Well done, very curious to see where this is all going to go. The Young Pioneers Camp totally reminds me of summer camps in the United States. Probably the closest is this thing called 4-H Camp. 4-H is this rural network of kids clubs. There was a little light indoctrination into Americanism and Christianity, maybe not as indoctrinative as the Young Pioneers Club camps,, but similar idea I think.
Thanks for everything, Cary, much appreciated! There was indoctrination (if I remember correctly, they had a class of "Political something" once a week), but not as much or as heavy as one could think. The main goal was to offer the kids – especially those coming from up North and the Siberian Far East – a free holiday in the sun, with a balanced, nutritious, and tasty diet, the possibility of swimming and playing, learning new skills, meeting other kids from all over the USSR and the world. There were us from Italy, then from Cuba, Mongolia, France, Germany. The place I'd been invited to was beautiful, on the Black Sea shores, not far from the Crimea, with golden sand beaches and pine groves.
Sounds pretty cool. 4-H, and its summer camps, were kind of the same. It was organized by county (basically, state subdivisions) but the camps often spanned counties, so you got to meet nearby-ish kids you otherwise wouldn’t have at least. The clubs were to give kids stuff to do, projects, during summer break that were then show off at the county fair at the end of summer. They could be nearly anything, from raising livestock, to sewing, to building model rockets.
The space theme was quite big for the Pioneers too! Americans and Russians have a huge love of space in common, they still collaborate on some of those projects, despite everything else. We should celebrate this.
Twas the day and age! Late 70s, early 80s, coming off Apollo, start of the Space Shuttle. Voyager, Viking. Something space-related in almost every issue of Nat Geo!
I miss those days when it was so much more about exploration and discovery. The exploration continues of course, but a certain innocence has been lost. Its and mine, I suppose!
And agreed: that fact that the US and Russia can still work together is heartening.
"She kept staring at me, and the red tip of her cigarette, glowing amidst its smoke and the steaming glasses of tea, made her look like a beautiful, hungry monoculous dragon." Nice! Another fun episode, written in such a flowing style!
This story surprised me a little, Portia, because I wasn't really aware of how well you can write. I simply read down a little and I came to this fine paragraph:
"She appeared, swishing in a long, peacock blue silk velvet robe, a tall, platinum blonde woman in her early 40's, whose cheekbones had more than a hint of Mongolian warrior to them, a vision of such tremendous beauty that put me in a state of shock and awe. Well, quite."
And after that War and Peace sprang into my mind, and that whole world you were already evoking, even you mentioned it further down. I'll tune in next week for Part 4.2!
I liked it at the time, but it did get old very badly, now I can't watch it anymore. Kim Cattrall though, is a class act and subtly played a totally improbable character.
Agreed. In this first-worldy show the only thing that has aged well is Cattrall. But Portia, 'totally improbable'? I have this girlfriend who used to have lovers that came with a shelf life of one month. As they say, she's been around. And she did not shy away from talking about her romances either. Remember when Samantha told her friends that 'my guy's sperm tastes funny'? Well, I knew the physiology of my friend's conquests pretty well too. She has since mommed up with two kids, so nowadays our conversation is less saucy, but if one of us brings up her wild days we'll still share a good laugh.
Your friend sounds like great fun to be around, I'm jealous of her lack of inhibitions. Samantha was apparently written like she could be a promiscuous gay man, her behavior wasn't what you call typically feminine.
Well done, very curious to see where this is all going to go. The Young Pioneers Camp totally reminds me of summer camps in the United States. Probably the closest is this thing called 4-H Camp. 4-H is this rural network of kids clubs. There was a little light indoctrination into Americanism and Christianity, maybe not as indoctrinative as the Young Pioneers Club camps,, but similar idea I think.
