RoxAnna

August in Boston

2010-08-26T05:31:00.000-07:00

The light
is so soft
that it clings
to your skin
like static
butterflies

Romanian Story

2010-03-09T09:53:00.000-08:00

It was still communist Romania then.
We shared our small Bucharest apartment
with cousins, aunts and complete unknowns.
Life as usual.

And I was seven years old.

One Sunday morning, my father opened a World Atlas and showed me the places he has traveled to. Here was Spain and the Guns of Gibraltar, Morocco and Libya, Patagonia with her wild winds, Egypt where Napoleon found the Rosetta Stone and the key to the language of the pyramids, Cyprus given as a wedding present to Cleopatra, and Homer’s world from Turkey to Ulysses’ Ithaca…..

I was mesmerized.
I touched the geography contours on the map,
dreaming of far lands and hidden seas.
And, every day, I asked for more stories
the “Meridians of the Heart”
as he called them.

I was so proud of my father’s traveling adventures,
that I could not stop telling all my friends about them.
One day, my mother who happened to overhear our conversation,
turned around and said in a flat,casual tone:

“ You father never left the country.
The Communists did not trust him with a passport.”

A Mouse , Two Turtles and a Handful of Warms

2010-02-03T06:24:00.000-08:00

This is the "research team"
sent today into space
by the Iranian scientists.

How beautiful

It feels like reading Aesop's Fables

Telephone Call

2010-01-25T10:23:00.000-08:00

"When are you coming home"
he asks.

No idea.
"Home" is wherever I am
she thinks.

Still too shy to answer.

Tiger Woods

2010-01-25T07:11:00.000-08:00

I understand Mr. Woods has signed up for sex therapy treatment
a rather un productive and "wishful thinking" initiative
if you ask me

and I just wonder
how would he know
that the treatment is working.

PENTRU TATA , DE ZIUA LUI

2010-01-24T04:05:00.000-08:00

"CUVINTELE POTRIVITE " A LUI ARGHEZI

Doamne, fă-i bordei în soare,
Într-un colţ de ţară veche,
Nu mai nalt decât o floare
Şi îngust cât o ureche.

Şi-n pridvor, un ochi de apă
Cu o luntre cât chibritul,
Ca-n crâmpeiul lui să–ncapă
Cerul tău şi nesfârşitul.

Dă-i un fluture blajin
Şi o broască de zmarald.
Şi-n pădurea de pelin
Fă să-i stea bordeiul cald.

Şi mai dă-i, Doamne, vopsele
Şi hârtie chinezească,
Pentru ca, mânjind cu ele,
Slava ta s-o zmângălească.

Şi când totul va fi gata
S-o muta la ea şi tata.

THE PATRIOT ACT

2010-01-24T03:51:00.000-08:00

What are we waiting for, assembled in the forum?

The barbarians are due here today.

Why isn't anything happening in the senate?
Why do the senators sit there without legislating?

Because the barbarians are coming today.
What laws can the senators make now?
Once the barbarians are here, they'll do the legislating.

Why did our emperor get up so early,
and why is he sitting at the city's main gate
on his throne, in state, wearing the crown?

Because the barbarians are coming today
and the emperor is waiting to receive their leader.
He has even prepared a scroll to give him,
replete with titles, with imposing names.

Why have our two consuls and praetors come out today
wearing their embroidered, their scarlet togas?
Why have they put on bracelets with so many amethysts,
and rings sparkling with magnificent emeralds?
Why are they carrying elegant canes
beautifully worked in silver and gold?

Because the barbarians are coming today
and things like that dazzle the barbarians.

Why don't our distinguished orators come forward as usual
to make their speeches, say what they have to say?

Because the barbarians are coming today
and they're bored by rhetoric and public speaking.

Why this sudden restlessness, this confusion?
(How serious people's faces have become.)
Why are the streets and squares emptying so rapidly,
everyone going home so lost in thought?

Because night has fallen and the barbarians have not come.
And some who have just returned from the border say
there are no barbarians any longer.

And now, what's going to happen to us without barbarians?
They were, those people, a kind of solution.

(Reading Cavafy on a Sunday morning in Boston)

TIMES SQUARE

2010-01-21T07:25:00.000-08:00

Every time I hear a fire engine
rushing by
I feel like I am missing out

There is always life
somewhere else
that I know nothing about.

Time Zones

2010-01-20T12:14:00.000-08:00

You are on the other side of time
Your mornings are my evenings
Your days start in my dreams

When you leave
I return

Will we ever meet ?

“PAROLES DE SAGESSE”

2010-01-19T11:06:00.000-08:00

no longer sure , where I’ve read them..
I found the note in my backpack with a boarding pass from Tashkent

“c’est un dieu exigeant, sans debordements de tristesse”
“ une telle joie emannait de lui”

" Elle caressa un reve sur le visage de l’eau. "

" Dois-je porter les reves des autres ? "

" Elle s’yappliquait d’ailleurs avec tenacite
Et ne cachait plus sa envie de quitter la maison "

I wonder what I was reading on that Uzbekistan Air flught ?

الاسكندريه

2010-01-18T09:45:00.000-08:00

The City

you said,
"I'll go to a different country, another sea,
another and better city than this one.
Here everything I do goes wrong
and my heart is dead and buried as a corpse.
How long should my soul suffer here ?
Wherever I turn, anywhere I look
I see the burnt cinders of my life here
where I've spent too long doing nothing."

You'll find no new sea or land
This city will always dog you .
You'll roam the same streets
go grey in the same houses.
You'll always end up here
Forget anywhere else .
You have no ship, no road
The life you've wasted here
you've wasted everywhere.

reading Cavafy in Askendrya - Egypt
december 2009.

thank you Mohamed for the Arabic title.

Massachusetts

2010-01-18T09:18:00.000-08:00

After "many a summer" we have finally reached our winter of discontent.

For months a series of political candidates, more or less articulate,
have been stirring apathy in our state. And the Senate seat left vacant be Mr.Kennedy's departure , seemed a fait accompli - a democratic "given."
Nobody really cared or expected otherwise.

And then, about a month ago, things started to change.
It was like a sea wave. Soft and pleasant at the shore,
brought in the perfect storm from afar.

