So glad to read more from the Amazing Andrei. He is back with another chapter to his story (his story begins here).
Finally! Andrei, the My Weird School fan whose family fled Ukraine when the war started, has finished Chapter 3 of “My Ukraine Is In Pain!” Here’s Andrei with his brother and sister.
Chapter 3: Moving Day
Krakow had gotten really crowded with refugees, so today we’re leaving Poland to stay with my daddy’s relatives in Austria. But there’s a problem: we have too many toys. What happened was, so many of my Daddy’s family sent us stuff in Poland, now it won’t all fit in our car.
“Guys, there’s a basement in this building,” Mommy said. “You’ll have to leave everything there. One day, if we go home to Ukraine, we can get them then.”
My sister Sophia looked at her pile of useless girly dolls and silly Princess puzzles. “I’m taking my Barbie,” she said.
My brother William took two dinosaurs from the table. “These come with me,” he said.
But I couldn’t choose which toys to leave. They were all awesome. Especially my LEGO sets! One was a Ninjago base and the other was a cool spaceship.
“And see?” Mommy said, showing a really long word on her phone. “This is German for goodbye.” That was sure the right word! Auf Wiedersehen, awesome Ninjago base! Auf Wiedersehen, cool LEGO ship!
“Do you remember the word for girls?” Mommy asked, as she taped one box shut. German words are always really long, so I took a guess. “Is it kinderflockenschnitzelplatz?”
“Andrei,” she said, and I knew I was in trouble again.
As I helped tape the next box shut, I remembered how fun it was to get those A.J. books from Dan Gutman. How happy that made me feel. And then I got an idea.
“Mom? Instead of putting these in the basement, could we give these away? There are so many Ukrainian families in Krakow, and…”
But I didn’t get the chance to finish my sentence because suddenly Mommy was all hugging and kissing me.
“Oh my gosh, Andrei! That is such a great idea!” Mommies are always hugging and kissing their kids for no reason. Nobody knows why.
And so we each carried a box of toys to one of the shelters in Krakow. And somehow I wasn’t sad anymore. I felt almost like Santa, giving the LEGO sets to a group of boys. They were happy and for some strange reason, I was happy, too. Someone tell Mrs. Yonkers…That was a REAL win-win!
Damn it’s dusty in here.
A little brightness in a very grim situation. I will buy any book Andrei publishes.
I’m grabbing a second cup of coffee and heading out for the morning. Play nice. ??
zhena gogolia
From what I hear, people all over Europe (including ex-pat Russians) are throwing themselves into helping out.
Old School
Something tells me there will be lots of Legos in Andrei’s future.
Dangerman
I’m slow (no coffee yet; this needs to be corrected urgently). Who is Mrs. Yonkers? Was she behind the dastardly multiplication tables of 11?
Old School
@Dangerman:
She’s a character in Dan Gutman’s “My Weird School” books.
New Deal democrat
Re: Ukraine, this could be very important. I’ve been wondering for weeks if this would happen, because the timing could hardly be more opportune:
“Belarus opposition figures are now making calls for a movement to overthrow Lukashenko…. With the Russian Army so damaged and preoccupied, a strong uprising might topple Lukashenko. This would be transformative. Putin’s whole (failing) strategy seemed to be based on annexing Ukraine and Belarus into a greater Russia.”
https://mobile.twitter.com/PhillipsPOBrien/status/1513249624760459269?cxt=HHwWioC5xYShkoAqAAAA
Lukashenko stole the Belarusian Presidential election. A large majority of the population is against him. He survived massive demonstrations by calling in the Russians.
Well, now that the Russians are fully otherwise occupied, why not throw Lukashenko out?
If Belarus revolts, Putin’s entire strategy blows up.
Just One More Canuck
@Old School: My daughter loved that series
leeleeFL
Yes, my first read if the day.,..I really need to do something about these allergies.
Please keep us aware of publication possibilities! I would wonder if a GoFundMe page might help with that. I would be happy to pitch in to help. A Child’s perspective on this abomination would help many understand what is being lost and damaged.
Can’t say I know anyone who is Ukrainian, but I feel like we know these people well. I can’t help but wish we, the West and NATO had brought Ukraine into the fold in spite of Putin’s threats. He’d have been less likely to do this with NATO missiles pointed at his dacha. That bastard needs to meet the pointy end of a KGB umbrella.
UncleEbeneezer
Cute, but hopefully the parents corrected him by explaining that girly dolls and princess puzzles are exactly as useful as lego kits and spaceships.
lowtechcyclist
Must be something in my eye…
Lynn Dee
Quote: “useless girly dolls and silly Princess puzzles”
{sigh}
Josie
I think this young man understands more than he is letting on. Such a gifted writer.
sdhays
@New Deal democrat: I understand that around a third of the failed Kyiv invasion force was left in Belarus in hopes of trying again when the glorious victory in the east materializes and/or to keep Belarus on side.
Dangerman
@Old School: Awesome, thanks.
IIRC, nectar of the God’s is wine, but, damn, a good cuppa Joe on a gray Monday morning is divine. Only problem is Old Father Hubbard went to the cupboard and pulled out the last K-cup. Gasp. Costco run.
