--Previous Message--
: Dear Charlie,
:
: You are right. We do all have stories. I
: have a friend who always says that her
: family is boring; has no stories. I don't
: believe any family can be boring. It's just
: a matter of how much gets passed down; how
: much is talked about.
:
: In our family, holding claim to our past has
: been nothing short of an up-hill battle. So
: much fear of more violence from Gadje that
: we were trying to pass for what we weren't
: for generations. Saying things to outsiders
: like, "Of course, all Czechs have
: really dark skin. And, since we're
: full-blood Czech, that's why we're
: brown-skinned and not
: Caucasian-looking." Most people in
: America don't even know where the Czech
: Republic is, so we could get away with
: little "white"--no pun
: intended--lies like that.
:
: As is now, half the family admits to being
: Roma. The other half is still too scared.
: Too many questions like, "What happened
: to our family in the Czech Republic that
: disappeared in WWII?" Or what happened
: to such-and-such relative here in America,
: whose death/ murder (?) can't be discussed?
: Et cetera. Et cetera. Always more
: violence.
:
: Regardless, I think the stories are good to
: get out there. Especially since so many in
: my generation are losing knowledge of some
: of the old ways. I try writing down stuff
: that I know got carried over from the Old
: Country--old family customs, like tying
: ribbons to trees when you make wishes or
: putting a doll on the roof if you want to
: have a baby. Teaching four-year-olds how to
: make bricks because, aside from being
: metalworkers, thats what we teach our
: children in every generation, myself
: included. Stuff like that which my family
: still routinely does. I think, if it
: doesn't get recorded now, in 50 years, a lot
: of old information will very regrettably be
: lost.
:
: What you wrote about your first toys
: reminded me of my father. The only toy he
: had when he was a little boy was a teddy
: bear someone threw away onto the street in
: Chicago. He kept it until I was born, then
: gave it to me. To remind me of our past, in
: part. He got me other toys, but it was a
: point about where we come from--the poverty.
:
: I always tease that, with every generation
: in America, my family gets richer. My
: grandfather, (first generation,) had nothing
: but his mother's arms. My father's cradle
: was a cardboard box and mine was a dresser
: drawer. When my husband and I have a baby,
: we're going to carve that family history
: onto the underside of the cradleboard.
:
: To have lived through deprivation is a
: luxury, I think. In hunger, you learn to
: appreciate food. In cold, you learn to
: appreciate the gift of an open fire. In
: living off the land, you learn to appreciate
: your inner-instincts of self-preservation.
: I wasn't four before I knew how to scrounge
: in the woods for food and this is a gift
: that I am very grateful to my parents for.
:
: One of the best things about our people, I
: think, is our stubborn ability to endure.
: To take the hits and still, come what may,
: keep getting back up, fists out--ready to
: defend our way of life. And recording, I
: think, and relating all those stories is a
: key element to doing just that.
:
: Hello,
sod my son!
you probably have some interesting stories to tell, I'm always interested in all gypsy's from all parts of the world, My husband is Gypsy and came from Lativa, his family told me that in the time of second world war, how they were deprived of the things we take for granted, like water, food or just traveling through the city,glad to see youmade it to America, stay positive,
Light to you
tarot/master/Georgina
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