All of a sudden the entire country watches us.
Presidents Clinton and Obama joined us for breakfast,
coffee and teas are served with political banners,
the phones ring day and night with pre recorded massages...

We came to life and the election has become a referendum on the president,
and even more on his health reform initiative. Strange as it is, Massachusetts has already in place the health plan proposed to the entire nation.And we do not see any viable reason to incur further spending and regulations to get what we already have ...

This election will be a test of human nature, if nothing else.

No matter, the weather or the traffic, I am going to vote tomorrow.

It's more fun now.
I feel that I matter

ALEKSANDRYA

2010-01-05T04:29:00.000-08:00

I've been by the sea
for two days
and now, one month later
I still have
sand in my hair
and
salt on my lips

A Simple Thought

2009-11-23T12:59:00.000-08:00

No matter how much I fuss
I can not change the past
or affect the future

the only place where
I can really be
is NOW

how uncomfortable

FALLUJAH

2009-11-17T06:35:00.000-08:00

BEFORE SENDING THEIR LAUNDRY OUT
THE MARINES CHECK THEIR POCKETS
FOR CRICKETS

A MESSAGE FROM MAYOR MENINO :

2009-10-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

And the Boston Public Health Commission:

" Despite higher rates of screening Black women are
more likely to die from breast cancer than White women.
Pink is not the only color associated with breat cancer "

Now, what am I supposed to do with this piece of information ?
Feel guilty ? Happy ? Safe ? Excluded ?

And what should a Black woman feel
Sad ? Envious ? Threatened ? Humbled ?

We are all women, we are all in danger and colour is the
last thing in our minds when we go for a check up.
And while Viagra is the discovery of the century
not much has been done for breat cancer, in any shade or form.

And, how cheap to use "pink" as an election enticement .

Status Quo

2009-10-22T13:28:00.000-07:00

I DO NOT MAKE ANY SENSE

SIBIU 2009

2009-09-15T05:24:00.000-07:00

I'VE SPENT HALF OF MY LIFE
TRYINMG TO ESCAPE THE ROMANIAN LANGUAGE
AND THE OTHER HALF LOOKING FOR IT

SCRISOARE DE DRAGOSTE

2009-09-06T01:19:00.000-07:00

Zilele-acelea largi si inalte
Le-qm traqit fara tine. Plecasem departe

Nu puteam sa-ti raspund, de cit drum ne desparte
In zilele-acelea largi si inalte.

Si mi te-aminteam , si calatoream,
Privind din caleasca albastra , pe geam

Padurea, castelul cu turnuri ciudate
Atit de pustii, de intortocheate.

Iar cind am ajuns si-am oprit se-nserase.

(Emil Brumare - Submarinul erotic)

But you already know all this

RUGACIUNE LAICA

2009-09-06T00:43:00.000-07:00

Doamne, nu ma nimici
Lasa-mi peste trup lumina
Ca pe-o haina de purtat
Pin-ajung linga fintina
Clipei plina ochi cu apa
Stravezie. Sete-mi este,
Sprijinit de ghizdul tare,
Sa primesc blinda ta veste
Ca mai pot sa-mi tirii mina
Moarta printre fluturii vii.
Doamne, nu ma nimici,
Lasa-mi ca vesmint lumina.

o pagina din Emil Brumaru
intr-o duminica dimineata la Sibiel

My thought is broken
again
between two worlds

CLXXVI

2009-09-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

INDURA-TE ,COBOARA SI VINO SA MA VEZi
PAN' NU SE-ASTERN PE MINE SOLEMNELE ZAPAZI

Vasile Voiculescu - citit in ploaie la Sibiu

COMMENT S'EN SORTIR SANS SORTIR

2009-09-02T02:47:00.000-07:00

The last night movie “The Black Forest “ overwhelmed both through the beauty of images, and the richness of its theme. That follows the characters through war and peace, through dialogue and silence. A real cinematic jewel 1992 directed by Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson .This is the last chapter of their renowned Papua New Guinea trilogy.

All through the workshop,the scope of Thierry’s movie selection was telling – through its variety of themes, modes of expression, artistic messages, directors’ skills and editors triumphs .Names of legends :Alexander Sokurov, Johan van der Keuken, Robert Kramer, Rithy Panh, Henry Colomer, Claude Mourieras,Bruno, Ulmer, Didier Nion, Florence Moreau, Serghei Dvortseevoy, Christophe de Ponfilly.

And for me, who would watch movies day and night,it was an ephemeral time of documentary magic - from “7 Moments de Bonheur”, “My Vote is a Secret”, “Lumieres sur l’oubli”, The Portraits of Alan Cavalier, to “A mi-mots”, “Welcome Europa”, “Fucking Sheffield”, “Tokyo – the Day the War Ended”, “S21”, “La Terre de l’aberrant, “La langue ne ment pas”, “Chats perches”, “Elegy of a Voyage”.

And when time of departure arrived, Thierry kept his promise and the last moment of happiness, was projected on the screen – a love poem “Passionement” written by a Romanian poet Gherasim Luca – who recited in French for the surprised audience in a Transylvanian village “ JE T’AIME, JE T’AIME , PASSIONEMENT

Thierry left , leaving behind Leibniz’ quote
“ Pourquoi y a t'il quelque chose plutot que rien ."

Remember , he said
“The documentary is the Art of the 21st century ,
that will always bring light to forgetting.”

August 28, 2009 Sibiel Roxana von Kraus

MY VOTE IS A SECRET

2009-08-31T09:22:00.000-07:00

Or not quite…the entire day being dedicated to the open presentation of ideas and possible movie projects.
The process always amazes me – here are 16 foreign students who do not know either the land or its language. Even less the culture, social milieu, history or political geography. En plus, they do not know each other and will have to produce a movie together. And still, these young film makers are able to create images, sounds, dialogues – a complete documentary movie – in only four weeks –from this initial stage to the final presentation in Sibiu.
Thierry Garrel sees the documentary as an” open question. It is not a machine to see, but to think “

And thinking they did - a Polish student would like to record a Gypsy symphony in images. No dialogues, no interviews – just ‘lieders ohen worte “. He already found a musical atelier that restores violins – Of local gypsies and Sibiu philharmonic musicians.
The other students, question the project -“What do you want say ?” “How will you make the tune visible? “What do you want us, the viewers to feel ? “ Beauty, beauty everywhere…. says the student.

