THOSE WERE THE DAYS MY FRIENDS!

Something I've been thinking about alot lately...the 'Duoality of My Childhood'...born and raised in Toronto, Canada(Damn COLD Country!)...spending most summers in The Jewel of Europe, One of the Multitude of Islands in The Adriatic Sea in Croatia or simply at my favourite aunt's country home outside of  the capital Zagreb(Feeding the chickens and rollin' with the pigs in the Hay, it was Heaven!)...what a Fairytale Existence...what a yearly Culture Shock...why did Music and Art and Food and Wine and Creating seem to mean More to the European Culture than the North America I was destined to be Born In? Why did the Europeans seem to appreciate MORE Enjoying the Simpler things in Life, which turned out to be also the Finer things in Life! Why did they place equal value on Pleasure as they did on Work;Striking a Balance in One's Life! What a Contrast to Our American Societies! It was Always so difficult to return to this Capitalistic Society, where EVERYTHING was Geared towards Making Money and Profit!(Today unfortunately they too have that 'Global Disease') Unlike today's girls(who look up to Brittney Spears!Scary thought!), when I was growing up, My HERO was Pipi Longstalking! There was little I wanted More than A Horse(which usually required wealth) and Monkey(which usually required being part of the scientific community), I'm SERIOUS! My own transportation to send me off on my daily Adventures and my FAIITHFUL Best Friend, My Monkey...how much Better does Life Get? Each Summer I spent in Croatia Gave Me A Very Special Experience...it let me be PIPI! By the time I was six I started cooking and at seven I could clean the whole house better than Most Adults(An Instictive Knowledge of the Domestic Arts)! When we were vacationing at the coast one summer, I think I was 7(from what my aunt says)there was this Israeli backpacker from Tel Aviv, I found him wandering Our pristine waterfront, seemingly without where to go and of course I took it upon Myself, even at that Tender Age, to HELP Him!  I asked him, "Do you need a place to stay?" That's Eactly what He Needed! For some reason this twenty-something from one of the most dangerous places on Earth, TRUSTED me(A 7 year old Girl) to Answer His Prayers;it would be the first time in my recollection, I would Recognize My Purpose To Help Others! He Followed Me to our Pension...which of course, we were just renting! My Family Apologized for My Enthusiasim and Anticipation and let Him know that they could not Help! I still to this Day at 43 Remember the Horrid Feeling in My Stomach, knowing it was Beyond My Capacity to Help this Man! A lesson I would Continue to Learn throughout Life, You can't Always Help in the Way You Would Like...but it is Within Your Soul To Feel Others Pain and Needs! Like Dorothy in Kansas, I hopped on my aunts bike and went along my Way on the Croatian countryside, I did this Every Day! By the time I was 7, I already had 3 years of classical training in Piano and Ballet, and I assume the Freedom that practicing My Artforms Gave me, I extended into my every day LIFE! I would stop at my aunt's friends house(almost everyone had one)and play their piano for them...then we would have a Turkish(like Espresso)coffee and fresh baked Corn Cake! I liked to make up my own Compositions...everyone wanted Chopin and Mozart (and they are my favourites), but I was designed with the Ability to Create;and this would continue to be a theme in my LIFE!  They would Witness this Young Child of God with a Talent beyond her Time...they Just Wanted Me to Follow Authority...this I would later Suffer a 'Great Deal' Because Of! On one of my daily excursions, I was about 9 or so and having coffee and fresh cornbread with this 80something year old acquaintence of my aunts...her cat had delivered about 6 or 7 weeks prior...I was completely Infatuated with the Innocence of the Kittens...a Special Kind of Sweetness and quite frankly Godliness in their Very Nature! I asked and I received...I brought the kitten home to my aunt and that was the beginning of her 'cat shelter' that exists to this DAY! These Times were in so many ways Uncomplicated and Easier...Simple Luxuries our children cannot know because 'The Times They Are So Dangerous! '  Next Post...More on The Adventures of Pipi-Air;A Simpler Time!

Angeloflight Godspeed 2009