It's shaping up like a great time to visit Kiev.

[GregfromGa]

Tickets booked
Apartment booked
Clothes packed
A doll baby that's speaks better English than me to meet me there on Tuesday.
We've done the skype business for about 2 months. That means absolutely nothing I know but it's a start. Am I an idiot? probably   Did I jump the gun? Maybe  What about the revolution? Hey it happens but I wish they would've held off until I returned. My normal apartment that I've stayed in since 2001 overlooks Maidan. I lost the ole gals number so I'm actually up the street about 150 yards. My plan is to eat healthy and drink some Guinness and enjoy myself. It's been a long 3 and a half years. Am I as excited as the first time? probably more this go around because I have it all figured out now. I have all the answers in my arsenal. I am focking James Bond, Jason Bourne and Gator all rolled into one. King Kong aint got shiat on me. This trip will hopefully set the stage for the future with this lady. She is pretty and she is funny and she is so much smarter than me I presume but I do make her laugh and I did run 10KM today so I'm getting it back. I have very few regrets about my prior marriage. I have 2 great kids that own me. Of course there are some things I would do differently but overall I certainly changed the least in our marriage. I'm not going to do a lot of trip reporting here but I'll be happy talk through pm if anyone is remotely interested.

[fathertime]

Well Greg,  If you are part Gator, I'm sure you will do alright!


I don't see anything idiotic about going to meet a woman if you have been skyping regularly for a couple months...you gotta start somewhere. 


Hey I like reading the stories so if you write a private trip report I'd like to read about what went down!


Fathertime!   

[cc3]

Have great trip, Greg!

[CDW]

lol

Have a great trip and go break a leg

[calmissile]

Have fun, but be careful.

My wife lives about 1/2 mile from Maiden and can hear the flash-bang grenades, fireworks,etc from her balcony.   When she went to the courthouse a few days ago to pick up a document, while parked, someone broke off both outside mirrors on her car.

We visited Maiden a few weeks ago during the daytime and found the protesters peaceful and friendly, but I would not want to be at Maiden at night, nor during a riot, even during the day.

When I suggested that she leave the car at home now and take taxis, she informed me that the taxis have jacked up taxi fares to unreal prices.  You might find this to be true also.   We were unable to get a taxi to take us from Maiden when we were there.   We had to walk about a 1/2 mile to find one.

Here are some live internet feeds I have been watching daily.  You might want to bookmark them as they are only available on the internet and government TV isn't exactly objective in their reporting.   


Spilno.tv: http://spilno.tv/
Espresso TV on Independence Square:
Web camera on Maidan:
Local TV Streaming   http://www.5.ua/live

Good Luck!

[calmissile]

Of the many internet feeds listed above, this one has multiple feeds and often has English speaking journalists on some channels.   Quite interesting to listen and view reports that seem spontaneous.

http://spilno.tv/

[calmissile]

Greg, I think you said you will be arriving in Kiev today.
Let us know your observations.

Wifey says it is colder than a well diggers butt.     

[Brillynt]

Good luck in Kyiv Greg.

I just arrived in Donetsk yesterday and damn it is cold.

[GregfromGa]

Arrived yesterday, cold and windy. I was expecting sun and warm weather, maybe even some tanning at Hydropark. I'm about to walk to Maidan to check it out. Love the no smoking in all the pubs here now. It is great. The airport was a breeze. So much nicer than in 2001, so much development the past 10 years. It's been 4 since I was here last. Some of the same people I met 11 years ago are still working here. I miss my old friends but it's time to make new ones.

[calmissile]

Greg,
Glad to hear you made it safely to Kyiv.
A bit of a  warning to you, especially if you are walking alone.  Inside the barricades at Maiden, you will find people friendly.  The dangers you will face are on the borders of Maiden and within about a mile of the center.

Last night 23 cars were burned out on the outskirts.  My wife parked her car at the courthouse when she went there to pick up some documents.  When she returned, thugs had broken off both outside mirrors on her car.  She was then stopped at a roadblock near her apartment and fined for the broken mirrors as well as a shakedown and bribe to avoid towing the car.  She was accused of being a protester by the police because of the broken mirrors and had to pay a fine.

A day or two later, she was parked at government building to deliver some documents and when she returned to the parking lot, her car was missing.  The police apparently have an order to all tow trucks to tow any vehicle in the area or outskirts of Maiden.  She had to bribe the tow truck company to retrieve her car before it went into police impound and pay a large fine.

All of this is due to the government and police trying to intimidate anyone that they suspect has any connection to the protests.  The protesters are not the problem.  We were never hassled by anyone when we strolled through Maiden.  The problem are the police and hired thugs that are paid to create havoc among the protesters.

I would not walk alone or risk being abducted by either the police or the thugs infiltrating the area around Maiden.  Just a word of warning.

BTW, my wife is between a rock and a hard place about the car.  The dealership has the mirrors in stock, but is located at/near Maiden and she cannot get the car to them to have the mirrors replaced.  In the mean time, she had to rent a garage near her apartment and hide the car there for now.  Otherwise it would likely be towed away again.  She and her neighbors are hunkered down at the apartment and will not leave unless necessary.

Keep us informed.  Stay safe, and don't put yourself in a position of getting "picked off" on the outskirts of the center.