Otilia, a delicate young Moldovian is interested in “children’s games.” In Kishinau the kids play “imaginary river games” - jumping from Nistru to Prut…and Otilia would like to discover the Romanian games. I think most of kids,from anywhere are in front of the computer nowadays, but still these waterways remind me of Eminescu ‘s Doina, recited by my father in Boston, so far away from home –‘De la Nistru pin la Tisa tot Rominu plinsemi-sa”

Ionut, a Romanian director has a “space”, close by in the mountains, where cement and steel took over the wooden home– transforming the Transylvanian village into an European Metropolis… Huge empty houses, enriched locals, Arabian horses, caviar and champagne – mark the ‘’transition”, the passage from simplicity and beauty to progress and ugliness. Thierry warns : “Be careful in using metaphors in documentaries !!! They may dilute the story instead of enriching it.”

Mila, coming from Serbia is interested in rituals and traditions threatened by the new EU rules…Since the European integration, pigs can no longer be slaughtered in the Romanian villages for Christmas , The dead can no longer be mourned by their family at home, but only in church. The old trees are felled along the village roads. The strict EU rules replace the Old, in a new world where both the sorrow and the joy seem to vanish under Bruxelles control. Thierry , as a Frenchman living in Vancouver understands and likes Mila’s idea .– “il faut des rites”’ In the movies even “shooting is a ritual.”

Malena, a Peruvian editor living in Vienna, would like to surpass time and geography by finding “treasured objects” - those hidden memories, kept and given from one generation to another….She intends to talk to locals , visit their homes and discover their heritage wrapped in the cloth if time,
From some strange reason I find the idea of creating “magical realism” in Romania disturbingly foreign ,and I can not stop my words : “ Malena , you are in country where having a Bible carried a prison term. We are not the Palestinians who took their house keys to the refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan…When I immigrated I was not allowed to take my birth or marriage certificate, my university diplomas, my wedding ring or my photographs. Communism killed our souls , our treasured objects were replaced b y whispered memories. We hardly survived the present and never understood the past.” “ ……… My voice breaks and I dissolve in tears, to the delight of Thierry who sees me as the future audience. ”Roxana’s emotion prove that Malena’s idea has documentary value”.
Yes, I think – she may celebrate the treasured objects through their nostalgic absence.

AUGUST 25, 2009 SIBIEL ROXANA VON KRAUS

BONHEUR , HAPPINESS, FERICIRE

2009-08-31T05:24:00.000-07:00

BONHEUR, HAPPINESS, FERICIRE..
It was the theme of the first day at Aristoteles. Beautifully introduced by Thierry Garell, “the Master of Documentary”, who after thirty years of directing and producing the genre for ARTE , has just retired to enjoy life and teach others this extraordinary art of nonfiction.
The class, of sixteen students from Eastern and Central Europe has the good fortune of viewing his montage of “ 7 Moments de Bonheur” in documentaries : from the first scene of a small child eating , to “L’Amour qui dure” - the marriage that marks a love story. Followed by “My Vote is a Secret”- announcing Mr. Mandela’s victory in the South Africa Election , when people went back to Soweto – singing. – another wedding of sorts,,…My favorite passage was “Lumieres sur L’Oubli” – that follows the archive news reels of the end of the Spanish Civil War , moving between Las Ramblas in Barcelona to the street café in Bruxelles ,from the prisons of Cyprus releasing the Turkish-Ciprioti war prisoners to crying mothers , embracing their returned sons –completely unaware of the news cameras, reporters, or us…. This is exactly how I felt when I held my son, coming back from Iraq. The time has stopped around me , and he became my life.
“La Vie comme elle Va” , the life went by and we expected the last scene. But the seventh moment was delayed , meant to conclude the teaching session of our “documentary en desordre. “
According to Thierry Garrel “the documentary speaks simultaneously to our sensibility, our imagination and out intelligence.” And to prove the point we screened three more documentaries in the afternoon: the “Portraits” of Alain Cavalier – short stories of women with an unique métier, “Contacts” –a photo journalistic report on Nan Goldin and “A mi-mots” a whispered poetic film on Edna O’Brien. Who says that “writing is holy, in the pure sense of the word. It is an extension of prayer and religion” And the more you read the better you write, because “MAGIC FOLOWS THE VERY FEW!”
A thought shared by Thierry Garrel – “the more documentaries you see, the better movies you will make.”

August 24, 2009 Sibiel – Roxana von Kraus

The Chinese Walnut

2008-11-06T08:02:00.000-08:00

I found the tree this morning,in the Arboretum.
Lonely, under a thin, unconvincing November rain.

A cyclist in a blue parka and red helmet dropped his bicycle on the side and starting a waving dance around the grass,started to pick up the leafy branches.
Shook the rain off and placed them tightly under the jacket, close to his body.

" Are you in love with this tree ?" I ventured..
" Yap. See the leaves , they come down in sections, all at once, not individually !
And it all happens today "
" Together we perish ! I guess "

What a lovely morning this is going to be.

LES AMIS

2008-06-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

sont comme des ballons.....
une fois que tu les laisses partir, tu ne peux les rattraper.
Donc , je vais t'attacher avec ma corde du coeur afin de ne pas te perdre.

MIRRORS

2008-06-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

I saw Bob Wilsons' "In the Blink of An Eye" in Athens last year.

Based on Mevlana Rumi's poems the play dissolved the words into dances,the poetry into movement. The Turkish and Greek verses remained completely unknown to me, but their images made up for the silence. The finale was played against a wall of turning mirrors, reflecting both the light and the transparency of the Whirling Dervishes. I found out later, that in the Islamic art and religious mysticism the mirrors signify the presence of God, as they reflect his creation.
See, how much one can learn in a week end in Athens ?

Back home at Cape Cod , I read "Mirrors in the Brain" by Giacomo Rizzolatti, a researcher at the Parma University, Italy. In the early 1990 he discovered the "mirror neurons" , a mechanism in the brain that gives us the ability to instantly and efortlessly understand the actions, intentions and minds of other people.... the American week ends can be surprinsingly enriching, too.

