View From the Hammock

One day my sister and I went to the woods to pick wild berries on a very hot day. To tell the truth, I did not want to go, but I said, "OK, Irina, let’s go. Some fresh air will be good." "What is this?" I suspiciously pointed at something looking like an old rug that my sister put on as soon as we left the car. "This is my raincoat. You should put one on too. Mosquitoes could be really bad in the woods at this time of the year." I forgot all about nasty creatures! I put the raincoat on.  "What is it now?!" My older sister handed me a can. "Lydia, now you have to spray your face and hands with repellent." "Oh, no! I’d rather die. It is enough that I wear this ugly raincoat. I can hardly breathe in it!” I hated even to touch the bottle! But you can’t argue with my sister - a chemist and a wild berry guru. We always had the most fragrant jam at her popular parties.

“Hope has two beautiful daughters their names are anger and courage; Anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.”      (Augustine, Summa Theologica)    In the world of greed for power there is little space left for morality. Robert Fogel, University of Chicago economic historian and winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize for economics, said on the day his award was announced, "intense beam of morality... can change history." [1]  To start and nurture that “beam of morality” requires courage, knowledge of history, sharing stories, and patience in pursuing the truth. Every family in the Soviet Union lost at least one member in the World War II. Intelligent and well-educated Germans became obsessed Hitler-phrenics and followed their leader, who promised them Europe and Asia, as their dominion in exchange of loyalty. One man-dictatorship created an army...

I was not a bony girl at thirteen. To become a mountain climber, I’d been working out. It became my habit to exercise, and watch every gram I put into my stomach. Exercise and watch. Still, I couldn’t get down to my sister’s weight that was an irritatingly constant fifty kilograms. My obsession was to get down to her weight but, even at fourteen, I was fifty six. “You have a different constitution.” My Papa tried to appeal to my common sense that was not developed yet. I wanted to eat anything and stay thin, as my sister. My sister didn’t have to exercise and ate anything she wanted, but her waist was smaller than mine. “I do not want any constitution different from Irina’s! Constitution! I am not a country to have a constitution!” “This is a word that defines a body type. When you start studying physiology, you will know. Remember how we played carousel when you were little?” “Yeah! That was cool!” “Remember, how you would grab my fingers with your l...

My husband is learning Russian really fast. We usually share our day stories over dinner, relaxing and getting reconnected every evening. He interjects Russian words here and there and the number of words he knows grows daily. This time, though, this innocent exchange sparked a highly-charged exchange between us that early Wednesday evening.  “He is such a shmuck !” My husband  put a piece of pork into his mouth and I had to wait to hear the story. “Oh, honey, I didn’t know you knew this word! Is he fat?” “No, why? He is not fat at all, but he is disgusting. Do you know him?” “No, I do not. Why disgusting? Ukranians like it.” “ Ukranians ? What is here to like? So you do know him.” “Ukranians like fat. They call it SALO .” “Salo? Never heard of it! But what can Ukranians know about schmuck?” “Everything.They eat it.” “They eat shmuck? How nasty!” “They do not think so. Even we Russians eat it. I think we adopted it from Ukrainians.” “Adopted what...

My marriage started with moving Russian and American households into one small apartment. The moving company was unusually reckless, and it was surprising. I moved in Kansas City at least three times before and never saw workers as rude and as negligent, no less than Russian gruzchiki – men who load and unload – whose manners and culture are replaced with muscles. I would swear that they were Russians if not for their Midwestern accents. The three strong men had not secured our furniture in the truck; neither had they put any padding between cabinets, sofas, and boxes. I would not care for anything, but the view of the broken mirror in my china cabinet was the last straw. “They broke the mirror! Honey, did you see it?! This is a terrible sign in Russia! We are doomed!” My new husband laughed, “We Americans don’t believe in superstitions !” “You might not believe in anything, but this company will pay for damages!”  “Honey, the contract clearly say...