The day ended with the Ethiopian elders seated in chairs in a long row. The bride and groom went down the row kissing the knees of the elders and then their cheeks. Each elder gave the bride and groom their blessings. We could learn so much here in America about the respect of elders and upholding traditions from the Ethiopian people. They are a amazing, beautiful group of people. I have been honored and humbled to be part of David and Fafi's wedding day.

Add American tradition to the wedding the bride and groom had cake and a toast. Fafi looked beautiful!
When I see this picture of David dancing with Noah, I am reminded of a quote that says "Man should be known for his best moment." This is one of Davids finest, joyfully dancing with his son. I began writing for this weekend trip with the subject God waving Hello. He doesn't just wave hello friends. At one point in the reception Noah was lifted high in the air, on the shoulders of someone while he was dancing. Sometimes God waves hello, other times he dances with us on his shoulders.
Though Derara can no longer remember Amharic, he did remember the lyrics to some of the songs and had a wonderful time with the people of his native land.

Ethiopian dance is called the Kista (I think) It is mostly dancing with the shoulders in a challenging way with a partner, gender does not matter in this dance. It is tribal and electrifying to see. I love it! I am not very good at it though.

The reception was held outside and the food was by an Ethiopian caterer. It was of course delicious. The very handsome best man, who danced most of the night away. :)
Brothers hug.
Guys making their mean face.
Boys dancing.

The wedding was held in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It is vividly decorated with rich textures and colors. Paintings of Biblical scenes adorn the walls.
The beautiful bride and her mother, who also is very beautiful.

Cousin Layla was one of the flower girls. They were so cute.
Ceiling of the church
During an Ethiopian Wedding, after the rings the bride and groom are given a robe and a crown. Don't miss the beautiful imagery of this tradition. Someday we, as believer, will all have a robe and a crown.

David, Noah's Dad and my ex was married Saturday in Alexandria Virginia. Noah was the best man in the wedding. It is tradition of the Ethiopian culture that the grooms family go to pick up the bride. The bride's family does not let the groom in and a "fight" ensues. The grooms family begins the event by singing traditional songs and dancing. The brides family, from inside the home answer back with their own songs. The grooms family tries to fight their way in, the brides family fighting to keep them out. The grooms family begs and sprays perfume, etc trying to coerce their way inside. This was really an amazing thing to see. Fafi, the bride, lives in a condo so the procession began in the hallway. The songs were amazing beautiful and joyous. So joyous in fact that I almost instantly formed tears in the corners of my eyes as a smile spread wide across my face. I looked over at Ryan and could tell he was fascinated himself. After fighting our way in, David went into the room and Fafi entered. They both began a sweet cry. Davids groomsmen wiped his tears with a handkerchief. The sound of the female cheer arose in the room, the clicking tongues that I have heard described as a hallel.The men let the children ride in limo with them on the way to pick up Fafi. They were so excited.

Our last stop was the Lincoln Monument. We walked past the place where Martin Luther King Jr gave his famous I have a dream speech to the top of the monument to read the Gettysburgs Address carved inside.
Beautiful view of the Washington Monument.

These photos were all taking inside The National Museum for Natural History inside a room devoted to the famous King of Ethiopia.

God waving Hello.

I was recently reminded thru story that God waves hello to us thru nature. Wow! The beauty of the mountains on our drive this past Thursday night into Alexandria Virginia. God was definitely waving hello.

We arrived at our hotel @ 330 am. We got up the next day and took the hotel bus to the metro station. We took the metro into DC. We started our day in the Capital City @ The Museum of the American Indian.

Then on to The Air and Space Museum. I thought the boys would enjoy that one the most, but I was wrong. It seemed their least favorite. Then we went to The African Art Museum, this was Derara's favorite. We went to the National Museum of Natural History and really could have spent the whole day there. My favorite part of that museum was the room devoted to Hallie Selassie.

From their it was over to the National Archives. We stopped for a quick bite to eat from a street vendor and ate on the steps of the Environmental Protection Agency. Then we went on a foot tour of DC. We walked past the Washington Monument, The Vietnam Memorial, The World War II Memorial, waved at the White House and ended at the Lincoln Monument. We had a hilarious guide who was full of little nuggets of information. He and Noah did a skit acting out two of the presidents. We took the Metro back to Pentagon City, ate at the Mall and made it back to our hotel room @ 10ish. Great, Great day. We made a lot of memories and shared a lot of laughter.