Myth and History

2008-05-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

According to Jean Cocteau

L'HISTOIRE est du VRAI qui deviant FAUX

et

le MYTH est du FAUX qui s"INCARNE

Splendour in the Grass

2008-05-28T08:14:00.000-07:00

An American friend once looked at a Trabant and could not help remarking
"wow, I have this engine in my lawn mower'!

Speaking of which, I wonder why are the Americans so obsessed with lawns..British too , but at least they have some gardens near by. It feels like the War of Independence peeled off any love for tea or flowers leaving us with Frost.

Walking through the Arboretum, you see first a dog followed closely by somebody looking exactly like him.

The Inner Body Experiences

2008-05-27T14:17:00.000-07:00

I bet ,
there are more fun than the Outer Body equivalent ...

Michaelei

2008-05-22T07:36:00.001-07:00

Mi-e dor d-un cer senin cu rindunele
Cu marea lina ca-n pahar
Sa clipocesca ,usor la mal
LA TREI PAPUCI pe plaja copilariei mele

Ultima scriosare scrisa de tata pentru mine.
Era deja la Mass General in Boston ,
asa departe de Constanta ,
si de Trei Papuci...

Path Finder

2008-05-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

To get cash from an ATM machine I need my preset code. First I choose the English or Spanish option,if in Boston, then I log in the numerical code, follow the directions and hope for the best.

To read my emails, personal, business and fun I need a user name and a password. To post this note I would need another password. To make my airline reservations on Worldspan I need a new password every month, and to report the tickets a new password every quarter. And then come other passwords for UTube, Facebook, Yahoo chess, PayPal, American Express on line, Bank of Boston account, Chase pay by mail,Amazon, Ebay...

But when I call Bloomingdales to place a catalogue order, I just have to say my name and they already know everything - from the zip code to the bra size...So does Amazon who sends emails suggesting the books and movies that I should not miss this month...And that Nigerian finacier who invites me to spend his millions...And the Viagra expert who advises on penis enlargements..

Really, I think the passwords protect only US from our OWN world - that otherwise is common knowledge to everybody else.

Alter Ego

2008-05-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

Why would anybody need one ?
I can hardly manage my own .

Sense of Reality

2008-05-19T07:59:00.001-07:00

None, on this side of time !

I keep my watch to "ora Bucurestiului"
And, just add five hours to find Boston.
Seven while in San Francisco.

Time becomes real,
only through falling...
Like sand .

SUNDAY MORNING

2008-05-18T09:25:00.001-07:00

Or so it seems.

If you are too depressed to be depressed than you really have a problem .

de ce oare toate intructiunile de inregistrare pe blog mi-au venit in Romineste ?
poate a venit timpul, vremea sa ma intorc acasa .
desi nu am plecat nicioadata .

Reversed Reality

2008-05-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

A homeless man after an intense search through the garbage can in front of Sonsie Cafe,emerges with a bottle of some dark liquid. He pours it out and takes off with an empty bottle. I wonder why in the world he would need it for ?

I love my books so I always cover them for taking along on planes and subways.
One day a guy asked me if I am reading a "sex manual" that I felt the need to keep "under cover .

As a student in Bucharest I was asked to guide a group of foreign tourists through the city. After about two hours of driving, accompanied by my dry comments of -
"on the left you see the Village Museum" and on the right you admire the "Arch of Triumph " ....somebody finally, told me that the entire bus group was blind.

SOUP DE JOUR

2008-05-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

Running by the Franklin Hospital today I see a poster listing the signs of stroke: sudden dizziness, sudden numbness, sudden confusion ! Well, I have them all.
Except confusion. That is not Sudden .

My mother's highrise in Boston has a large elevator with an even larger post inside WARNING . THIS ELEVATOR IS NOT SAFE . Well , I consider myself warned.
A policeman woman waits for all the elevator travelers in the lobby.
I wonder why.

I was told to forget about Past and Future and just live the Present.
Only to discover that NOW is that silent breath between two thoughts,
that I can never reach ...

Somewhere in my world

2008-05-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

May fourteen

Writing to you feels
like swimming under the sea.
I wait till my heart breaks
to come up for air

Allegro ma non tropo

2008-02-11T12:35:00.000-08:00

Debussy was in love with Camille Claudel
Camille was in love with Rodin
Rodin was in love with everybody else
but her

KHIVA

2007-12-14T22:29:00.001-08:00

I MANAGED TO REACH KHIVA TOO. BY TAXI. THERE WAS ANOTHER TRAVELLER IN MY HOTEL WHO BOOKED AMIN AND HIS CAR SO I JUST SHARED THE COST , 90 DOLLARS ROUND TRIP, FOR A 500 KMS BUHKARA-KHIVA. ' HE IS A SIMPLE MAN' I WAS TOLD. WELL , MAYBE , BUT FELIX MY TRAVELLING COMPANION TURNED OUT TO BE SPANISH AS INTRODUCED, BUT LIVING IN MANHATAN WITH HIS WIFE WHO WORKS AT UN AND HIS TWO DAUGHTERS. ALL LIVED IN MEXICO, YEMEN, CAMBODIA, MONGOLIA ..AMONG OTHER PLACES. SO IT WAS A PLEASANT TRIP ISPEAKING SPANISH, RUSSIAN WITH THE DRIVER, AND ROMANIAN AND ARABIC WITH EVERYBODY ELSE. WE WERE THE ONLY ONES IN THE HOTEL, PROBABLY IN THE TOWN. TILL THE MORNING ARRIVAL OF A NOISY GROUP OF JAPANESE.THEY ARRIVED LIKE BIRDS WITH CAMERAS.

