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What a big birthday we have around the corner! We are so blessed to call Canada home and I’m thankful to live in a country that people around the world look to for peace, freedom and opportunity. I came to Canada from Lebanon so many years ago now and got my own opportunity to start a business doing what I love. That opportunity has been a reality for over 17 years now.
I got a glimpse into my past just a few weeks ago. When I first started out cutting hair, I worked for a chain salon in West Hamilton. I didn’t know any English! I remember one of my first customers, a lady who has sadly passed on, was trying to tell me what she wanted. I had no idea! She said, “Elie, don’t you speak English?” I threw up my hands. No, not a word! When I came home, my wife gave me the suggestion of using numbers (like the settings on clippers) as a way to get by until my English got better. It worked, but it still took a while before I could communicate well with customers. Now I speak four languages— go figure!
A few weeks ago, a Ministry inspector came into our salon. I looked up from my chair and I recognized her immediately: it was the manager from that old salon. She hadn’t changed a bit. But I had a little fun with her because she didn’t remember me.
So I said hello, calling her by name. She was startled and gave me a puzzled look. “Umm, have we met before?” she asked. I then described her old position in that salon we worked in together all those years ago. Now she was really curious! She said, “How do you know all this about me”? I said, “See if you remember me now” and I told her my name. Her eyes got wide and she gasped. “No! The Lebanese guy!” We both laughed. Yes, it was me the Lebanese guy who couldn’t speak any English with his customers! So was so pleased to see that Eliegante Hair Design and Spa was going strong and that my English has gotten much better since then!
So when we celebrate on July 1, it will remind me again of where I came from, because we’ve all come from somewhere, we’ve all got a story. So does our great country. Happy Canada 150!
