My Summer Thrill

Old Florence Library

Most people look forward to this time of year. For some, it means new jobs, having to move, or that dreaded family vacation. For the majority of people, it is a time to relax, a time fotr recreation, time at the pool – for some, even a time for chaos. As a child, mine were a mixture of these – a mixture of a free-for-all attitude with the sense to accomplish something, nothing, and usually leading to do something crazy. Thrills were a necessity to keep my young life exciting. But one particular thrill, during one of my childhood summers, almost changed my life for good.

This summer started out like any other summer. School had let out and everybody was off to explore everything new and old, hoping for something new to do. However, after a few weeks, we were wishing school would start back up – we were bored. So like every other day, my friends and I set off for adventure. As we stopped by to pick up each of my friends, their mother would follow him to the door, telling him to be careful and stay out of trouble. It looked like we were marching off to war somewhere; and we were, our own little adventure. Several hours later, we had played long enough and decided to get something cold to drink. On the way to the store, we passed the town library and noticed that the older kids had left their normal hangout. It was then; we decided to try their fun, their thrill – riding the ropes.

Sand Animation | Kseniya Simonova

The story begins sometime before June 21,1941. Two people fell in love and were hoping to be together - forever. On June 21,1941, Adolf Hitler attacked the Soviet Union. The young man goes off to fight. The woman and their newborn son remained at home trying to survive the occupation - a time when many experienced lots of pain and suffering. In 1945, the WW2 is over and the son and mom are waiting for the father/husband to return home.

The whole story is a tribute to the people those who died or survived during the war. The loss and victory should never be forgotten.

It is not only an animation, but the music and songs compliment it to complete the story.

Thanks to T. for the interpretation.

Closing the Gap

Closing the Gap

In my last article about Driving in the Nation's Capital, I poked fun at the various things that we Washingtonians have come to love, hate, or just accept. After having the opportunity to drive in major cities worldwide, I have come to conclusion that our traffic problem is not due to congestion, road construction, or even the full moon. We are a victim of our own habits and “it’s all about me” attitude. The one maneuver that is responsible for the majority of the traffic problems is a maneuver I call “closing the gap.”

Growing up in the West, there were wide-open spaces and roads that go on forever. As a kid, we never thought about the hours spent in a car. You see, in the West, the roads go on forever and pretty much in a straight line. You could go faster, but the increase in speed didn’t really gain that much for you.  A moderate increase in speed gained you some time savings, but anything more than that increased risk and reduce fuel economy. Give this fact, most drivers were contempt to put on the cruise control and just enjoy the radio as they rolled out the miles.

The General Store

Country Store

Growing up in a small town, we only had one store. Everybody stopped at this store, since the next larger store was ten miles away. It was a small store containing only the essential items, but our store was ours and it satisfied our needs.

Every day after delivering the local newspaper, my brother and I would set off for the general store. As we came up the sidewalk, the store owner’s dog would come up to greet us. And usually somebody was sitting on the porch, drinking a Red Cream Soda, and chewing on some licorice whips.

Before we would go in, we would chat with the fellow for the local gossip. Then we would peruse the bulletin board for the local news and read all of the for sale signs. It was a ritual that was done before finally going into the store.