AGREE WITH HIM OR NOT, THINK ABOUT IT

Monday, September 29th, 2008The Rich Are Staging a Coup This Morning ...a message from Michael Moore
Friends,
Let me cut to the chase. The biggest robbery in the history of this country is taking place as you read this. Though no guns are being used, 300 million hostages are being taken. Make no mistake about it: After stealing a half trillion dollars to line the pockets of their war-profiteering backers for the past five years, after lining the pockets of their fellow oilmen to the tune of over a hundred billion dollars in just the last two years, Bush and his cronies -- who must soon vacate the White House -- are looting the U.S. Treasury of every dollar they can grab. They are swiping as much of the silverware as they can on their way out the door.
No matter what they say, no matter how many scare words they use, they are up to their old tricks of creating fear and confusion in order to make and keep themselves and the upper one percent filthy rich. Just read the first four paragraphs of the lead story in last Monday's New York Times and you can see what the real deal is:
"Even as policy makers worked on details of a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, Wall Street began looking for ways to profit from it. "Financial firms were lobbying to have all manner of troubled investments covered, not just those related to mortgages. "At the same time, investment firms were jockeying to oversee all the assets that Treasury plans to take off the books of financial institutions, a role that could earn them hundreds of millions of dollars a year in fees. "Nobody wants to be left out of Treasury's proposal to buy up bad assets of financial institutions."
Unbelievable. Wall Street and its backers created this mess and now they are going to clean up like bandits. Even Rudy Giuliani is lobbying for his firm to be hired (and paid) to "consult" in the bailout.
The problem is, nobody truly knows what this "collapse" is all about. Even Treasury Secretary Paulson admitted he doesn't know the exact amount that is needed (he just picked the $700 billion number out of his head!). The head of the congressional budget office said he can't figure it out nor can he explain it to anyone.
And yet, they are screeching about how the end is near! Panic! Recession! The Great Depression! Y2K! Bird flu! Killer bees! We must pass the bailout bill today!! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Falling for whom? NOTHING in this "bailout" package will lower the price of the gas you have to put in your car to get to work. NOTHING in this bill will protect you from losing your home. NOTHING in this bill will give you health insurance.
Health insurance? Mike, why are you bringing this up? What's this got to do with the Wall Street collapse?
It has everything to do with it. This so-called "collapse" was triggered by the massive defaulting and foreclosures going on with people's home mortgages. Do you know why so many Americans are losing their homes? To hear the Republicans describe it, it's because too many working class idiots were given mortgages that they really couldn't afford. Here's the truth: The number one cause of people declaring bankruptcy is because of medical bills. Let me state this simply: If we had had universal health coverage, this mortgage "crisis" may never have happened.
This bailout's mission is to protect the obscene amount of wealth that has been accumulated in the last eight years. It's to protect the top shareholders who own and control corporate America. It's to make sure their yachts and mansions and "way of life" go uninterrupted while the rest of America suffers and struggles to pay the bills. Let the rich suffer for once. Let them pay for the bailout. We are spending 400 million dollars a day on the war in Iraq. Let them end the war immediately and save us all another half-trillion dollars!
I have to stop writing this and you have to stop reading it. They are staging a financial coup this morning in our country. They are hoping Congress will act fast before they stop to think, before we have a chance to stop them ourselves. So stop reading this and do something -- NOW! Here's what you can do immediately:
1. Call or e-mail Senator Obama. Tell him he does not need to be sitting there trying to help prop up Bush and Cheney and the mess they've made. Tell him we know he has the smarts to slow this thing down and figure out what's the best route to take. Tell him the rich have to pay for whatever help is offered. Use the leverage we have now to insist on a moratorium on home foreclosures, to insist on a move to universal health coverage, and tell him that we the people need to be in charge of the economic decisions that affect our lives, not the barons of Wall Street.
2. Take to the streets. Participate in one of the hundreds of quickly-called demonstrations that are taking place all over the country (especially those near Wall Street and DC).
3. Call your Representative in Congress and your Senators. (click here to find their phone numbers). Tell them what you told Senator Obama.
When you screw up in life, there is hell to pay. Each and every one of you reading this knows that basic lesson and has paid the consequences of your actions at some point. In this great democracy, we cannot let there be one set of rules for the vast majority of hard-working citizens, and another set of rules for the elite, who, when they screw up, are handed one more gift on a silver platter. No more! Not again!
Yours,Michael MooreMMFlint@aol.comMichaelMoore.com
P.S. Having read further the details of this bailout bill, you need to know you are being lied to. They talk about how they will prevent golden parachutes. It says NOTHING about what these executives and fat cats will make in SALARY. According to Rep. Brad Sherman of California, these top managers will continue to receive million-dollar-a-month paychecks under this new bill. There is no direct ownership given to the American people for the money being handed over. Foreign banks and investors will be allowed to receive billion-dollar handouts. A large chunk of this $700 billion is going to be given directly to Chinese and Middle Eastern banks. There is NO guarantee of ever seeing that money again.
P.P.S. From talking to people I know in DC, they say the reason so many Dems are behind this is because Wall Street this weekend put a gun to their heads and said either turn over the $700 billion or the first thing we'll start blowing up are the pension funds and 401(k)s of your middle class constituents. The Dems are scared they may make good on their threat. But this is not the time to back down or act like the typical Democrat we have witnessed for the last eight years. The Dems handed a stolen election over to Bush. The Dems gave Bush the votes he needed to invade a sovereign country. Once they took over Congress in 2007, they refused to pull the plug on the war. And now they have been cowered into being accomplices in the crime of the century. You have to call them now and say "NO!" If we let them do this, just imagine how hard it will be to get anything good done when President Obama is in the White House. THESE DEMOCRATS ARE ONLY AS STRONG AS THE BACKBONE WE GIVE THEM. CALL CONGRESS NOW.