Stories of Life in Eastern Europe

[mendeleyev]

Not everyone can be a Cossack.




We attended an outdoor show in Zaporozhia by descendants of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, one of the fiercest of the Cossack groups. These Cossacks were primarily serfs, many fleeing from oppression from various parts of Eastern Europe.






The Zaporozhian Cossacks were all males, fierce fighters, and lived by a parliamentary system of self-rule. They usually lived outside of towns and villages and protected Ukraine from invaders such as the Poles and Vikings.


We watched, enthralled by the gallantry of their handling of horses, swords, spears, and fire.





It was so exciting that I decided to become a Cossack right there on the spot! I turned to the Angel Princess, and the conversation went something like this:




Mendeleyev: This is exciting! I want to be a Cossack when I grow up, too.




Angel Princess: Really?! That is quite a surprise.




Mendeleyev: Just think, I can fight off the invading Vikings. (If memory serves me correctly, the Vikings haven't had a winning season in decades. This should be a piece of cake and I will look like a hero.)




Angel Princess: Do you think that you could handle all that? There would be a great deal of skill required.




Mendeleyev: I rode horses as a teenager. I don't own a sword, but surely I could borrow one to practice. And, a spear. Where can I buy a good spear? Maybe a used spear to get started, in good condition of course.




Angel Princess: Do you understand that real Cossacks were all men, and each submitted to a procedure that would render them celibate all their lives so that they could dedicate their efforts to defending Ukraine?




Mendeleyev: Sure, no prob....wait.....ah, did you just say "celebrate?"




Angel Princess: No, I said something very different.




Mendeleyev: Oh. Ahem... (long silence)




Angel Princess: You can volunteer immediately after the show today, if you wish.




Mendeleyev: I think that I want to be a journalist when I grow up. Write stories, make photos, speak on Radio and TV.




Angel Princess: (smiling broadly) Wise decision.

[jone]

Way to go, Taras Bulba!

[BdHvA]

Way to go, Taras Bulba!

In the for what it is worth Taras Bulba was a N. Gogol novel later made into music by L. Janáček.