When Two Armenians Meet in Lake Forest

      Of course, the title of this piece is from one of the variations of the famous William Saroyan quote: For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia. I was not expecting to meet another Armenian today though I am never against it. I am always up for creating a New Armenia. Today’s story was something different and, actually, something special.

     I was out and about this afternoon running errands. I went to downtown Lake Forest. I had a box of freshly baked choreg to mail to the grandkids in Los Angeles. All of our grandkids on both coasts love “Medzig hats” or Grandma’s bread (instead of Medzmayrig which is Armenian for Grandmother, Judy selected the diminutive Medzig). While waiting in line at the Post Office, juggling the two boxes I had to mail, I noticed that the young lady in front of me had a tattoo on top of her left foot. When I regained control of the boxes and set them on the ground as the line was a bit long, I looked again at the tattoo. It was two lines of script that looked like it was Thai or Sanskrit or even… um… Armenian. Nah… it couldn’t be. Mind you, my perspective had me trying to read the script upside down. 

Sidebar: You may be wondering why I am focused on the tattoo of a young lady while standing in line at the Post Office. That is a very fair question. My wife asked me the same thing. The answer is simple. I tend to notice everything. I tend to notice everything when my nose isn’t buried in my phone. For example, the fellow behind me at the Post Office who looked like a retired CEO had on a royal blue Pebble Beach golf sweater; the Post Office Manager was helping a little old lady tape up a package; more people came in to check their Post Office Boxes than waiting in line to at the one sole window that was open. This ability to notice details may have been honed during my years of operations and quality management where it was my job to walk through factories and, basically, notice everything both good and bad. Maybe, I had the ability to notice everything all my life and this was the reason I was effective at my job. 

     So, I told the young lady, “I am trying to read the tattoo on your foot. What language is it? I want to say that it looks Armenian.” She responded, “It is Armenian.” I moved to get a better view of the tattoo. It said Խաղաղություն Սեր, Peace Love. She had it done at a tattoo parlor in Grayslake. What a cool tattoo.  
     It was my pleasure to meet Elizabeth “Elle” Sergenian. It was a pleasure to create a New Armenia for a few minutes at the Lake Forest, IL Post Office. She was gracious enough to allow me to photograph her tattoo and include it in this bloggy bit. 
     Afterwards, I realized that I was so amazed by seeing this tattoo that I did not really ask the normal questions when two Armenians meet. We did become friends on Facebook and I was able to figure out that Elle may be related to the Sergenian Carpet and Endless Knot folks in Madison, WI. 
     Like my Chidem Inch series of posts, I think I will start another such thread: When Two Armenians Meet. Thanks William Saroyan! Thanks Elle! Thanks US Postal Service!

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