Just in case you missed this, recently a passenger bus in Perm, Russia had brake failure and crashed into 20 vehicles before coming to a stop two kilometers down the road. The drama peaked when the bus plowed through a pedestrian walkway and a man escaped certain death by millimeters. His peripheral vision must be amazing. Watch the video.
Doesn't that just make your heart pound? Good lesson for when crossing the street. I'm going keep my eyes on those drivers. Listen, I just found an update on the story: Here's an interview with the surviver, Vitaly, 23, a medical student who tells about being late for a date. Gotta love this!
Here's the near-miss in slow motion from YouTube:
And that's not all! This is the near-miss from four cameras, as reported on the all-news station out of Moscow.
I can imagine that our hero, Vitaly, bought his girlfriend flowers. Better yet, maybe she bought him some! How about you, dear blog reader? Any near misses? Ever beyond thankful for a *guardian angel?*
I have a new hero. It's Alex Griffith, 16, who was featured earlier this year as CNN Hero of the Week. Look at what this young man accomplished.
Oh, now you've got me dreaming, Alex, you got me dreamin'. . .
I'm dreaming that these little guys will be adopted, with a mother and father of their very own. Then there will be no lines, no waiting, no competition with 12 other kids to get hugs and affection.
I dream about what these children might become, given half a chance. There's a steady stream of adoptive parents who come to adopt little ones. In fact, one of the little guys in this photo is in the process of being adopted. He keeps asking, Where's my papa? Young as he is, he seems to understand that finally, it's his turn to leave the orphanage. Finally, it's his turn to leave with a mama and papa of his very own.
Meanwhile, back inside the hen house. . .
One of the caretakers designed and painted this herself at home. Just out of love for her little brood.
This little pumpkin is so cute. Look at her foot there planted between the rails. She's a poser already, anticipating a photo shoot with Vogue. How I love a good poser.
Oh and here's little Miss Personality. Look at that. This child doesn't even know me. This might have been the second time we've seen each other. But when I leave, she toddles to the door to see me off. Given a personality like that, doors will open, little chickie, doors will open.
But not everybody's so thrilled. This little Cry Guy doesn't know me either. Talk about terror - yikes! That's okay. A little crying helps develop the lungs. Or so they say. . .
A little cow asleep on the crescent moon. I love you, says the star that hangs on a doorway.
I dream of these children being inspired by the likes of Alex Griffin, to return to their roots and bring such happiness to other children. And even beyond that, to bring joy to themselves, joy that simply can not be bought.
Story Highlights (Thanks to CNN)
Alex Griffith, 16, was adopted as a sickly baby from a Russian hospital
To give back to his birthplace, he raised $60,000 to build a new playground
The project was part of Griffith's quest to become an Eagle Scout
How about you, dear blog readers. You may have met some inspiring adoptees or heroic adoptive families. Maybe you're an adoptive parent yourself. Please share some of your experiences and insight. . .
Today Lady Liberty celebrates a very big birthday. Six score and three years ago, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, Miss Liberty was inaugurated by President Grover Cleveland.
Here's the view of Lady Liberty that comes up here in Russia on my Yahoo weather forecast. I have to laugh at that. As though I need a chance to live and work in the USA.
Here's Miss Liberty again in a photo banner. In Russian it says, your country is participating in a lottery. So it's a chance to win a green card. Or something.
Say, talking about the statuesque, here's a lady even taller than Miss Liberty. This is Mat' Rodina (Mother of the Homeland) in Kiev, to commemorate victory over Fascist invasion of World War 2. The former USSR had this thing about massive statues. Look carefully and you'll see me at the base waving to you. . .and you. . . and you.
Here's Mat' Rodina from a different angle. She's located in central Kiev, overlooking the Dneiper River.
Several hundred miles east-southeast in Volgograd, Russia is this statue, also called Mat' Rodina. (See the people at the base?) This represents Mother Russia calling citizens to defend the country during WW2. As you know, the battle for Volgograd was a decisive battle of the war, when Fascist troops were finally defeated. They say that the Volga River flowed red with blood after the battle. But that's where Hitler was turned back.
Here she is from another angle. Visit this statue and the museum nearby and majestic music playing, all very stirring. But hey, let us not digress. These two Motherland statues may be taller than Miss Liberty, but whose birthday is it, anyway?
Now showing at a Rostov movie theater - Lady Liberty decorated with spaghetti and meat balls. She doesn't appear to be too thrilled. Not that we would blame her. . .
On October 18th, Alaska celebrated the date on which the state officially became property of the United States in 1867. The day is known, quite fittingly, as Alaska Day.
Have you been to Alaska? Oh. . . you lucky globetrotter, you! Myself, I'm just dreaming of the day. . . (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Davis Kimball. Click image to enlarge.)
Alaska was once owned by Russia, of course. The two are separated by only 55 miles at Bering Strait. The map above would indicate that the Aleutians, that group of volcanic islands that strings west into the Pacific, are divided between the U.S. and Russia. But a big atlas here and other sources seem to indicate otherwise. Anybody have the definitive answer on that? Well, not to worry. . .
