The Heavenly Seven: Bring Us Home

It is said that the link between any two people in the world is, on average, the sum of seven links. I call it the Heavenly Seven.

In other words, if I want to contact Ziad Chamoun, my friend from SJS who disappeared from the face of the earth over 20 years ago, it takes me to contact somebody who would contact somebody who would contact somebody (7 times), and I will get to Ziad.


I am not alone in the "Finding Private Ziad" scenario. The few of us who get together still wonder: "Where is he?" The trick in the Heavenly Seven theory is to find the right 7 connections between Ziad and me.

The challenge is to make the effort and reach out.

The trick is to know how to reach out.

The search for Ziad (and so many others like him) was one major reason for my getting involved with SJS Alumni Association.

For me, finding Ziad is a piece of the puzzle that brings me back home. We all need an anchor in our lives: a point of reference. We all need a place where we can call home. For some, home is where we live. For others, home is where the heart is. For me, one room in my home is where and with whom I grew up, the place where I played a few tricks on my friends and teachers, where laughs echoed in the wadi. Where masks fall.

SJS Alumni Association is here to help each one of us visit home. We want to help make the SJS experience of students who come after us feel like they are leaving home but can always come back. In fact, it is the association's priority for all to visit home, if they wish.

I am enjoying the trip home. But - where is Ziad? Help me out, will you?


Tony Feghali, Ph.D.
President