While Cindy was running this morning I headed over to the railroad bridge on the main drag by our house to see if the tanks were coming. Today was a practice day for the Monday Victory Day parade and the six-lane highway that goes from Red Square to St. Petersburg was completely empty of cars. The street was still wet from being cleaned in advance of the tanks but there was nothing in sight. I walked up and down for about twenty minutes and there was no evidence of tanks coming so I met up with Cindy after her run and we went to the store for some fresh bread and bananas. Speaking of bread, there are public service ads on billboards urging Russians to honor the service of those that fought in the war by enduring what they had to endure in WWII. Needless to say, these are not going over well with the citizens. At least the Russians have their faith to fall back on. They have been found to be the most religious of all Europeans. If you have time take the test found in the article.
We had a lovely breakfast with strong coffee, aromatic Italian cheese and still warm rolls and as we enjoyed the calm we plotted out our day. Soon we heard the rumbling of what I thought were the tanks, but the noise turned out to be five troop carrier helicopters flying above the parade route and each had a huge flag hanging down from the belly of the craft. The parade route parallels our building about 3 blocks over, so we could see them through the trees. It was very cool and we hope we’ll see everything, including the jet flyover, on Monday.
Our walk took us through several parks as we headed to the Moscow River. The town is really decked out for the holiday, tons of flags everywhere, and the flowers are just amazingly beautiful. We walked for about three hours and it got warmer the longer we were out there, resulting in our being quite moist upon our return home. It was, however, well worth the effort.
I have a few quick questions about the USA that you might be able to help me answer. A 7-year-old kid climbs over a fence to get closer to a leopard. Said leopard, being a wild animal, views the kid as a threat and attacks him. Said kid gets cut up and it taken to a hospital. Seems straightforward to me, so why was it necessary to assemble a crisis team to help students process what had happened? If I was there and in charge I would process this by saying, the kid did what he shouldn’t have done and got hurt. Never do what you’re not supposed to do and you won’t get hurt. Counselors will be available to do what? Most of the kids never saw what happened. Why evacuate a zoo for something very localized and contained? What am I missing?
When did CUNY become an orthodox Jewish system, only allowing those who truly love Israel to speak and be honored at commencements?
Time to figure out dinner. Best wishes, Cindy and Wm.
From CC: When Wm embarks on a walk, he’s not kidding. I knew this of course, reading and/or hearing about his frequent 2, 3 and 4-hours walks through Moscow. However, should you ever be invited to join him, know that there are no bathroom breaks, no water breaks, coffee breaks, lunch breaks, or any other pauses except perhaps to sit on a park bench if the park is pretty enough. This isn’t a complaint, just a statement of facts … preparation and planning are often the keys to success! We had a fabulous walk and saw a lot, much of it strikingly beautiful.
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