I'm ĺearning so much! I look forward to the author's comments. This is definitely your strongest work and has rising to the level of....I don't want it to end.
This story started so strong, and keeps gaining strength. When I was little, we would drive by the Hungarian Freedom Park in Denver. My grandfather would tell me stories about what the Hungarian people endured. I was too young to understand, but as time went on I realized the importance of our freedoms in this country. Thank you for shedding light through this incredible work.
Most importantly, great writing! I especially love the break with pancakes from the tank, death, and destruction. And the fear of Russian pancakes replacing Hungarian pancakes.
Secondly, I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade at the time - my best friend sat next to me in class, she was a refugee from Hungary. One of the tasks we had in school was to learn more about the world and world events. She had a scrap book filled with clippings about the Russian invasion. Some of what you write reminds me of reading those clippings. And even reading your story, and thinking about those news clippings brings me to a feeling of great sadness. The same sadness I felt then. I remember this girl, partly because she was a loyal companion (and I was an outsider as an American in another country where Americans were not liked) and partly because I can still see her eyes, which were always somber. She had lost her home and everything else. Also, like me, she was a stranger in a strange land.
Thanks Phil. That’s great to know you had some personal experience. The suffering, death, and destruction were all too real and painful for hundreds of thousands of Hungarians. Unless, someone has grown up under the thumb of communism, we really don’t appreciate the freedoms we enjoy living in America. I know you get it and I appreciate your reading and your comments.
I'm ĺearning so much! I look forward to the author's comments. This is definitely your strongest work and has rising to the level of....I don't want it to end.
This story started so strong, and keeps gaining strength. When I was little, we would drive by the Hungarian Freedom Park in Denver. My grandfather would tell me stories about what the Hungarian people endured. I was too young to understand, but as time went on I realized the importance of our freedoms in this country. Thank you for shedding light through this incredible work.
Thanks Terrie. We have a lot to be thankful for. I hope this story, in some small way, reveals how tenuous our freedoms are.
Most importantly, great writing! I especially love the break with pancakes from the tank, death, and destruction. And the fear of Russian pancakes replacing Hungarian pancakes.
Secondly, I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade at the time - my best friend sat next to me in class, she was a refugee from Hungary. One of the tasks we had in school was to learn more about the world and world events. She had a scrap book filled with clippings about the Russian invasion. Some of what you write reminds me of reading those clippings. And even reading your story, and thinking about those news clippings brings me to a feeling of great sadness. The same sadness I felt then. I remember this girl, partly because she was a loyal companion (and I was an outsider as an American in another country where Americans were not liked) and partly because I can still see her eyes, which were always somber. She had lost her home and everything else. Also, like me, she was a stranger in a strange land.
Your story stirs many memories.
Thanks Phil. That’s great to know you had some personal experience. The suffering, death, and destruction were all too real and painful for hundreds of thousands of Hungarians. Unless, someone has grown up under the thumb of communism, we really don’t appreciate the freedoms we enjoy living in America. I know you get it and I appreciate your reading and your comments.