BAYLOR: Long ago in Slovakia
The winter's first snow has come and gone, and although we didn't get very much, it was enough to add a cheerful hazard for pedestrians in the forms of sleds, multitudes of them, some of old fashioned wood construction, others of molded plastic. More sleds than I've ever seen have appeared as if by magic from closets and storage rooms, to be pulled by their brightly outfitted young owners and steered at breakneck speed down any and all available slopes, inhabited or otherwise.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Today's Tribune column: "Long ago in Slovakia."
I enjoy keeping them guessing.
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3 comments:
Nice column, R. Mrs. Bayern has told me stories of her childhood when St. Nicholas would come around on his day accompanied by Krampus, the creature that was to give warnings and punishment to the bad children. In homage to her heritage, I've always given her traditional gifts on St. Nicholas Day and we'll celebrate it this weekend...without Krampus!
Reminds me of my youth spending St. Nicholas eve at my maternal grandparents house and we would have to put out our "Nikolaus-Stiefel".
But My grandfather was a bit of traditionalist, and woudl have to remind us that St. Nick rewards good children, but his sled driver (the name he called the driver is now lost on me), could not wait to get his demonic hands on the bad children!
Well done.
Mrs. bluegill and I did some holiday time in France once and though certainly under different circumstances, the relative nonchalance you mention was evident there, too. There was something very human about it that still provides fodder for wistful conversations.
It's nice, though, that our downtown is starting to replicate a bit of that.
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