CHILDREN-SOLDIERS

I was just watching a program about the children-soldiers in the African countries, abducted from their homes, forced to commit unspeakable crimes against the very people that they come from. Even if they get away, what kind of lives can they live, what kind of future can they have? Can they get along with parents, siblings, wives, neighbors? What kind of a world is this, that thousands, hundreds of thousands of children in it can be made suffer and lose every possibility of normal lives? When are we going to start to look out for each other? The United States is becoming a pretty good country in this sense. People try to interfere on each other's behalf. This is not just some flag waiving: I experienced it personally. But  we close our eyes to what's happening in the rest of the world. We hear or see it, time to time, on the news or in the movies. We empathize with the suffering, but we are not motivated enough to yell and scream and let the extent of our indignation be known to the powers to be. Until we see another program, we exist in happy oblivion. Do we really want the pain to stop? How far are we willing to go to help change this stinking world?

HUSH

I wonder if my call for help for the Hush series moved any of the readers to support that production. I didn't see the names of any of the people that I know and asked in person on the list of supporters. On the one hand, I am really glad that they'll be able to work, on the other - has nothing that I said penetrated the so called "socially aware" people's indifference? How come we don't learn anything? 

SUITABLE M-E-E-N! WHERE ARE YOU-U-U?

Why is it so hard to find suitable men for older ladies? Aren't the men just as interested in making a nice family and a good stable relationship with a woman? Men, get your act together! Look, what you are missing, you are missing everything! Who can be happy, switching from one relationship to another? Its like moving from one house to another every few months! You spend a lot of energy just to have to pack up and move again, the pieces of you and your life get lost in the process, never mind the money and health you spend on fruitless pursuits!

MY SON GOES TO MUSEUM

     My son is going to a museum today  It shouldn't be a big deal, right? I lived a pretty cultured life before, museums and theaters and opera had a prominent place in my life. After coming to the U.S. and switching my focus to a more spiritual plain, I didn't have much time for the former pursuits. To tell the truth, for a long time I didn't even give it a thought. My children grew up reading a lot and having a, somewhat, artsy mindset, but without substance. 
     I heard that when some Christian explorers, whose primary goal was the spreading of their faith, when settled in the New World, forgot all about proselytizing while trying to keep themselves and their families alive. They even forgot about teaching their children to read, or to read Bible. After the first generation was gone, the descendants were left with just the vestiges of their past. 
     Perhaps, I'm just feeling paranoid today. My daughter studies art, my son took an Art History course for the summer (that's why he is going to the museum). Maybe, I did leave them something that they can develop at their own pace and pass to their own children. I fervently hope so!


E-mail for comments: dinatoyoda@aol.com

I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT IT

    I was just talking to someone about marriage. She is a single lady in her 60s. She said: "You get tired to wake up with nobody beside you!" I thought of another conversation I had with a married friend. Her husband had to go on business trips all the time. She stayed at home, alone, for weeks at a time. I asked her: "How can you stand this?" She responded: "This is the only way I CAN stand it!" In other words, the only way she could tolerate her hubby was to have him be absent from home for long periods of time. In Japan, I heard, women have a new sickness: the Retired Husband Syndrome. Knowing the Japanese men, I can understand this. The poor ladies just pray usually for the time when a husband goes to work and they can be at peace. When he retires, they lose their respite!

JUST FOR MY RUSSIAN FRIENDS

Я в весеннем лесу пил берёзовый сок,
С ненаглядной певуньей в стогу ночевал.
Что нашёл, потерял, что имел, не сберёг.
Был я смел и удачлив, но счастья не знал.

И носило меня, как осенний листок.
Я менял города, я менял имена.
Надышался я пылью заморских дорог,
Где не пахнет святым, у не светит луна!

И окурки я за борт бросал в океан,
Проклинал красоту островов и морей,
И Бразильских болот малярийный туман,
И вино кабаков, и тоску лагерей.

Зачеркнуть бы всю жизнь и сначала начать.
Полететь к ненаглядной певунье своей!
Да вот только узнает ли Родина-мать
Одного из пропавших своих сыновей?

ABOUT THE HUSH SERIES

Dear readers, this is to let you know, that the Hush series were able to receive the funding, with a lot of your and others' support. The troop thank all of you, who contributed, very much, and the others: look forward to seeing it, when they'll be ready to show it.