View From the Hammock brought to you by Purple Frog

“You are so smelyi !” I wanted my husband to know that I am  proud of him. “Excuse me, why I am smelly?” Scott sniffed under his left shoulder, then under his right armpit making the funniest wrinkled grimace, “You think I am smelly?” “Did I say you were smelly?” “Yes, you did. Am I?” Oh, goodness. The international conflict was coming. “No, you are not smelly!” “Yeah, maybe I am. I am stinky because I just held the cat…” Scott managed to catch our asocial cat and placed him into the carrier. The cat’s fur odor was still fresh.  "Love, S-M-E-L-Y-I in Russian means brave, courages, not stinky. Can you trust me?" My husband moved the sofa and it seemed like the right moment to thank my husband for his effort, “Honey, ty takoi silny !” “Silly?!”  Scott paused in amusement. “Not ‘silly,’ SILNY ! It means ‘strong’ in Russian!” My Mother was already laughing at us, getting the meaning out of the Russian words, and of our frustrated faces. “Oh, su

In America, everybody is in a hurry, and you can leave your house in the morning, go to Arby's, McDonald’s, or Wendy’s, and get a meal without getting out of the car. My first driving experience was connected with an observation of people chewing behind their wheels. The same people would do their banking without even having to take out a Big Mac or a Burrito out of their mouths. As for me, I needed to see the face of the cashier who takes my money. I didn’t trust an ATM machine yet and was hesitant to use a drive-through to get my food. One day, I decided to surprise my son–for God’s sake, his mother is a modern woma n. I saw many times how people placed orders at McDonald’s, so I followed the “Enter” sign and approached the first dark container. I rolled down the window and said, “One cheeseburger, one hamburger, two drinks, and an apple pie.” Silence. I saw a line behind me in the rearview mirror. I said louder, “One cheeseburger, one hamburger, two drink