KHIVA IS A VERY OLD TOWN, ALL A FORTRESS, LIKE THE BYZANTINE PALACE WE VISITED IN SPLIT. IT WAS COLD, VERY COLD -SO I BOUGHT ANOTHER HAT AND A PAIR PF GLOVES. THE SUBZERO TEMPERATURE THOUGH DID NOT STOP THE ROW OF WEDDINGS OF THURSDAY CEREMONIES - ALL BRIDES WEARING WHITE, LOW CUT DRESSES WITH SHORT SLEEVES. THE GROOMS LOOKED FROZEN BUT CONTENT. LEE, I FOLLOWED YOUR INSTRUCTIONS AND TOOK SOME VIDEOS OF THEIR WILD DANCES. THE PEOPLE OF KHIVA ARE NOT PLEASANT THOUGH. - LIKE IN BUHKARA OR SAMARKAND - MUCH ROUGHER AND UNFRIENDLY. THE COLD MUST HAVE GOT TO THEIR HEART. WE RETURNED THE NEXT DAY , DRIVING 120 KMS AN HOUR. THERE WERE CHECK POINTS FROM TIME TO TIME WHERE AMIN WOULD JUMP OUT OF THE CAR WITH HIS DRIVING LICENCE AND A BANK NOTE OF 1000 SOMS NICELY FOLDED INSIDE . JUST TO MAKE SURE , THEY DO NOT KEEP US WAITING OR OPEN THE BAGPACKS ..IT WAS BETTER BEFORE HE SAYS, NO MONEY TO BE PAID, WE HAD MORE WORK, EVERYBODY WAS THE SAME...YOU HEAR THIS EVERWHERE. - - THEY ARE NOT CRAZY ABOUT KARIMOV WHO IS GOING TO BE RE ELECTED ON DEC.28TH FOR THE THIRD TIME, WITHOUT AN OPPOSITION....BUT THEY ALL ADORE PUTIN WHO IS A VERY SMART AND PROUD MAN. SO HERE YOU GO WITH THE CENTRAL ASIA POLITICS.

BACK IN BUKHARA I WAS WALKING THROUH THE BAZAAR TO DISCOVER A STAND WITH AN ENDEARING DISPLAY OF LENIN FLAGS, WRITINGS OF THE KORAN AND RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ICONS. IT REMINDED ME OF THE HAVANA MARKET WHERE MARYLIN MONROW IS SMILING NEXT TO CHE GHEVARA. THE AMUSING WORLDY AFFAIRS OF OUR LIVES.

I AM LEAVING TOMMOROW , BY TRAIN ,TO TASHKENT AND THEN FLY TO ISTANBUL FOR ONE NIGHT AND BACK TO THE SNOWS OF BOSTON.

BRIAN YOUR PICTURE WITH THE KIDS IS WONDERFUL. I OPENED THE FILE IN DOWNTOWN BUKHARA. AND YOU LEE AND RICKI MUST HAVE HAD A GLORIOUS TIME AT THE OPERA, AND I ENVY YOUR SUMMER IN SAN CLEMENTE STACEY.

ALL IN ALL , LOVE FROM THE LAND OF 1001 ARABIAN NIGHTS.

CU DRAG

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BUKHARA INTERNET CAFE

2007-12-10T23:32:00.000-08:00

EVERYTHING I OWE IS ON ME. IT IS NOT SO COLD TODAY THOUGH. BUT EVEN THE OTHER GUYS AROUND ME ARE EQUALLY DRESSED. FIRST I'VE THOUGHT THEY ARE CLIENTS LIKE ME. WRONG. THESE ARE THE EMPLOYEES WHO ARE READY FOR A DAY AT WORK - LIKE IN ROMANIA, THE OFFICES ARE ON THE COOL SIDE,FOR NLACK OF HEATING. I'VE COME FOR THE UZBEKISTAN AIR - A SLIGHT CHANGE IN THE ITINERARY - THAT HAS BEEN WORKED ON SINCE THIS MORNING - 'THE COMPUTERS ARE DOWN IN THE ENTIRE CPUNTRY " I WONDER. I HAVE ACCESS TO THIS MACHINE AND SO DOES THE KID NEXT TO ME CHEWING GUM , PLAYING VIDEO GAMES AND LOOKING INTENSELY OVER MY SHOULDER . HOW MUCH HE UNDERSTANDS - I WILL NEVER KNOW.

MEANWHILE TO PUT UP WITH THE IDLE TIME I WALKED OVER TO THE UNIVERSITY - THE SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS - AND PLANNED A STUDENT MEETING WITH MY GROUP FOR NEXT SPRING. THE RECTOR WEARING A LARGE FUR HAT, INVITED US WITH A WIDE SMILE OF GOLDEN TEETH. 'SURE IT WILL BE VERY INTERESTRING. I WAS IN NEW YORK AT NYU AND VISITED MIT AS WELL. WE WILL ARRANGE THE RENDEZ VOUS FOR YOU" . INSHALLAH.
THE SCHOOL LOOKED RATHER POOR, OUR BUCHAREST UNIVERSTIY BY COMPARISON FEELS LIKE SORBONNE. BUT IT WILL STILL BE VERY INTERESTRING.
HE HAS ALSO GIVEN ME A CONTACT IN TASHKENT. SO THAT'S THE NEXT STEP.

I KNOW COPERNICUS WAS BEFORE GIORDANO BRUNO, BUT WHO CLAIMED FIRST THAT THE EARTH IS ROUND. THE GREEKS WERE NOT THE ONES FOR SURE.
JUST CURIOSITY. I AM GOING BACK TO UZBEKISTAN AIR, MAYBE THEIR COMPUTERS WILL BE UP. IF NOT .BACK TO UNIVERSITY OR EVEN TO KAFETERIA ,FOR A NESS CAFE, CHOCOLATE CAKE AND DRY FRUITS. EVERYWHERE YOU ARE SERVED APRICOTS, DATES, NUTS..
AND EATING SUN FLOWER SEEDS IS A NATIONAL SPORT.
LITTLE TRIVIALITES FROM DOWNTOWN BUKHARA.
I WILL KEEP YOU POSTED.

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BUKHARA INTERNET CAFE

2007-12-10T23:30:00.001-08:00

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BUKHARA

2007-12-10T05:19:00.000-08:00

WE STARTED THE TOUR EARLY - NO IDEA WHY. WE ARE THE ONLY TWO TOURISTS AT THE INN,IN THE CITY FOR THAT MATTER. WHY THE HURRY ..

WE DEPARTED BUKHARA CENTER, A PIED, RIGHT AT THE STATUE OF NASTRATIN HOGEA, THE TURKISH FOLK HERO OF OUR ROMANIAN TALES. A BRONZE MAN IN HALAT AND PAPUCI SITTING ON A LITTLE DONKEY -THE ASIAN DON QUIXOTTE AS THR GUIDE LIKES TO CALL HIM, HE IS IN SHOCK THAT I KNOW HIM AS WELL - WHAT, YOU READ ABOUT HIM IN THE UNITED STATES ??