What majestic scenery, eh? What a place to explore, see exotic animals, mountains and enjoy the fresh air. What a place for a boy to build a seaworthy vessel. (Photo courtesy J.D.Kimbell)
Here's a copy of the canceled check, made out for $7.2 million or approximately 2 cents an acre. In today's dollars, that would be around $100 million. Or so they say. . .
The purchase of Alaska was originally dubbed Seward's Folly with a nod to William Seward, U.S. Secretary of State, second from left. Above is the treaty signing in 1867. In recent years, we've come to realize how absolutely wise was that purchase. Alaska finally was admitted as a state in 1959, nearly a century later.
Yes, the U.S. and Russia are closer than one might imagine, as noted in the booklet above, developed by the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to celebrate 200 years of diplomatic ties with Russia.
It started with Thomas Jefferson and Tsar Alexander I who corresponded and exchanged books.
In the letter above, dated June 15, 1804, Thomas Jefferson addressed the tsar as "Great and good friend. . . " Eventually John Quincy Adams, pictured, became the first U.S. Minister to Russia in 1807. He lived and worked in St Petersburg from 1814 through 1819. Later, when he became president, Adams used his connection with Russia to establish a strong trading relationship.
In the letter above, from Tsar Alexander I to President Jefferson, I got a little puzzled trying to find even one familiar Russian word. Closer examination with a magnifying glass shows that it's written in French. Oui.
US and Russia: Closer than we think. Sometimes the waters are rough but always there are magnificent opportunities to learn and grow.
What a rich cultural heritage belongs to Alaska. What adventures await in the final frontier! But trust me when I say that we can be so very thankful that visiting Alaska does not require getting a visa to Russia. Thank you, Mr William Seward! (Photo courtesy J.D.Kimbell)
How about you, dear blog reader. Have you visited the land of the midnight sun? Seen a polar bear? Sailed across the tundra behind a team of huskies? Please share your special memories of Alaska! Have to admit that I haven't even made it past page 50 in James Michener's, Alaska. But I'm betting that you have!
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Oh and on a silly note, here's A Song for Sarah, written by Vlad and friend Boris: A Russian response to Mrs Palin.
Anybody else partial to McDonald's? It's a great place to meet people. And besides that, their country-fried potatoes with cheese sauce on the side are simply yummy. Say, does your McDonald's have Caesar Wraps? Well, welcome to Russia!
In Russian, it's just called Caesar Roll. (Click image to enlarge.) It's breaded chicken with salad ingredients and dressing. Pretty good, actually. Oh, and about that green neon sign on the right. As you see, it says РИС, pronounced reese. It's the Russian word for rice and that's a little suchi restaurant. Not that I have an intention.ever.of trying that any time soon. But we digress. . .
Back to our Mickey D's billboard here, let's zoom on in. The black word in the upper left says Caesar. In Russian, it's pronounced very close to the English. But the first letter represents a sound that we don't have in English. *Ц* is pronounced ts which is so close to the English s sound to my ear. But I'm often corrected to get the t sound in there too. The Russian ear can really hear the difference. And this is the land of the Russian ear, after all.
The next consonant is *З* which is like the English letter z. And then the last major letter, the *р* makes the r sound. The little squiggle after that, much like a small b is the soft sign. And we won't even start talking about the soft sign, now will we? Nyet! ;)
Hey, while we're here in the neighborhood, just beyond this Caesar Roll sign is a major supermarket. This is where I find exotic stuff such as peanut butter and celery. Say, how about a stroll in the freezer section. Because there in the freezer section we will find a classic Russian fast food, pelmeni!
These are little dough dumplings that need only to be boiled in water. A serving might be 8 to 10 of these. Pelmeni can be filled with ground beef or potatoes or cabbage. And then there are sweet ones filled with cherries and such. As I recall, the sweet ones are called vareniki. (Now please don't make me look that up. I'm already past my look-it-up quota for the day.)
Looking down the aisle. The whole array of dumplings. Your mouth watering yet? These little pelmeni can be ho-hum. But they're easily jazzed up. Hold on, I recall a photo of jazzed up pelmeni here somewhere on this very computer. . .
Ah yes, here we go. . .
Here's a bowl of your basic ho-hum pelmeni. Usually served with a dollop of sour cream and a spring of parsley. And that works. Those garnishes - sour cream and greens - are nearly requisite here in Russia. So these are the bare bones pelmeni. But hold on, there's more. . .
Here we go. Looks like red peppers, celery and. . . oh yes. My personal chef remembered mayo - which will do in the absence of sour cream - and something green. Oh yeah!
You know, much as I like the McDonald's Caesar roll and country-style fries and meeting new people there, I can be happy as a clam with a quiet dinner of pelmeni while watching the all-news channel out of Moscow.
How about you dear blog reader? McDonald's in Russia? Pelmeni - ever make it yourself? How 'bout Russian garnishes? Want to hear about your experiences!
