Job Discussion Forums

[johnslat]

Dear Denizens of Dave's,
I just finished reading the eponymous thread that - Aw shucks - made me blush. Such kind words from so many of you - I truly appreciate them.
Yes, any reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated (thanks, Mr. Twain.) I'm alive, disgustingly healthy, gainfully employed (well, as gainfully as one can be if one is a teacher) though at present only part-time (20 hours a week, ESL Grammar and Critical Reading, at Santa Fe Community College & some private tutoring), very happily married and enjoying life in the city of Holy Faith with my lovely wife, 2 dogs and 1 cat. I'm progressing gracefully (so far, anyway) into geezerhood; in fact, next month I'll be getting my first Social Security check.
Life, in short, is good - actually, it's better than good. But having been absent from these pages for so long, I found that I missed your company.
And so, I'm back.
Warmest regards,
John

[veiledsentiments]

Welcome back John!!

We have all missed you. Glad to hear that all is well with you and your charming wife and furry friends. I expect that a bit of ESL at a CC is a lot less work than elementary school teaching.

VS

[sheikh radlinrol]

Wasn't it Mark Twain who said that reports of his death were exaggarated? Mr. Slattery will also be delighted that news of his demise were also overdone.

[johnslat]

Dear sheikh radlinrol,
It was indeed Mr. Twain who coined the statement:

Mark Twain quotation, made after hearing that his obituary had been published in the New York Journal.

Yup, I'm still alive, though I'm definitely living now in Geezerville. And to borrow another quote, this time from Bette Davis:

"Growing old ain't for sissies"

However, it certainly beats the only other alternative.

I hope all is well with you, the poster who has shown himself an exception to that old saying, "No Great Sheikhs."

Regards,
John

[Cleopatra]

Ahlan e sahlan, John! (or something along those lines...)

[EFLUndercover]

You were very close Cleopatra.

It's Ahlan wa Sahlan.

[eha]

Nice to know there's life after the Tefling years.

[sheikh radlinrol]

[johnslat]

Dear sheikh,

"Ahlan" literally means "family, kinfolk."
"Sahlan" literally means "easy."

Loosely translated, it means, "May you arrive as part of the family, and tread an easy path (as you enter)."

"Ahleen" is just the dual of "ahlan." Sometimes words are dualized in colloquial Arabic to intensify them."

Lest you think, however, that I'm fluent in Arabic, let me confess that I simply Googled to get a detailed answer.

If I recall correctly, it's also the title of the in-flight magazine on Saudia.
Regards,
John

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