Those were the words my dear friend Aly said yesterday as he placed his gift over my head. It was a sterling silver necklace with a pendant of Cleopatra that he'd brought me back from his most recent trip to Egypt. Aly is a wonderful man, a truly gracious man. We first met at the weekly vigils put on by our local peace group. It was at the start of Mr. Bush's disastrous war on the sovereign country of Iraq, and Aly and I connected on a heart level. Both of us were--and still are--devastated by the horrors unleashed by our country's president. When I was preparing to visit Rabih and Sulaima in Beirut, Lebanon in 2005, it was Aly who gave me Arabic lessons. Or, I should say, TRIED to give me Arabic lessons. I was a pathetic student but he was always patient and encouraging. This past April Aly went back home to Egypt to visit his sister who was ill. But in the midst of it all, he managed to find time to buy this beautiful necklace for his friend Patricia. How honored I am to have Aly in my life.