IT HAS TURNED COLD , VERY COLD. MY FINGERS ARE FROZEN ON THE CAMERA AND I BUY AN ASTRAHAN HAT FOR 20 DOLLARS, LIKE I BUY A CHINESE UNBRELLA IN NEW YORK UNDER THE RAIN. THERE ARE ABOUT 900 MONUMENTS IN BUKHARA, WE SAW ABOUT 10 TODAY, THE ONES UNDER UNESCO PROTECTION. I AM UNABLE TO LIST THEM BY NAMES - THEY HAVE ALL MELTED INTO MY CONSCIOUS WHEN I ORDERED A VOTKA FOR LUNCH - ME AND A HAPPY GROUP OF WEALTHY GYPSY WOMEN NEXT TO ME.THE GUIDE WANTED TO CHALLENGE US - DO YOU KNOW THIER NATINALITY , HE ASKED WITH A TEASE. LITTLE DID HE KNOW. ALL UZBEKI GIPSIES SPEAK TAJIK AND ARE AS UNPOPULAR HERE AS OURS IN ROMANIA OR EVERYWHERE ELSE.

AMY BOUGHT THE BAZAAR - CARPETS, SILK SPREADS, HATS, KNIVES - CHRISTMAS IS COMING YOU KNOW. I KNOW. ALA WOULD HAVE GONE CRAZY IN THAT CARPET WORKSHOP.

FOR LUNCH WE BROKE BREAD TOGETHER, FRESH BAKED NAN , A SASHLIK CHIFTEA WITH ONIONS AND GREEN TEA. IT REMINDED ME OF OUR MUSCELUL, THE PUB AROUND THE CORNER FROM US IN STRADA SPATARULUI. AND NOW I AM SO VERY FAR AWAY - IN BUKHARA.

THE HISTORY MUSEUM SHOWED A NAIVE BUT ACCURATE ROUTE FOR ALEXANDER THE GREAT'S CAMPAIGN FROM PELLA INTO THE WORLD, FIRST SOUTH INTO EGYPT AND THEN EAST ,FURTHER EAST, TILL SAMARKAND WHERE HE MARRIED THE CHIEF'S DAUGHTER ROXANA. HIS ARMY REACHED THE INDIAN BORFER AND NEVER RETURNED TO MACEDONIA. WHAT AN AMAZING COMANDER HE WAS. NEVER SICK, ALWAYS ON THE MOVE. HIS TUTORS WERE TEACHING THE HOSTAGES GREEK, INCLUDING THE WIFE OF THE PERSIAN KING. SPREADING HELLENISM - AS THEY SAY.

I AM SCHEDULED TO GO TO KHIVA IN TWO DAYS BUT I WONDER. IT IS TOO COLD TO THINK. AND KHIVA IS EVEN COLDER, AND THEN BOSTON IS NO SAN MARTIN EITHER...THE OLDER I GET THE MORE SUN I NEED.

ALEXANDRA NEEDS A LITTLE PRAYER . SO I WILL SEND HER MY BEST THOUGHTS FROM BUKHARA. FOR HER , AND HER SON.
CU MULT DRAG

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' TOMBE LA NEIGE'

2007-12-09T06:19:00.001-08:00

WAS PLAYED IN ' BELLA ITALIA' A GRAND RESTAURANT IN THE SHOPPING CENTER. BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF ALAMO'S COMNCERTS IN BUCURESTI, OF VOTKA LIMON PLAYED IN NEW YORK LINCOLN CENTER CINEMA, OF DRIVING WITH DAN OVER THE BROOKLYN BRIGE WITH A POT OF SARMALE FOR LEE AND NOW - BUKHARA, THE HEART OF CENTRAL ASIA.

WE ARRIVED HERE THIS MORNING BY TRAIN - 'THE SHARK', SECOND CLASS , WHERE TEA WAS SERVED FROM A LARGE THERMOS CARRIED AROUND, IN NICE GLASS CUPS PLUS A LITTLE PLATE WITH A MELANGE OF CABBAGE AND SOME UNKNOWN MEAT - I PASSED ON THAT. THEY EAT HORSE MEAT HERE, BUT NO DOG MEAT - LIKE IN CHINA OR VIETNAM.

WE REACHED BUKHARA IN 3 HOURS, AND TRANSFERED TO OUR INN EMIR HOUSE. NEGOCIATED A TAX FEE BEFORE WE BOARDED, ABOUT 4 DOLLARS PER CAR, AND THEN PROCEEDEDTHROUGH TEH RAIN WITH A RUSSIAN CASETTE BLASTING IN THE FRONT AND AMY IN THE BACK SEAT WONDERING WHAT WAS HAPPENING. THE TAXI DRIVER WORE A PURPLE 'HALAT'/ ROBE , IN VELOUR AND PAPUCI / SLIPPERS. THE ROOMS AT THE INN ARE QUITE LOVELY, VERY WARM ,NICE LOCAL DECORATIONS AND WELCOMED US WITH A POT OF GREEN TEA 'ZAHAR'/SUGAR.A DISH OF DATES,AND A BOWL OF SWISS CHOCOLATES.

AMY IS HAVING A MASSAGE NOW, 20 PER HOUR WITH A REAL DOCTOR ON SERVICE 24 HOURS A DAY - I WONDER, AND I AM USING THE INTERNET FOR 1 DOLLAR/HOUR. EVERYWHERE ELSE WAS 4 DOLLARS PER HOUR..I'VE NOTICED IF I SPAEK ROMANIAN I GO MUCH FYRTHER THAN WITH ENGLISH. SO I AM USING IT MORE AND MORE OFTEN PLUS THE BIT OF RUSSIAN THATIS COMING BACK TO ME. MOST TOURISTS IN BHKHARA ARE FRENCH ..NO AMERICANS REALLY. WHEN I'VE ASKED AMY WHY, SHE REPLIED THAT MOST TRAVELLERS WOULD BE ANXIOUS TO COMETO UZBEKISTAN THAT SHARES A BORDER WITH AFGANISTAN , VIA TURKEY THAT IS SO CLOSE TO IRAQ - SO SORRY BUT THAT THOUGHT HAS NEVER CROSSED MY MIND.

