Nervous as a dyspeptic Canary, I stumbled past the Checkpoint
at the airport, "Imperial Maudit" written on every inch of my
tiny frame. Luckily the shamed look pleased them. A pat on the
back and a consoling smile to my partner blessed our passage.
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Odessa is a beautiful city. Ironic I took my bride to a mail order bride
marketing center. The people are kind without a dissimulating air. So
many speak English as well as our "Leaders"(looking at you Mama Grizzlies).
It was fun approaching the Potemkin Stairs and making a joke with an
obliging mother and her baby in a carriage. People all around
laughed at the "crazy Canadian". They couldn't believe an American would
do a fake reenactment of an iconic scene from a classic Russian film.
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The Cathedrals were lovely as Faberge Eggs. Powder blue domes outdid
the cold azure of the skies, an architectural sign of the tenderness of Orthodox
Faith there. It is grandiose. Nevermind the heroin users huddling in the parks
and alleyways.
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Besides the rites of Venus, my finest memory was discussing the noxious
influence of NATO on Ukrainian policy with an elderly man. It has created
needless strife with a neighbor and hardships for the people. The Russians
are far from perfect, but they are far more trustworthy and considerate
than NATO. NATO's expansion is a vestige of Cold War Era policy. We
agreed and then discussed less portentous matters. A lively discussion
on literature, Olesha, Mandelstam etc...and History. I'll remember him......
and the Opera and a certain Statue of a French nobleman. It was a small
piece of Paris on the Black Sea.
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QUE?
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