I need to reread this tomorrow. We fled Czechoslovakia in 1968 after the Russians invaded. I was 7. It was old enough to be inoculated with a generous dose of distrust towards the happy north American (i am a Canadian now). I felt in my bones your inner dialogue towards James. And I am now old enough to know the wisdom of James' hard choices to be happy. Thank you for this.
Thank you for reading and for your kind words, Katarina. The optimism of North Americans was foreign to me as a young Soviet kid, and after almost thirty years of living in America, I still sometimes feel ill-at-ease with it. To be clear, I am an optimist by nature, but it sits deep inside and rarely shows itself overtly.
I lived in Czechoslovakia as a kid, for five years. Mostly Šumperk. It was a bright spot in my childhood, but a shameful and devastating part of the Soviet imperial history. I played hockey with my Czech friends, who saw little difference between me and them. But they would skate away when my father came to pick me up from the rink in his Soviet military uniform on the way back from the base. Such dissonance. My father rejected that philosophy long time ago, and traveled through Czechia in the recent past as his way of atonement.
Thank you, Janice. I had luck along the way to live through interesting events. Mostly saying ‘yes’ to uncomfortable adventures, although that zeal bites back on occasion, and quite hard at times :-)
I need to reread this tomorrow. We fled Czechoslovakia in 1968 after the Russians invaded. I was 7. It was old enough to be inoculated with a generous dose of distrust towards the happy north American (i am a Canadian now). I felt in my bones your inner dialogue towards James. And I am now old enough to know the wisdom of James' hard choices to be happy. Thank you for this.
Thank you for reading and for your kind words, Katarina. The optimism of North Americans was foreign to me as a young Soviet kid, and after almost thirty years of living in America, I still sometimes feel ill-at-ease with it. To be clear, I am an optimist by nature, but it sits deep inside and rarely shows itself overtly.
I lived in Czechoslovakia as a kid, for five years. Mostly Šumperk. It was a bright spot in my childhood, but a shameful and devastating part of the Soviet imperial history. I played hockey with my Czech friends, who saw little difference between me and them. But they would skate away when my father came to pick me up from the rink in his Soviet military uniform on the way back from the base. Such dissonance. My father rejected that philosophy long time ago, and traveled through Czechia in the recent past as his way of atonement.
Egor ...what a life you have led! Thanks for sharing both the adventure and the layered lessons. Very well done. J
Thank you, Janice. I had luck along the way to live through interesting events. Mostly saying ‘yes’ to uncomfortable adventures, although that zeal bites back on occasion, and quite hard at times :-)