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BALNEÁRIO CAMBORIÚ – 13 NOVEMBER 2017 – TRAVEL DIARY

The Communist era in Romania lasted for about 42 years and in that time it “fried” the brains of 2 generations, only on one side, depending on their age 🙂 I don’t know about my generation, but when I look at my parents…

One of the important particularities of Communism was that there was no unemployment. That meant that everybody does a little something, this is how the system worked.

There was no dolce far niente in Communism. You would have got shot! So everybody got used to imagine that they were doing something and I would dare say that they imagined they did something important.

Now trying to shorten the string of my thoughts, I get a call from my father yesterday when I was talking an evening stroll with my wife on the beach; he was very intrigued and worried about our future. I would add here that the poor guy lost no less than $6000 in the last two years in two big schemes of Romanian tourism. The last one is a recent one, wanting to see us he made an advance payment for a trip to Brazil. We won’t have the chance to see each other so soon because the tourism firm went into bankruptcy so he lost the money again.

Anyway, visibly affected by the event or at least by its psychological implications, we talk a little. I try to comfort him until we get to the same point: “Well, how long are you going to do nothing?”

A quick answer comes to my mind but I refrain it. “All my life!” I’ve been meaning to day, but a little story comes to my mind and I say this instead: “you know, I am on the beach with Lavinia and I know this story that I want to tell you:

After a storm, in a morning, a man was walking down a beach full of thousands of stranded  starfish. In the distance he sees an old man that picks every starfish he meets and throws it back in the water.

The man asks, confused:

“- Hey, what you are doing won’t make any difference! There are thousands of starfish here, you can’t save all of them even if you spend your entire day here”

The old man smiles, kneels and picks another starfish, throws it in the sea and then answers:

“To this one it made a difference!”

5 minutes ago we met a fisherman that had as a bait a kind of shrimp with a pearlescent shell, unknown to us and Lavinia asked for one. The fisherman picked one in his bucket, gave it to her and asked intrigued:

“What are you doing with it”

Lavinia answered:

“I’m saving it”

I got along with Dad although he still can’t understand how I can keep doing nothing. 🙂

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Perioada comunista in Romania a durat vreo 42 de ani, timp in care a “prajit” mai mult pe-o parte, 2 generatii. Nu stiu cat de mult este afectata generatia mea dar cand ma uit la parintii mei…

Una din particularitatile comunismului este ca nu exista somaj. Adica toata lumea face cate ceva, asa e sistemul! Nu exista un “dolce far niente” in comunism! Te impusca! Asa ca toata lumea s-a obisnuit sa-si imagineze ca face cate ceva si as indrazni sa spun ca nu doar ceva ci ceva important!

Acu’ incercand sa scurtez gandurile lungi, ma suna tata ieri cand eu imi faceam plimbarea de seara cu Lavinia pe plaja, foarte curios si ingrijorat in legatura cu viitorul nostru.

Trebuie sa va spun ca saracul a pierdut nu mai mult nici mai putin de 6000€ in ultimii doi ani, in doua tepe mari ale industriei de turism romanesti, tepe pe care nu le-a ratat. Ultima este recenta. In incercarea lui de a ne revedea pe toti isi cumparase o excursie in Brazilia. Nu vom mai avea ocazia sa-l revedem, pentru ca firma de turism a intrat in faliment, asa ca a pierdut inca o data.

In fine, afectat de eveniment si de implicatiile lui cel putin psihologice vorbim un pic. Incerc sa-l linistesc si usor ne prelingem cu discutiile pana la esenta nelinistii lui: “-Bai, cat mai ai de gand sa faci nimic?”

Imi vine in minte un raspuns ca un reflux dar il opresc. “Toata viata!!!” imi venea sa-i raspund dar cum imi amintesc de o povestioara, ma apuc sa-i raspund prin aceasta!

Incep de genul “Auzi bai tata, sunt cu Lavinia pe plaja si imi aduc aminte de o mica povestioara gen fabula, nu-mi aduc aminte de unde o stiu. ”

Cica dupa o furtuna, intr-o dimineata, un om se plimba singur pe o plaja plina cu mii si mii de stelute de mare esuate. In departare vede o silueta si apropiindu-se, observa un batranel ce aduna stele de mare si le arunca in apa. Contrariat, omul il intreaba pe batranel:

“Hei, ce faci tu nu conteaza! Sunt sute de mii de stelute de mare, nu ai cum sa le salvezi pe toate, nici daca stai toata ziua aici.”

Batranelul zambeste, se apleaca, culege o steluta pe care o arunca in mare dupa care raspunde:

“Uite, pentru asta a contat!”

Acum 5 minute, ne-am intalnit cu un pescar ce avea o momeala, un fel de crevete cu carcasa de sidef, ceva necunoscut pentru noi si Lavinia i-a cerut unul!

Pescarul a ales unul din galeata plina de vietati maritime. I l-a dat privind-o curios si a intrebat:

“Ce faci cu el?”

Lavinia i-a raspuns:

“Il salvez!”

Cu tatal meu m-am inteles intr-un final, cu toate ca nu a inteles cum de continui atat de tare sa fac nimic! 🙂

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