Immigration separated all of us and I’m sorry we grew up in different lands.
I did not get to meet Andrei. Nonetheless his death has been a loss to the whole family. May God give you and Stefan strenth, patience and serenity to accept Andrei’s premature departure. I love you Marcelle.
May
…. went to Blondie’s Pizza and Tower Records
….rode the Ninja down Bollinger Canyon Road and up into the Hills
….ran out of the house during the earthquake in 1989
….watched the Berlin Wall fall on TV
….talked about Rush and how the reverse osmosis machine made the water taste sweeter
….took turns hanging upside down on the ortho pod
….made oatmeal from fresh oats
….never fought
Today, I came across the alabaster bowl Andrei got when we were visiting the temples in Upper Egypt.
Andrei and I had joined a French-speaking group from France and Switzerland. The tour was led by my sister, Odette, who was treating both of us for a cruise on the Nile! I was the translator for Andrei - from French whenever Odette would make a presentation and from Arabic whenever she had a conversation with vendors and other Arabic-speaking people.
We were in Luqsor. We had just visited the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens at dawn and we were touring the alabaster factories - a tradition for tourist groups in that area. Andrei was handling an alabaster bowl, obviously fascinated by the story of the process and very interested in that particular item. Odette was speaking to Ahmed, the vendor, introducing me as her sister and introducing Andrei as my son.
My siblings and I were all born and raised in Egypt. As I was listening to Odette’s and Ahmed’s conversation, I soon stopped translating. Ahmed was clearly moved. His eyes kept going from Andrei to me and back to Andrei. He soon became transfixed on Andrei. With tears in his eyes and choking over his words, he welcomed Andrei back to Egypt, expressing his pride in him, a message interspersed with a number of “Ya habibi” (my dear or my beloved when addressing a male). In Ahmed’s eyes, Andrei was Egyptian, a pure Egyptian. He belonged to the land.
I was still not translating the exchange. As it turns out, I did not need to. Ahmed’s communication was so much from the heart that Andrei “got it”. Maybe because ya habibi was one of the few Arabic expressions he knew. Maybe because of Andrei’s intuitive sense and ability to connect. Whatever it was, they soon fell into each other’s arms – with tears flowing and faces beaming.
And Ahmed gifted Andrei with the alabaster bowl.
with much love,
Marcelle
The company that does all the magic on the server side of this site goofed - and for a couple of days AndreiPodell.com was down. Sorry to those of you who enjoy checking for posts!
Here’s a great photo of Andrei!
Marcelle, how old was he in this photo? 2?
~Caity
Andrei and I were looking for something to do.
“Let’s go to Great America!!”. So we did.
And we rode all the hard core rides and we laughed all day.
On the Edge, we put coins on our knees and we watched them float and dance before us through the short-lived but intense freefall.
On the drive back up to Moraga, the music was blaring, and Andrei slept right through it.
What a great day that was.
This may be extremely difficult for some of you to hear - Andrei’s voice. I’m posting it because we’re all sharing precious memories of Andrei and this is one of mine. After he died, I found this birthday greeting he had left me a month before and it filled my heart with joy to have this memento of him.
With best wishes to you all,
~Caity
When we were clearing Andrei’s house, Stefan, Caity and I came across these statements on his desk and at his bedside. Here to you - friends, family, and colleagues - sharing some of what touched him, moved him, and inspired him. My experience of Andrei over the years is that he lived these principles
Live with Intention
walk to the edge.
dare. listen hard.
practice wellness. laugh.
continue to learn.
play with abandon.
appreciate your friends.
do what you love.
live as if this is
all there is.
here is another one from Andrei
Growing and Surrendering
There is no growth
without pain (pain is
not optional), so hurt a little bit
There is no laughter
without tears (don’t be
ashamed to cry for if
you don’t, you will
ever be secure, but always
lonely)
so cry often
There is no peace
without first knowing
turmoil in the soul (so
be at war with yourself
sometimes)
There is no grace
without first wrestling
with guilt. If you’re
wrestling, let divine
grace engulf you and
give you new life.
It has been years since I seen or spoken to Andrei. I vaguely remember him in Santa Cruz when Stefan, Andrei, myself, and quite a few other people moved there after high school.
The memory I remember was when Gary and I went over to Marcelle’s where Andrei, Stefan, Marcelle, Gary and I were going to try our hand at making sushi. Making the rice was a pensive task because we all wanted it to turn out good (we all had a hankering for Sushi!) Once the rice was cooked we all took turns fanning the rice while it cooled. What a great meal that was!
Whenever I visited the three of them I was amongst people of profound integrity. I have rarely found others with this and I have even struggled with my own integrity over the years.
It is very sad that Andrei is gone but he is still an example for myself and I appreciate him for that.
Peace in your heart,
JulieEcho
Thanks to my friend, Susan Howe, here is a statement that strangely sounds like Andrei in different spots.
Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away into the next room.
I am I and you are you:
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by my old familiar name, speak to me in the easy way you always used.
Put no difference into your tone;
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow;
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was:
Let it be spoken without an effort,
Without the ghost of a shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was,
There is absolutely unbroken continuity.
What is death but a negligible accident?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval
somewhere very near,
just around the corner.
All is well