|
|
Grishino Stories
 |
A Holiday Everyday!
Once when we
were living our quiet winter life in Grishino, and everything was fine…
and Monday couldn’t be distinguished from Wednesday or any other day… only
Sergei, as an Orthodox Christian, began to take note of Sundays and stopped
working on this sacred day. Some of us liked it, and also started to honour
this day, and therefore, we began to heat our sauna on Saturdays, and in
such way we lived.
But a misfortune happened, and Sergei got toothache. It was on Wednesday
11th December, and he rang to the dentist to make an appointment for the
next day, in the nearest village Vajeeny. The dentist replied:
- We don’t work tomorrow. Nobody does – it’s a public holiday!
- Which holiday will it be? Asked Sergei, naively.
- Don’t you know? Asked the surprised dentist. ‘Don’t you have this holiday
where you are?’
- We don’t, replied Sergei.
A few days later, all of us in Grishino got to know that it had been a holiday
to celebrate ‘The Day of Constitution’
|
 |
Only I am…
OnceOleg and Luda
were having a cup of tea. Luda asked Oleg:
- Are your Grandma and Grandpa Ukrainians?
- Ukrainians, replied Oleg.
- And your Mum and Dad?
- And my Mum and Dad are Ukrainians, and my sister is Ukrainian. Only I
am Russian.
|
 |
A Non-Aggression Pact
One summer there
were a lot of mosquitoes, and they really got to us. Only Boris was sitting
and smiling.
- Mosquitoes don’t bite me. I have made a non-aggression pact with them.
I don’t harm them, and they don’t harm me.
We were very surprised at this, but Boris was an extraordinary man, and
was famous for his oddities. Some time went by, and we went to Boris’s house,
and what we could see and hear coming from there, was Boris dealing mercilessly
with the mosquitoes.
- What about your non-aggression pact?! - we asked with surprise.
- They broke it first! - answered Boris
|
 |
The Light Centre
There was a time
when we called ourselves ‘The International Light Centre’ (now we are simply
called Ecovillage). Diane from America visited us at that time. One night
she couldn’t sleep. She looked out of the window, and saw on the opposite
side of the river, a shining light above Vasudeva’s house.
In the morning she asked Vasudeva:
- What mystical light was illuminating your house last night?
- Oh, that was the only street lamp in the village, and the switch is in
my house. That’s why we call it the International Light Centre, Vasudeva
laughingly said.
This story has another part to it. Some of our members built houses where
there are no electric lights, and during the long winter nights they would
come to the ‘Light Centre’ to get some light to read by, write letters,
listen to music, and to recharge batteries!
|
 |
A Bird on a Wire
Once Shura asked
Oleg:
- I have seen a sort of bird. It had a big belly and a long beak. Do you
know how it is called?
- It is a big-bellied long-beak, Oleg replied seriously.
- Is it really called that? Asked the bewildered Shura.
- I don’t know, but it matches the description!
|
 |
Retreat
A magical winter
came to Grishino. The country houses that had been full in summer, became
empty, and stood sunken into the snow, reminding one of peculiarly-shaped
snowdrifts. The silence was ringing in our ears. In the big community house,
life had quietened down too. The people who lived there were going away
to different places. Luda who lived in this house, decided to use this opportunity,
to arrange a retreat for herself - solitude in silence without any human
contact.
But as soon as Luda merged into the silent solitude in her ‘cell’ on the
ground floor, the house which had been empty up to that point, began to
become alive. Oleg and Nastya had postponed their visit to Oleg’s parents,
and had decided to stay; and unexpectedly as always, our friend, Ramil,
had arrived intending to stay in the same house in the room upstairs. For
this reason, Vasudeva and Marina had come to arrange a special meal and
to watch a video altogether. After which Boris arrived. He couldn’t cope
on his own. A bit later, there was a loud knock at the door, and heavy footsteps
on the staircase. We cringed and our hearts became full of compassion for
Luda. The door opened noisily, and with a thunder-like voice, Sergei entered
saying:
- Where do you keep the brush for cleaning off snow?
He had more than likely been attracted by the light, and the delicious salad.
When we had quietly eaten it, and almost in silence, had watched the film,
and were sitting and drinking tea, the door in the porch squeaked. We all
became alert, listening. TWO pairs of feet were climbing the stairs. One
pair where in soft, felt boots, and the other in heavy, studded boots. It
was Andrey and Nadia, who had come to find out whether we were going tomorrow
to a nearby town. And they stayed to have some tea with us. The whole community
had gathered together. There was not a soul in the whole village, and when
the front door banged once more, everyone froze in bewilderment, and looked
at each other. In each other’s eyes, everyone could read the same question:
‘WHO COULD THIS BE?’ The steps of the staircase squeaked slowly. Everyone
was mesmerized, staring at the door. The door hesitatingly opened, and in
through the narrow gap between the door and the doorframe, squeezed an old
rabbit fur hat and the red nose of our slightly drunk neighbour, Kolya:
- Ah! This is where you all are! Could you lend me some money as it is a
festival.
From the window were coming the sounds of a snowstorm and the howls of a
dog that had accompanied Kolya. From the first floor came the shouting of
the community members. The swing was squeaking, and little Nastya was happily
singing away. Through the small window of the ground floor could be seen
flickering candlelight and the impenetrable silhouette of Luda sitting in
the Lotus position. The first day of her retreat was coming to its end
|
 |
Got Lost
One winter’s eve,
Vasudeva and Marina were reading in the cosy warmth of their home. Suddenly
a rumble shattered the ringing silence.
- What is it? - asked Vasudeva.
- It could be an aeroplane – suggested Marina.
Vasudeva jumped into his felt boots and flew out to have a look. There cutting
through the starry sky was really flying a plane, leaving behind, illuminated
in the moonlight, it’s white trail.
- How on earth did a plane come here? – wondered Vasudeva as he went back
into his house.
- Perhaps it got lost – explained Marina |
| Updated::
09.08.2008 12:07
|
|
|
|
Grishino 
narod.ru 