BUKHARA IS THE LAND OF 1001 ARABIAN NIGHTS. FOR US THIS IS THE FIRST. TOMORROW WE HAVE THE GUIDE COMING WITH HIS OWN CAR, FOR A DAY OF TOURING - 50 DOLLARS PER DAY - THE GDP PER PER CAPITA HERE IS 900 DOLLARS , SO WE CONTRIBUTE HEAVILY TO THEIR ECONOMY.
AMY SAYS THAT IT FEELS LIKE PROVINCETOWN IN WINTER - EVERYTHING IS PRETTY BUT YOU KNOW THE FUN COMES ONLY IN SUMMWE. I LIKE IT BETTER THIS WAY, THOUGH.

I WILL KEEP YOU POSTED FROM THE LAND OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT,TIMURLANE,GHINGIS HAN AND THE REST...
BRIAN, I THINK 'ISKANDER'MEANS ALEXANDER ?! TRUE ..
THEY DO NOT BELIEVE THAT MY NAME IS ROXANA, ALEXANDER'S WIFE BORN IN SAMARKAND....
CU DRAG.

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samarkand

2007-12-08T09:13:00.001-08:00

IT HAS STARTED TO RAIN, WITH SNOW..THIS MORNING WAS SO COLD THAT I WAS UNABLE TO TAKE ANY PHOTO WITH MY FROZEN HANDS AMY THOUGH,MIRACULOUSLY REVIVED WITH CHARCOAL TABLETS AND POMEGRANATES TEA,WAS SHOOTING EVERYTHING, IN A SHORT SLEEVED BLOUSE AND NO JACKET IN SIGHT. THE MOST IMPRESSIVE PLACE WAS NOT THE REGISTAN SQUARE THAT IS NEWLY REBUILT,BUT THE NEKROPOLIS OF THE LIVING KING - THAT STILL HAS THE FEEL OF THE 15TH CENTURY, WITH MOST OF THE MONUMENTS UNTOUCHED. I EVEN ASKED AN IMAN TO SAY A PRAYER FOR ME AND HE SANG ONE PASSAGE OF THE KORAN LOOKING TOWARDS MECCA. IT FELT SO RIGHT, AND IRAQ IS SO CLOSE TO HERE. I THINK WE ARE EVEN ON THE SAME SIDE OF TIME.

JUST RETURNED FROM OUR GUIDE'S HOUSE ,FORM A FAMILY DINNER COOKED BY HIS MOTHER. SHE SERVED US 'SARMALE', CALLED THE SAME BY THE TATARS OF THE CRIMEEA - SO HERE WE GO. GOING HALF WAY AROUND THE WORLD TO COME HOME AGAIN...THERE ARE 120 NATIONALITIES IN UZBEKISTAN - RUSSIANS, IRANIANS, GREEKS, ARMENIANS, COREANS, TAJIKS, JEWS..'AND WE LIVE IN PEACE. NO RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS'-SAYS THE GUIDE .SURE , BECAUSE THERE IS NO RELIGION . NOBODY GOES TO CHURCH OR TO MOSQUE, EVERYBODY WAS CLEANSED OF ANY RELIGIOUS INCLINATIONS DURING THE SOVIET OCCUPATION - SO NOW IT IS SILENCE IN THEIR SOULS.THE GUIDE THINKS THAT ALL THE UZBEKI GIPSIES COME FROM INDIA ,WHILE ALL THE OTHER GIPSIES IN THE WORLD ARE ROMANIANS. YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW OVERWHELMED I WAS WITH HIS MIS INFORMATION.
(HIS DAUGHTHER IS ALINA AND SHE SHOWED ME HER COLLECTION OF UZBEKI BARBIES - MADE IN CHINA ...I AM SURE THAT OUR US BARBIES ARE NOT MADE IN VERMONT EITHER,MAYBE A BETTER CHINA OUTFIT )

TOMORROW WE ARE LEAVING FOR BUKHARA WITH HER PUPPET THEATER THAT AT THIS POINT IN TIME SEEMS MORE ENCHANTING THAN ANY BLUE TILED MONUMENT. ALL THE PAYMENTS TO HOTELS, GUIDES, RESTAURANTS AND ALIKE ARE MADE IN CASH - FOR ONE DOLLAR WE RECEIVE 2000 SOMS SO FOR EVERY 50 DOLLARS WE NEED A SPECIAL BAG TO CARRY THE PILE OF CASH. 'MAKE SURE YOU COUNT ALL THESE MONEYS - HERE EVEN THE NATIONAL BANK OF UZBEKISTAN CAN CHEAT YOU',HOW REASSURING.

I WILL KEEP YOU POSTED. SORRY FOR THE MISTAKES BUT THE SPELL CHECK GOES ONLY FOR RUSSIAN,NOT ENGLISH.
CU DRAG,

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TASKENT KINO

2007-12-06T05:18:00.000-08:00

THE "KINO" WAS THE KAZAKSTAN MOVIE THEATER CLOSE TO MY HOTEL. NOT MANY SIGNS OUTSIDE, INSIDE DARK AND EMPTY. A POLICEMAN SLEEPING ON A RED VELVET COACH, IN THE FOYER. AND ABOUT 8 GUYS IN THE AUDIENCE.
THE WOMAN AT KASSA ASKED FOR 2000 SOMS(ABOUT TWO DOLLARS )AND WARNED ME - "PA RUSKI" !!

I HAVE ALSWAYS BEEN SURPRISED BY THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE CINEMA ..IN ROMANIA ALL THE MOVIE SPIES WERE AMERICAN. LATER IN THE STATES ALL THE SPIES WERE RUSSIAN. NOW I WAS IN UZBEKISTAN WATCHING A RUSSIAN VERSION OF OO7 WITH A TWIST . THE MASTER SPY WAS A RUSSIAN WOMAN, A SUPERB RUSSIAN WOMAN THAT IS, WHO KILLS EVERYBODY IN SIGHT , AND SAVES THE WORLD FROM A NUCLEAR DISASTER. NEEDLESS TO SAY THAT THE MOVIE ENDS WITH THE US MARINES SALUTING THE RUSIAN SPECIAL FORCES ...VERY ENTERTAINING. I DID NOT MISS A BIT, EVEN IN A SEA OF UNKNOWN WORDS.

