Matt ate dinner with his Uncle Richard tonight. Uncle Richard is a really nice man, but I think one of the most interesting things about him is his wife, Ala.
Ala is Uncle Richard’s Russian bride. Well, actually, she is from the Republic of Belarus. I think that her father was somebody in the Communist party, so she has all these stories of traveling around Russia (oops, the U.S.S.R) while she was growing up. Her sister is married to the current Belarusian ambassador to the United Kingdom, so she can move in some highfalutin company.
She speaks English really well, but she still has some problems with phrases and words. Every time we get together, she always says to me, “Cristy, it’s so good to meet you”, like it’s the first time that we’ve ever met. I just always tell her that I’m glad to see her, too.
I love hearing her talk about growing up in a Communist country, traveling around Eastern Europe, etc. Matt loves to drink vodka with her. At Christmas, we were asking her questions about Belarus, winter, vodka, etc. and she told us about how the Communist party strictly controlled alcohol during her younger days. She said, “You know, a man would be scared to have an affair with his secretary in his office, you know with his office door closed. Because people might have thought they were in there drinking.”
Like Southern Baptists.
On another note, I found the coolest thing. Remember my drawing of a Dead Horse, perfect for your soul-sucking meetings?
Well, there is a place where you can send your drawings and they will bring your drawings to life. Ok, not really to life, à la Frankenstein, but at least a stuffed version.
Isn’t that the coolest thing? Get your own Dead Horse to beat yourself with! Or your co-worker. Your choice.
**9-11 I’ll never forget **
my mama always said 