[Gator]

Doug,


This is very stressful for your wife and you of course.


I recall when the anti-Shah protests started in Iran.  Walking around I saw some evidence but nothing disconcerting.  The UN had better insights, and were cautious.  Nevertheless, when protesters blew up a foreign bank not very far from my flat, I got on a plane with two suitcases.    My Dutch embassy friends stayed, and left a few months later without any suitcases, leaving behind family heirlooms, etc.  I write this to say that things can happen fast, and can go against the government in place.

[Gator]

Greg,

It should be a very interesting week.  Maybe you should not do any running.   

Wishing you the best!

[BillyB]

She was then stopped at a roadblock near her apartment and fined for the broken mirrors as well as a shakedown and bribe to avoid towing the car.  She was accused of being a protester by the police because of the broken mirrors and had to pay a fine.

Amazing the cops would do that to your wife and other citizens. They're idiots adding fuel to the fire. Surely they understand they have an image problem with the public and that in the event of war, their lives will be some of the first to end.

[tfcrew]

[calmissile]

Wifey sent a message on Skype about this today but I though it must have been a mistranslation.....guess not!

http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/automaidan-leader-bulatov-found-alive-after-eight-days-of-disappearance-335912.html

[calmissile]

http://www.kyivpost.com/content/business/ukrainian-interbank-market-breaks-record-as-hryvnia-devalues-335903.html

[GregfromGa]

Maidan is just crazy. People sleeping in tents, burning things, looks like a battle zone. These are some tough people is all I can say.

[GregfromGa]

Last day today. Early flight out. Watched the Super Bowl at Obriens with about 50 other people, maybe more, maybe 2 other Americans. I remember years ago during a late Super Bowl there were only myself, ex and my got to be good friend Glen Williard (RIP) in the top of Obriens. The trip was a relative success. The lady is intelligent, pretty and funny. She did a great job of looking out for me and didn't try and smother me. The trip was perfect .She does a good job of keeping me laughing and I her or either she is faking it. Her friends have made me feel very welcome the few times I have been to their flat. It snowed a little the first night I was here but the weather has been perfect. I didn't get around Maidan very much. If you've seen 1 tire burn, well you've seen them all.

[Gator]

Greg,

Will there be a second trip?

[GregfromGa]

Greg,

Will there be a second trip?

   

I sink so Gator. It went very well to say the least. My little experience I have had in the past helped me out more than I expected. Kind of like a snake handler.

[Gator]

   
My little experience I have had in the past helped me out more than I expected. Kind of like a snake handler.

 

I did not know Pentecostal church revivals ever made it to south Georgia.

http://www.religionnews.com/2014/01/08/snake-salvation-pastor-wont-charged-violating-tenn-law/

 

[Hammer2722]

I did not know Pentecostal church revivals ever made it to south Georgia.

http://www.religionnews.com/2014/01/08/snake-salvation-pastor-wont-charged-violating-tenn-law/

 

I grew up in the Pentecostal Church. My dad was a pastor for over 50 years. I don't ever remember seeing any snakes at any of the services. Maybe I slept through those?

[Faux Pas]

I grew up in the Pentecostal Church. My dad was a pastor for over 50 years. I don't ever remember seeing any snakes at any of the services. Maybe I slept through those?

Yeah I did too. I had several preachers in my family including my father, grandfather and in South Georgia even. None of them would handle a snake. I don't know of any church outside of Appalachia where they will handle snakes and even there it is not the norm.

[Gator]

Hammer and Faux Pas,

No offense intended from a Southern Baptist.

Based on membership size, Pentecostal Christianity is one of the largest religions in America.  Unlike most other large religious groups in America, it does not have a central authority.  It has hundreds of independent denominations, a small number of which use snake handling as a religious ritual.  The mainstream Pentecostal followers do not handle snakes.

Here is a video clip showing a couple of such services, featuring a very large Timber Rattlesnake (beautiful animal).  The preacher shows the  stub and desiccated finger he lost when bit by a timber rattler during a service.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/pentecostal-pastors-argue-snake-handling-religious/story?id=20971576

[Faux Pas]

Hammer and Faux Pas,

No offense intended from a Southern Baptist.

Based on membership size, Pentecostal Christianity is one of the largest religions in America.  Unlike most other large religious groups in America, it does not have a central authority.  It has hundreds of independent denominations, a small number of which use snake handling as a religious ritual.  The mainstream Pentecostal followers do not handle snakes.

Here is a video clip showing a couple of such services, featuring a very large Timber Rattlesnake (beautiful animal).  The preacher shows the  stub and desiccated finger he lost when bit by a timber rattler during a service.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/pentecostal-pastors-argue-snake-handling-religious/story?id=20971576

None taken.  There is much ignorance on the subject to those uninformed and I'll be the first to admit it is quite bizarre, quite dangerous and quite stupid.

My post was for informational purpose. Snake handling during services is much more of a regional practice than anything else. My father's particular church was the one that was most associated with the practice but, I can vouch that they thought it was just as bizarre as anyone else did/does. There are a number of different churches in Appalachia that handle snakes. Most of those are independent churches. A few of them also had a world wide church affiliation. FWIW