Suez Canal signs $2bn first-phase deal to build petrochemical complex in Ain Sokhna    ICJ holds Israel responsible for worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza    Omar Hisham announces launch of Egyptian junior and ladies' golf with 100 players from 15 nations    Egypt, Sudan discuss boosting health cooperation, supporting Sudan's medical system    Cairo Metro's Line 4 project with Japan gets cabinet green light    Defying US tariffs, China's industrial heartland shows resilience    Pakistan, Afghanistan ceasefire holds as focus shifts to Istanbul talks    Beit Logistics invests EGP 500m to develop Safaga Integrated Logistics Center    Egypt's Social Housing Fund, United Bank sign deal to expand mortgage finance cooperation    Survivors of Nothingness – Part Three: Politics ... Chaos as a Tool of Governance    EU's Kallas says ready to deepen partnership with Egypt ahead of first summit    Egypt's Sisi hails Japan's first female PM, vows to strengthen Cairo-Tokyo ties    Egypt's exports to EU surge 7.4% to $8.7b in 8 months — CAPMAS    Egypt makes news oil, gas discoveries in Nile Delta    Egypt, France agree to boost humanitarian aid, rebuild Gaza's health sector    Egyptian junior and ladies' golf open to be held in New Giza, offers EGP 1m in prizes    The Survivors of Nothingness — Part Two    Egypt's PM reviews efforts to remove Nile River encroachments    Health Minister reviews readiness of Minya for rollout of universal health insurance    Egypt screens 13.3m under presidential cancer detection initiative since mid-2023    Egypt launches official website for Grand Egyptian Museum ahead of November opening    The Survivors of Nothingness — Episode (I)    Al-Sisi: Cairo to host Gaza reconstruction conference in November    Egypt successfully hosts Egyptian Amateur Open golf championship with 19-nation turnout    Egypt, WHO sign 2024-2028 country cooperation strategy    Egypt: Guardian of Heritage, Waiting for the World's Conscience    Egypt will never relinquish historical Nile water rights, PM says    Al Ismaelia launches award-winning 'TamaraHaus' in Downtown Cairo revival    Al-Sisi, Burhan discuss efforts to end Sudan war, address Nile Dam dispute in Cairo talks    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile actions, calls for global water cooperation    Egypt unearths New Kingdom military fortress on Horus's Way in Sinai    Syria releases preliminary results of first post-Assad parliament vote    Karnak's hidden origins: Study reveals Egypt's great temple rose from ancient Nile island    Egypt resolves dispute between top African sports bodies ahead of 2027 African Games    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



A good steak
Published in Al-Ahram Weekly on 21 - 02 - 2002


By Fayza Hassan
Whenever I observe the attempts of Third World countries to attract the US's attention to their plight, I am reminded of the shenanigans old friends of mine engaged in to get their aunt, a millionaire, to loosen her purse strings. I never met Tante Marie, but she was a legendary figure in the background of my Alexandrian years. My husband and one of her nephews were best friends and many an evening, when I had wished to spend time alone with my husband, the three of us had sat instead till the wee hours of the morning, discussing the old woman's avarice.
Tante Marie had never married. Her only heirs were her sister's four children. None of them had done particularly well; with the nationalisations of the 1960s and the exodus of Alexandria's cosmopolitan society, their financial future looked even bleaker. They were not poor in the sense we usually give to the word, but they had never managed to rise to the standard to which they aspired and which they considered their birthright.
The old lady seemed to delight in playing games with them. She would invite one of her relatives with spouse and children to spend a month in her chateau near Paris, and would hint that he had always been her favourite; indeed, she was thinking of leaving her fortune to him alone. This of course invariably provoked a great deal of tender care from the elected. Tante Marie's every whim was attended to; she was accompanied on her long walks by the niece or nephew of the moment, carrying her bag, her thermos, her shawl and whatever else she cared to take along. She would be invited to expensive restaurants, wined and dined and showered with little gifts. At the end of the holiday, she would dismiss the "favourite" with a pinch on the cheek and a wink: "Don't forget what I said -- and don't tell the others," she would admonish him.
The following summer, another nephew or niece would be asked. Meanwhile Tante Marie thrived. The older she got, the more demanding she became. The walks grew longer and the restaurants more exclusive. She wanted company in the evenings and amusing plans for the day ahead, and seemed totally oblivious to the discomfort of her relatives, left to finance the entertainment. Furthermore, her divide and rule policy completely spoiled the relationship of her putative heirs and created ill feelings and mistrust between them.
My husband, who had not been blessed with a rich aunt, gave advice to his friend. "Next time you see her, tell her honestly that you are planning to relocate to Beirut and need money to buy an apartment. Don't play games; just be open about your problems. Since she is going to leave you all this money anyway, why not give you a small down payment on your share now and enjoy the fact that she made you happy?" My husband always wondered why rich people did not give away their money in order to bask in the aura of their generosity.
While Tante Marie globetrotted from Paris to New York, Geneva and Beirut and back to Paris, things were not going well for the family. My husband's friend closed his surgery and, penniless, he claimed, prepared to move to Beirut while his brothers and sister were getting used to their first freezing winter in Canada. It was time, my husband decided, to come to his friend's rescue. He wrote himself to Tante Marie, whom he had known since he was a child, telling her that her nephew was at his wits' end, no longer knew what to do and had been so depressed lately that he had to be hospitalised. Surely Tante Marie did not want to see her dear sister's son in such despair?
Two months later, a lady telephoned my husband. She had just arrived from Beirut. Tante Marie was there at the moment and was sending a package to her nephew. Since she did not know the name of the hospital he was in, she wanted to entrust the package to my husband. A talkative, bejewelled and over-perfumed lady arrived soon after. Over coffee, she told us that Tante Marie was involved with charity work in Lebanon and was travelling to collect money for the church. She was in better health than ever. Looking after the needy had given her a new lease of life. The Lebanese lady eventually handed my husband a small envelope, recommending that he take it to "that poor boy" at once. After her departure, I wondered aloud at the thinness of the package. "It's a fat check, silly," said my husband. "Did you expect her to send it in a container?"
He rushed to his friend, who was not in hospital, but whiling away the time at one of the downtown cafés. I was not there to witness the trepidation with which they must have opened the envelope, but my fuming husband later told me that it contained a $50 bill and a short note in which Tante Marie advised her nephew to buy himself a couple of good steaks. "Nothing like a good slice of medium rare meat to cure your depression," she wrote. She spoke from experience. As for the rest, she suggested that he throw himself into his work. When Tante Marie finally died, she left everything she owned to the church.
Recommend this page
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
Send a letter to the Editor


Clic here to read the story from its source.