Did I mention the food was excellent?  It was!  All in all, we went through approximately 70 delicious hamburgers (thanks to Nasser for securing the meat) and 80 hot dogs.  Many thanks to Abu Othman who manned the grill; he should have been crowned King Chef for the day.  He ensured that everything was scrumptious and hot and Yusri ensured everyone had received a sandwich.  Dina brought delicious Kanafe (world class!) which landed on the men's table and was almost completely devoured by the time it reached the women.  Diane brought the best potato salad and Ayman contributed a large delectable salad.  Thanks to all for contributing delicious side dishes (We are not even sure when and how they all arrived).  Yes, sure enough, most of the picnickers ate sensibly despite the temptations of brownies, cookies, cake, and Butterfinger crisps.  Of course, we had our share of those treats as well and quite frankly, all of us had to play extremely hard to work off the extra calories:  the ladies through volleyball and marathon walks around the park, the men through a hearty game of soccer.

I probably should mention that setting up the volleyball net was a bit challenging.  The net was supplied by a sub-contractor - who delivered it without poles to hold it up, due to discrepancy in the specifications.  In retrospect, perhaps this was a conspiracy. Or a prank played by the organizers - to test the ingenuity of the engineers.  (FYI, It took approximately four engineers and two strategically placed flag poles to set it up). 

The kids had lots of fun as well.  Anas' son was fascinated by the shore line and had to be escorted twice back to the group and Ayman's son Ibrahim, well, Despite the close watch of his elder sisters Sarah and Ayah, Ibrahim looked as though he needed to be put through the dishwasher by the day's end.

We were honored to have Abu Othman's two daughters join us from Canada who contributed to setting up a sophisticated and efficient production line for assembling the hamburgers (including mayo, mustard, ketchup, pickles, lettuce, onion and tomatoes) and provided us with excellent photographs (see attached photo album). 

All in all, it was a successful day.  More than 25 adults came and almost that many children came as well.  We missed the ones who could not make it but we plan to have at least one more picnic before the end of the summer.  We hope you will be able to join us then. 

Our thanks go to all who contributed. Whether it was good food, good play or good company, there were plenty to go around and we all had a great time. 

Salah Issa

Newsletter editor