Thanks for everything, Cary, much appreciated! There was indoctrination (if I remember correctly, they had a class of "Political something" once a week), but not as much or as heavy as one could think. The main goal was to offer the kids – especially those coming from up North and the Siberian Far East – a free holiday in the sun, with a balanced, nutritious, and tasty diet, the possibility of swimming and playing, learning new skills, meeting other kids from all over the USSR and the world. There were us from Italy, then from Cuba, Mongolia, France, Germany. The place I'd been invited to was beautiful, on the Black Sea shores, not far from the Crimea, with golden sand beaches and pine groves.
Sounds pretty cool. 4-H, and its summer camps, were kind of the same. It was organized by county (basically, state subdivisions) but the camps often spanned counties, so you got to meet nearby-ish kids you otherwise wouldn’t have at least. The clubs were to give kids stuff to do, projects, during summer break that were then show off at the county fair at the end of summer. They could be nearly anything, from raising livestock, to sewing, to building model rockets.
The space theme was quite big for the Pioneers too! Americans and Russians have a huge love of space in common, they still collaborate on some of those projects, despite everything else. We should celebrate this.
Twas the day and age! Late 70s, early 80s, coming off Apollo, start of the Space Shuttle. Voyager, Viking. Something space-related in almost every issue of Nat Geo!
I miss those days when it was so much more about exploration and discovery. The exploration continues of course, but a certain innocence has been lost. Its and mine, I suppose!
And agreed: that fact that the US and Russia can still work together is heartening.
I’m an Ekaterina devotee.
Love this story, Portia.
Thanks, Nicolas, I'm so flattered!
Ekaterina Lebedev is obviously a diva and a legend. Love her!
Thanks, David! She definitely is.
This story is taking a good shape, Portia. I love the multiple layers and cultural references.
Grazie di tutto, Gianni, anche per il restack! I hope I'll be able to keep momentum. 🤞🏻
"She kept staring at me, and the red tip of her cigarette, glowing amidst its smoke and the steaming glasses of tea, made her look like a beautiful, hungry monoculous dragon." Nice! Another fun episode, written in such a flowing style!
Thanks, Jeffrey! "Flowing style" – I'm flattered. And many thanks for the restack.:-D
Well done, Portia! Looking forward to the next part. What a wonderful way to spend a rainy afternoon...
And many thanks for the restack!
Thanks, Tim! Gather your energies in these rainy afternoons, you're gonna need them for your next big project.
This story surprised me a little, Portia, because I wasn't really aware of how well you can write. I simply read down a little and I came to this fine paragraph:
"She appeared, swishing in a long, peacock blue silk velvet robe, a tall, platinum blonde woman in her early 40's, whose cheekbones had more than a hint of Mongolian warrior to them, a vision of such tremendous beauty that put me in a state of shock and awe. Well, quite."
And after that War and Peace sprang into my mind, and that whole world you were already evoking, even you mentioned it further down. I'll tune in next week for Part 4.2!
Thanks Martin, that's so kind of you! I hope you'll like the second part as well.
really enjoyed it! Thank you, Portia!
Thank you, dear Chen!
And many thanks for the restack!!!
❤️Thank you for writing.
PS I never watched "Sex and the City", you know?
I liked it at the time, but it did get old very badly, now I can't watch it anymore. Kim Cattrall though, is a class act and subtly played a totally improbable character.
Agreed. In this first-worldy show the only thing that has aged well is Cattrall. But Portia, 'totally improbable'? I have this girlfriend who used to have lovers that came with a shelf life of one month. As they say, she's been around. And she did not shy away from talking about her romances either. Remember when Samantha told her friends that 'my guy's sperm tastes funny'? Well, I knew the physiology of my friend's conquests pretty well too. She has since mommed up with two kids, so nowadays our conversation is less saucy, but if one of us brings up her wild days we'll still share a good laugh.
Your friend sounds like great fun to be around, I'm jealous of her lack of inhibitions. Samantha was apparently written like she could be a promiscuous gay man, her behavior wasn't what you call typically feminine.
Thanks for your comment, darling.