История Алексея Алтонена.
DISCOVERING AMERICA AND THE KIEFS, by Alexei Altonen
WHEN WAS
AMERICA DISCOVERED? The right answer I would insist on to
the dismay of my dear schoolteachers is in 1989. It was
then that, in addition to the rich but still incoherent
American mixture in my fullto-the-brim head (thanks to Stevenson
and Twain, schoolbooks and mass media, Dreiser and Updike,
rare American movies and my father's just-before-death stories
about his childhood in remote Detroit), I got an invigorating
jolt from an extremely powerful personal experience that
not only informed but transformed me. At the end of August
1989 at
the Sheremyetovo 2 airport in Moscow I discovered "my America"
- when I met "real Americans" for the first time in my life.
They were an athletic trainer and a track coach, leading
their small ISU track team. Bob and Joyce Kief turned out
to be the most charming couple Sister Cities or the CIA
could possibly recruit to capture my and many other hearts.
B&J are
very beautiful people and so were all the track and field
athletes of their team. If not for their impressive results
during the competition some days later, I would have suspected
that the girls had been carefully screened to first of all
match top beauty standards. Although the American athletes'
way to Russia was really tiresome and stressful - Yuri Gorbashov
(head of the city sports department) and I enjoyed it from
the very first moments in Moscow, they radiated energy and
warmth. There was no hint of what is called American formal
smiles and arrogance among the genuinely sunny American
athletes - or especially Bob and Joyce. The team's friendly
demeanor was undoubtedly a reflection of the special warmth
of their coach. When some years later I ran into Patty (once
a member of that ISU team and now a PE teacher) the happiness
of our unexpected meeting resulted in an impetuous kiss
which was probably inappropriate within the school walls
but genuinely reflected the warmth of her coach's personality.
In 1989
the Kiefs within a week cleansed our brains and hearts of
Cold War's pollution. Since then we have met and made friends
with so many wonderful people from B-N and all over the
USA, but honestly the Kiefs, who are themselves our greatest
American discovery, remain the most caring and generous
guides in our now almost 20 year long American expedition.
The skyscrapers of Chicago and the riverboats in Hannibal,
the snowy mountain peaks in Colorado and the alligators
of Florida, the sights of Springfield and the spring blossoms
in Chattanooga, the smoked ribs in Kansas City and the grapefruits
of Sarasota, and, and, and... We owe B&J more than anyone
else for what our eyes, ears, noses, stomachs and "kidneys"
(i.e. brains) have absorbed in the US. With B&J planning,
driving, feeding, leading us, we have accumulated tons of
first-hand impressions to digest and tons of photos to revive
them.
There is
no danger in praising truly great people, for they are people
of dignity who hate puffing up.
Since their
youth (when it fell to Bob's lot to fight in WWII, probably
the only period in his life not subject to his witty jokes)
they have been working hard doing things they find necessary.
Honestly and enthusiastically, all their souls fully invested.
They keep living their own way - "lifefully" and "love fully"
- despite any challenges. Never meaning to "teach" anybody,
they can't but gladly and generously share all they possess
with other people and here they are extremely high achievers.
They have given Galya and me so much! We owe B&J so much
joy and wisdom! We are very fortunate to discover America
through this extremely noble couple and thus forever inseparably
connect it with them!
Isn't America
very fortunate to have such great citizens and ambassadors!?.
К моему
обращению, где я упоминаю книгу, которую подготовили к празднованию
20-летия партнерства американцы.
SISTER
CITIES
IN OUR HANDS
STORIES CELEBRATING
THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE VLADIMIR/CANTERBURY
SISTER CITY ASSOCIATION
OF BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL, ILLINOIS
1989 - 2009
