On Sunday, we went to Cory Wanamaker's art show. Cory and his wife Christy are our best friends here in the Moscow. He's a very talented artist, and his show was a big success. After the show, we went out to dinner with the two of them and two Russian couples. One of the couples was another artist, Viktor Bokarev, and his wife Galina. Viktor had a show at the same gallery, so it was a night to celebrate.
We were well into a bottle of Georgian grape vodka (not grappa, but painfully similar) when Galina offered us this toast:
A young couple got married, and they began their honeymoon. They were leaving the village where they grew up, met, and got married so that they could go live in the big city and make a life together.
They walked all day and then set up camp. They were very tired and very hungry, and the husband told his wife to rest while he went to find some food. He walked through the surrounding forest, carrying his rifle with him, but saw nothing that they could eat. He was about to turn back for his camp when he saw a goat in the distance. He crept up on the goat, carefully took aim with his rifle, but just as he pulled the trigger, the goat danced away. Before the man could set up another shot, the goat was out of sight. He returned to his camp with no food for his bride, so the young couple went hungry on the first night of their marriage.
They woke up the next day and continued on through the forest. All through the day, they walked and walked. As they set up camp and settled down for the evening, they still hadn't had any food. The young man picked up his rifle and told his bride that he would return with supper. He walked through the forest for a long time until, once again, he spied the same goat from the previous day. It was far off in the distance, so he tracked it and stalked it until he had set up the perfect shot. Right as he pulled the trigger, the goat jumped behind a tree. No luck for the man. He quickly reloaded his rifle and set up another shot. The goat danced away, the man missed, and he didn't see the goat again that night. He returned to camp with no food for either of them, and they both went hungry on the second night of their marriage.
On each of the next two nights, the same thing happened. The man went out to get food, the goat appeared, the man was right about to get the goat, and the goat would scamper off. As they grew weaker, they were unable to make as much progress, and so, on successive days, they didn't travel as far as they thought they might. The big city looked further and further away.
Finally, during the fourth night after their marriage, weak and exhausted, the man and woman died from hunger.
And the moral of the story is, "May we never have such goats in our lives!"
And then we raised our glasses and downed our vodka.
Ya gotta love the Russia!
We were well into a bottle of Georgian grape vodka (not grappa, but painfully similar) when Galina offered us this toast:
A young couple got married, and they began their honeymoon. They were leaving the village where they grew up, met, and got married so that they could go live in the big city and make a life together.
They walked all day and then set up camp. They were very tired and very hungry, and the husband told his wife to rest while he went to find some food. He walked through the surrounding forest, carrying his rifle with him, but saw nothing that they could eat. He was about to turn back for his camp when he saw a goat in the distance. He crept up on the goat, carefully took aim with his rifle, but just as he pulled the trigger, the goat danced away. Before the man could set up another shot, the goat was out of sight. He returned to his camp with no food for his bride, so the young couple went hungry on the first night of their marriage.
They woke up the next day and continued on through the forest. All through the day, they walked and walked. As they set up camp and settled down for the evening, they still hadn't had any food. The young man picked up his rifle and told his bride that he would return with supper. He walked through the forest for a long time until, once again, he spied the same goat from the previous day. It was far off in the distance, so he tracked it and stalked it until he had set up the perfect shot. Right as he pulled the trigger, the goat jumped behind a tree. No luck for the man. He quickly reloaded his rifle and set up another shot. The goat danced away, the man missed, and he didn't see the goat again that night. He returned to camp with no food for either of them, and they both went hungry on the second night of their marriage.
On each of the next two nights, the same thing happened. The man went out to get food, the goat appeared, the man was right about to get the goat, and the goat would scamper off. As they grew weaker, they were unable to make as much progress, and so, on successive days, they didn't travel as far as they thought they might. The big city looked further and further away.
Finally, during the fourth night after their marriage, weak and exhausted, the man and woman died from hunger.
And the moral of the story is, "May we never have such goats in our lives!"
And then we raised our glasses and downed our vodka.
Ya gotta love the Russia!
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