be regarded as a game, which is a "painful game" the novel pretends.

The devil inside of me whispered in my ears: "you didn't like it because you are playing resistance to the painful facts the novel presents you!"

"Okay, then let us read what Hussein Sermek Hassan says about the novel in his psychoanalytic study entitled: Al-Rikabi, the Godfather of the Cunning Subconsious", I answered my devil. 

 I completed the study last evening but nothing significant is remembered after last night long sleep. "Resistance, Repression, Forgetfullness! Huh", the devil inside of me remarked.

 My ego, as have seen the happy sunshine this morning decided to take the positive point of view and read: "Games People Play" by Eric Berne, at least we might come with something helpful finally.