I spent two hours this morning with Vova. He called Sveta last night and told her that his family had misplaced his nitro spray when they visited before the New Year. He had very old pills of nitro and they were not doing the job. I had given him a nitro spray a few months back, but it seems to be gone. I have extra, for nitro is my life saver and this morning I grabbed an extra I keep, some food (kielbasa, salo, chicken and such) and two packs of cigarettes that I store aside for Vova. He is out of cigarettes and that is most likely part of his issues…
So with a care package in hand, I staggered up the hill through what had to be 10 foot drifts. I had to crawl and scoot myself over much of the way and finally made it to the top of the hill. No snowshoes or skies is rough. skis and snowshoes just float on top. Vova was asleep, but I made him get up. I had to make sure he was okay…
He used the spay immediately and in about 15 minutes he started to come to life. I then gave him everything else after he was doing good. We checked his blood pressure and his sugar levels and everything was messed up and high. He saw the cigarettes and I thought he would cry, he hugged me ten times and then got down to business of sending me home with supplies of his own, that he has extra of. He had a sack already to go before I got there…
cabbage
I was given a cabbage and that is a part of this story that I will tell more of…
There is a woman who loves Vova very much; she would do anything for him and as in most cases of life, Vova likes her, but love is not the issue with him. Vova loves the summer fling he had with the rich girl…
Last night Boza and I were woke up with Boza starting to bark. We looked out and saw a person walking up the hill on skis. Moon is full and the sky is clear so seeing was no issue…
I thought, “Oh, someone to drink with Vova! Crazy person!” Drunks feel no cold…
This morning I find out that the person was the girl from Marjara (spelled like it sounds) and she had brought bread, cabbage and special jams to Vova. All from her garden or stock. She did not have access to something like nitro (no pharmacy in her village) and most people do not keep enough for themselves, much less extra…
She came and went and did not stay all night and the issue here is that when she walked several kilometers it was -27 Celsius or -16.6 Fahrenheit. She tried to help Vova, for he was calling out for help and she did help him. He was fed and tucked away for the night, warm and safe…
Then it struck me about how this woman came all the way from a village across the river and many kilometers away. It seems that the term love is not strong enough in this case and then I thought about many Russians I know and they seem to all be willing to go that extra mile for friends…
I wish Vova could feel about this girl, the same as she does about him…
* * * * * * * * * *
Vova is doing good and Boza and I ate a good meal, now we are going to stay warm. It is still -24 and brutally windy and fridged. Smart animals stay hidden and warm. Boza and I are going to be smart animals today. Tonight will be colder, Vova says that it will be -33 and get ready. He has a thermometer that reads down to -50 C. and at the time I was there, it was almost -30 then…
* * * * * * * * * *
I got a big cabbage, more potatoes, small thing of jam and two loaves of bread to take home. So this woman carried food for both Vova and I to be exact. I realized that Vova had this food in another sack waiting to get it to me…
Want to know something? (As a tear runs down my face!)
I have a sweetie who would walk through all this snow for me and back. I realize that and while I would do the same for her, I have never had anyone care about me that much before. I also have a friend who cares if I live or die. In fact several friends now and that is something, I never had in America…
I am a rich man with friends and loved ones in Russia!
WtR