Roger Moore
@New Deal democrat:
Belarus blowing up is very bad news for Russia, because it’s unlikely to be the last place to blow up. If Belarus blows up and the Russians can’t squash it immediately, it’s quite likely other places will start to blow up, too. It’s the classic problem with trying to maintain order by intimidation. It’s great while it works, because you need much less force than if you actually had to apply force all the time. But once somebody proves they shouldn’t have been intimidation, everyone else will refuse to be intimidated, either, and it turns out you just don’t have the force to keep everyone in line by force simultaneously.
Roger Moore
@sdhays:
My guess is this is the Russians putting the best face on things. The force that attacked Kyiv was mauled. It’s very likely that some of the units need a lot more reconstruction before they’re ready to do anything, and those are the ones that got left in Belarus.
Elizabelle
Rooting for the insurrectionists in Belarus. That situation would be so encouraging, all around.
satby
ian
@New Deal democrat:
I think a good deal of Belarusians would like this. Much of the leadership/organizational structure of the last attempt are dead/imprisoned/in exile. The security services remain strongly in Lukashenko’s corner. In essence, to ask this is to ask people to rise against powerful police presence, with a strong likelihood the Russians may interfere, with little corresponding hope that Western help will come.
Betty
I hesitate to change the subject because it is so important but wanted to give an update on my voter registration. I called and was told they still can’t locate my file. After giving her my date of birth, she said she could see I was a civilian overseas. No other records although I was told in the last election that I was on record as automatically requesting an email ballot. I am to receive a new ballot application. I have no idea where the court case challenging the mail-in law voting stands. Primary is next month.
Gravenstone
Ah, the childhood trouble index:
First name: modest trouble
First and last name: more trouble
First middle and last name: best not plan on sitting any time soon, young man!
I became well acquainted with the last setting as I tended to malinger on my trip from kindergarten to our grandparent’s house (about a 5 block walk in our small town), and often struck up conversations with anyone and everyone I passed along the way. More of a problem for the classmate who I was supposed to escort so she could meet up with her own grandmother.
West of the Rockies
The Chinese delivery of (apparently) weapons to Serbia… how did this affect matters in Ukraine? Whose side is Serbia on anyway? Is China throwing in with one side or the other here?
Kelly
The Russians are so desperate they’ve taken to throwing sticks of dynamite over the Ukrainian border.
The Ukrainians are lighting them and throwing them back.
West of the Rockies
@Kelly:
Ha!!
WaterGirl
@Betty: Thanks for staying on that! And how many other hundreds or thousands of people are in the same boat, but don’t know it yet. Remind me of your state?
Betty
@WaterGirl: It’s Pennsylvania. The Republicans have been solidly behind Trump. This county was hesitating even starting to count mail-in ballots in 2020. I am worried about how many people may be affected. I alerted my family.
Uncle Cosmo
Note the addition. The one thing those troops showed themselves “ready to do” as they bugged out northward is murder defenseless civilians who ain’t like them and don’t like them. If&when Belarusians rise up effectively to oppose Lukashenko’s illegal regime, his armed forces might not be down with using lethal force against their compatriots. At which point a few thousand well-armed non-indigenous butchers happy to hose down unarmed demonstrators are a despot’s best friends…
Until&unless the local military deposes him and throws in with the demonstrators. At which point…
otmar
Fyi, we now have three ?? refugees staying in a flat in our house. I haven’t met them yet, but the owner of said flat said she doesn’t need it right now and volunteered it.
Grandmother, mother and 5yo boy.
West of the Rockies
@otmar:
Excellent!
TaMara
@otmar: This is great news, please keep us updated on them, if you can. Or if they need things.
TaMara
@Lynn Dee:
@UncleEbeneezer:
I’m really sorry for you both, if that’s what you took from his wonderful story. He’s clearly joking, as he is when he talks about his parents in the first two chapters…
It’s in the style of Dan Gutman’s books and he writes well.
HRA
@West of the Rockies: That is weird. I am going to ask me friends from the area of once called Yugoslavia and see if they know anything.
J.
Dear TaMara, thank you for this post. I love reading these kinds of stories. They give me hope. We need more Andreis and fewer Donald Jr.s in this world.
Jay
@West of the Rockies:
Serbia wanted S-400 and S-300 systems from Russia,
NATO warned Serbia that it could compromise attempts to buy NATO gear and join NATO.
Russia could not deliver, due to a “sudden” domestic need.
So Serbia bought Chinese copies in 2020. Airfreight was used because land transport routes have been disrupted.
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN24Z171
debbie
“Andrei,” she said, and I knew I was in trouble again.
Oh, man, do I relate. It still happens and I still feel like punishment is headed my way.
I ? Andrei.
debbie
@satby:
I tear up just remembering that scene.
debbie
@Gravenstone:
For me, there was another level. My birth name is Debbie, but when an adult called me Deborah, I knew I was about to catch something.
jnfr
Thank you for another sweet and wonderful story.
Lynn Dee
@TaMara: It wasn’t my only response, TaMara, just the only one I posted here. And I make no apologies for the fact it jumped out at me.
Please save your pity for something more worthwhile.