NOW I AM WRITING TO YOU FROM SAMARKAND I LEFT TASHKENT SEVERNY VAKSAL AT 7AM AND ARRIVED IN SAMARKAND THREE HOURS LATER. THE EXPRESS TRAIN - THE REGISTAN - WAS QUITE PLEASANT. COMFORTABLE LEATEHR SEATS, A SMALL TV ON THE TABLE, A WARM SNACK BREAKFAST. ONLY THE BATHROOM WAS MISERABLE - AS PER AMY - WHO IS SICK AGAIN AND SPENT MOST ON THE TRAIN RIDE THERE.
THE HOTEL OF MY CHOICE WAS CLOSED FOR LACK OF HEATING, AND WE ENDED UP AT A SOVIET STYLE HOTEL,THAT IS VERY WARM EVEN IN THIS LOW SEASON. SOME WORKERS ARE SETTING UP A CHRISTMAS TREE - I WONDER WHY, THERE ARE NO TOURISTS AROUND AND CHRISTMAS SHOULD BE A NON EVEN IN THIS MUSLIM COUNTTY. PROBABLY, JUST WISHFUL THINKJING. TODAY , DECEMBER 6TH IS ST NICHOLAS DAYM BYT THEY WOULD NOT KNOW THAT, FOR SURE.

I BRAVED THE COLD AND WALKED TO THE REGISTAN SQUARE - A DREAM OF BLUE AND GREEN TILES.BRIAN, SO WONDERFUL YOU SAW IT TOO. SO MANY YEARS AGO. THE COURTYARD IS FULL OF ARTIZANS TRYING TO SELL HAND WOVEN CARPETS, WALL COVERS, EMBROIDERED HATS,VELVET BELTS, COLOURFUL SILK BAGS, RICH CHESS SETS...I HAVE TO FIND A CHESS PLAYER.IN THIS COLD IT IS NOT MUCH TO DO, REALLY. I GAVE UP ON ANY PARK RENDEZ VOUS, MAYBE I CAN FIND THE CHESS CLUB. THE PUPPET THEATER IS CLOSED AND SO IS THE RUSSIAN DRAMA . I HAD A MASSAGE INSTEAD - 15 DOLLARS FOR ONE HOUR - ONE OF THE BEST MASSAGES EVER.THE PROBLEM IS THAT HARDLY ANYBODY ACCEPTS CREDIT CARDS AND ALL THE TRANSACTIONS ARE DONE IN CASH. THAT MAKES US THINK LONGER ON OUR VENTURES. THE HOTEL REFUSED TO GIVE MY PASSPORT BACK UNLESS I PAY !!! FEARFUL PROBABLY THAT I WOULD VENTURE OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT...EVERY STEP IS RECORDED AND WE MUST KEEP THE RECORDS FOR THE DEPARTURE CHECK OUT - THIS GOES FOR HOTEL REGISTRATIONS, MONEY EXCHANGE, TRAIN AND AIRPLANE TICKETS...THE OLD SOVIET NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING IS STILL VERY PRESENT.

TOMORROW MORNING I HAVE A GUIDE FOR THE CITY TOUR, WITH THE HOPE THAT THE SUN WILL FIND US. IF NOT THE BLACK RUSSIAN TEA MAY HELP...THE CITY HERE AS IN TASDKENT IS EMPTY - NOBODY IN THE STREET, AT THE OPERA, IN THE RESTAURANTS..LOW SEASON MAYBE BUY STILL...

I WILL KEEP YOU POSTED.
CU MULT DRAG.

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Travel Non Sense

2007-11-13T06:35:00.000-08:00

Lately, I am worried not of stuff being taken out of my bag, but of stuff being put in..

The check in at our airports is done at gut level. Literally . The passport and boarding pass are carefully matched but nobody ever looks up to see you eyes. Last week I found myself on board with my mother's passport in hand.. We both went through all check points with each other passport, switched by mistake. True, she is only 25 years older and looks better than me.
But still.

All the Manhattan busses carry a large American flag on their back window. Nobody seems to notice or care that the Stars are placed on the right corner of the Stripes. And I saw the same flag on the uniforms of our army - noted in "Lions for Lambs."
Another coup of Chinese creativity. And American nonchalance.

After so many years I am still baffled by the Inbound and Outbound directions of the Boston subway system. Inbound and Outbound to what ? Such notions are just point of views not geographical markers.

The West Delta Bus posts a large "No smoking" sign on board. But the driver finishes up a pack of Cleopatra's by the time we are out of Alexandria. We the passengers are in just for the ride,
I guess.

In Humanitas bookstore in Sibiu I fail to find Rilke's poems., or even the poetry section for that matter. After a while I realize to my dismay that the books are set up at a whim, under no law of subject matter or alphabet....As a correct American that I have become I complaint enthusiastically to the front clerk - "true there is no order, but looking for something you may find something else that you never knew existed !" Touche.

Letters to my sons

2007-11-12T09:47:00.000-08:00

I can not give you any riches. The only gifts I have are my memories. They are my life.
And so are you. Part of my living dream through America. After so many years, I still dream
in Romanian, converse in German, and write in English. I am suspended in time, between lands and nations. I only know the geography of my heart. I feel mostly American though, caught in the mirage of freedom, a freedom given to me by this country that is so misunderstood, so free and so unaware of its own power and ability to change the world. For the better.

Our life goes around in circles , and so does history. But the Americans resist any learning experiences. They think the world can bend along our thoughts and intentions.
Like trees in the wind.

Today is Veterans' Day. The morning News showed a group of veterans, beautifully dressed in their crisp uniforms, waiting patiently in the Gillette Stadium to meet some Patriots players. They were none. Not by their fault . The office announced the media of the "no show", but they just forgot to tell the soldiers about it. When my Marine son deployed in Iraq for the third time asked California's Governor office for a state flag for their Anbar base, the reply came quickly "sorry we can not send a flag but you may purchase one at the office gift shop." A woman's voice at NPR tells the story of her son, returned from Iraq in 2004 with post traumatic disorder, he is refused any meaningful treatment and kills himself a year later....I feel like dying myself.
Of shame and sadness. The day is already tired.