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Monte's Mother Passes Away in California: Reminiscences of Our Meeting
Edik Baghdasaryan
01:10, December 10, 2012
Zabel Melkonian, mother of Armenian national hero "Monte" passed away
today at the age of 92.
I had the opportunity to meet with Mrs. Melkonian when I visited the
States last May. After our meeting, I jotted down the following notes.
I met up with Monte's brother Markar in the afternoon. We drove to
Fresno in Markar's beat-up jeep. The plan was to have lunch at one of
the local Armenian restaurants. They were all closed or had gone out
of business. Fresno was a sad little town. Even the Armenian church
was closed. This was the same Armenian church where General Antranig
was laid to rest in 1927. As a young boy, William Saroyan worked
selling newspapers in Fresno. Markar told me that he had spotted
Saroyan several times strolling down the streets of Fresno. A theatre
was names in Saroyan's honor. Today, Fresno is a changed town. I saw
nothing of the Fresno Saroyan wrote about decades ago. Just a few old
buildings awaiting the wrecking ball. Markar tells me about how he and
Monte would walk around Fresno as kids. "It's amazing to think that we
walked these hot asphalt streets barefoot," Markar recounts.
It's a sweltering day in Fresno. There's just the odd pedestrian out
and about. We never found a place to have lunch. We walk to the
Armenian cemetery. Markar tells me a few stories about the Armenians
of Fresno. Armenians first arrived here back in the 1880s. Monte's
mother Zabel would later tell me that hers was the first Armenian
family to settle in California.
The only interesting spot in Fresno is the statute of Sassountsi
Davit. It's the work of sculptor Varaz Samuelyan. During WWII,
Samuelyan was a soldier from Soviet Armenia who was captured by the
Germans. He eventually made his way to America, to Fresno.
Leaving Fresno, we travel to Visalia, the place where Monte was born.
It was a small town of 20,000 when Monte was born in 1955. Today, it
was ballooned to 120,000. Monte spent his childhood here. The house
where he lived is still here. It's where his mother Zabel lives. She's
reached the ripe old age of 92. She has trouble walking but her memory
remains sharp. After reaching the house, Zabel tell Markar to show me
some of Monte's belongings.
Zabel tells me about the Taekwondo sword and costume that Monte
brought back from Japan. Markar confesses that he and Monte were two
"crazy kids" growing up. "I would always be afraid hanging around with
Monte. We were always getting into trouble of some sort or another,"
Markar tells me.
Markar tell me about the time Monte went to the store and began to
uncap tens of Coca-Cola bottles. He came home with the bottle caps
stuffed in his pockets. Marker says that Monte told him that Coca-Cola
was doing a promotion. "Whoever sends in twenty bottle caps will win a
bicycle," Markar remembers Monte saying.
"Monte sent in the twenty bottle caps a few times but never won
anything. He was pretty mad," Markar says.
We then went down to the riverbank. Markar showed me the hills and
forest where the two played as kids. Marker shows me the spot where
Monte dived in, breaking his nose and a few teeth.
That night, I slept in Monte's old room, in his bed. Markar and I had
spent a long evening reminiscing about Monte.
Markar told me about Monte's time in Beirut, in the Palestinian camps,
in prison, in Artsakh. They were stories that Markar never wrote about
in his book "My Brother's Road".
Sleeping in the bed of my fallen war comrade, I realized just how much
I missed him.
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/21388/monte%E2%80%99s-mother-passes-away-in-california--reminiscences-of-our-meeting.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Edik Baghdasaryan
01:10, December 10, 2012
Zabel Melkonian, mother of Armenian national hero "Monte" passed away
today at the age of 92.
I had the opportunity to meet with Mrs. Melkonian when I visited the
States last May. After our meeting, I jotted down the following notes.
I met up with Monte's brother Markar in the afternoon. We drove to
Fresno in Markar's beat-up jeep. The plan was to have lunch at one of
the local Armenian restaurants. They were all closed or had gone out
of business. Fresno was a sad little town. Even the Armenian church
was closed. This was the same Armenian church where General Antranig
was laid to rest in 1927. As a young boy, William Saroyan worked
selling newspapers in Fresno. Markar told me that he had spotted
Saroyan several times strolling down the streets of Fresno. A theatre
was names in Saroyan's honor. Today, Fresno is a changed town. I saw
nothing of the Fresno Saroyan wrote about decades ago. Just a few old
buildings awaiting the wrecking ball. Markar tells me about how he and
Monte would walk around Fresno as kids. "It's amazing to think that we
walked these hot asphalt streets barefoot," Markar recounts.
It's a sweltering day in Fresno. There's just the odd pedestrian out
and about. We never found a place to have lunch. We walk to the
Armenian cemetery. Markar tells me a few stories about the Armenians
of Fresno. Armenians first arrived here back in the 1880s. Monte's
mother Zabel would later tell me that hers was the first Armenian
family to settle in California.
The only interesting spot in Fresno is the statute of Sassountsi
Davit. It's the work of sculptor Varaz Samuelyan. During WWII,
Samuelyan was a soldier from Soviet Armenia who was captured by the
Germans. He eventually made his way to America, to Fresno.
Leaving Fresno, we travel to Visalia, the place where Monte was born.
It was a small town of 20,000 when Monte was born in 1955. Today, it
was ballooned to 120,000. Monte spent his childhood here. The house
where he lived is still here. It's where his mother Zabel lives. She's
reached the ripe old age of 92. She has trouble walking but her memory
remains sharp. After reaching the house, Zabel tell Markar to show me
some of Monte's belongings.
Zabel tells me about the Taekwondo sword and costume that Monte
brought back from Japan. Markar confesses that he and Monte were two
"crazy kids" growing up. "I would always be afraid hanging around with
Monte. We were always getting into trouble of some sort or another,"
Markar tells me.
Markar tell me about the time Monte went to the store and began to
uncap tens of Coca-Cola bottles. He came home with the bottle caps
stuffed in his pockets. Marker says that Monte told him that Coca-Cola
was doing a promotion. "Whoever sends in twenty bottle caps will win a
bicycle," Markar remembers Monte saying.
"Monte sent in the twenty bottle caps a few times but never won
anything. He was pretty mad," Markar says.
We then went down to the riverbank. Markar showed me the hills and
forest where the two played as kids. Marker shows me the spot where
Monte dived in, breaking his nose and a few teeth.
That night, I slept in Monte's old room, in his bed. Markar and I had
spent a long evening reminiscing about Monte.
Markar told me about Monte's time in Beirut, in the Palestinian camps,
in prison, in Artsakh. They were stories that Markar never wrote about
in his book "My Brother's Road".
Sleeping in the bed of my fallen war comrade, I realized just how much
I missed him.
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/21388/monte%E2%80%99s-mother-passes-away-in-california--reminiscences-of-our-meeting.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress