24-V-2026.
Regular trip to Belgrade. She got up rather early and cooked two lunches - both the paprikaš and the chards mussaka. Weather ideal, real spring day, light breeze, and easy parking, didn't even have to climb up the curb.
Tanja ate a hefty dose of paprikaš, has a healthy appetite and knows how to use the spoon, except she still doesn't understand that she needs to keep it horizontal all the way to the mouth, so it falls out. Still fine, there she's, of the whole kindergarten, the most independent, does everything on her own, shoing and dressing herself. And then we went for a walk, even brought a ball along, counting on coming upon a playground somewhere. Didn't happen that way, because we learned that we were snackless, no juice nothing to nibble, and she has the habit, so we followed Lena's unspecific instructions tfound that Maxi (supermarket). And we did find it, by just following a hand pointing in that general direction. I stayed outside to have a smoke and ogle the pretty women passing through the town (with which I had thin luck). Finished the cig and parked myself with the shooter against the entrance, to catch them when they exit, and suddenly Lena was next to me, ran out of a few things so came to procure them, now it's a matter of sneaking in surreptitiously, so Tanja wouldn't see her, not to spoil the stroll. And it worked, she came in, spotted them on the right by the registers, so she snuck stage left. Twenty seconds later baba and Tanja are exiting. She recounted her encounter at the counter, „do you have the app?“ „don't even have a mobile“ „how do they even let you go outside like that?“ „I have a landline“ „me too but nobody calls“ „who needs me, finds me“.
Then we found a nearby playground, where she again tried most of the appliances, mostly the carousel, and then we sat somewhere and she hit all the snacks in order. Smoki first, then the juices. The sticks we didn't even open. There was also the mandatory rummaging through baba's wallet, she took everything out and put it back, twice. Walking back we circumambulated the school by its west side, came to a corner's length from the Hyatt, the path we haven't taken before, and there, it turned out well, found this oasis between the school and one wing of the long building. Comes across as entirely surreal, such a green oasis, almost a park, which managed to survive, and just across they crammed three skyscrapers on the once little park at the hotel.
The whole stroll was actually only a hour and a quarter, and the path was just one kilometer, nothing much, but it was an experience. And it's nice, you see smiling faces, everyone loves to see a baba and deda with a cute grandchild.
I've also seen Milan's third guitar. I thought it was black but actually has some green nacreous patch, akin to thouse they once did on accordeons, combining veneer, dyes and lacquer, looks quite well. I announced that I'll hear it one day... as it has just become interesting, there I have a rocker son-in-law and not that I just never heard him play, don't even know what is it that he's playing.
The return [was] even easier. Somewhere beyond Čenta we passed a column of four bicyclists. Judging by the number of badges on their vests, they must have been on Slavija yesterday. Near the end we tailed some nervous guy who just couldn't stay behind me, but had to overtake me, and then by Ečka we were right behind him again, as he slowed down. Kept it slow all the way to town, but we weaseled out at Linglong, going through the industrial zone, nobody there and it's a shortcut to Mere. I even parked right across the entrance, so cart push was reduced to minimum. Didn't buy much, didn't even have to type the pin, it was below 4000 - flowerpots, soil, she means to plant some squash. And then to Lidl as well, running out of coffee and cooking chocolate (the only kind that still qualifies as chocolate). Met Adža there, with, I'd say, daughter, though she could be a granddaughter too, hard to tell now, he may have been early or delayed. He's same as he was a year ago, equally friendly and tussled [hair- and otherwise], except he contracted something on cheek so his beard is in even lower degree of neatness than before.
Later Lena and Tanja called again, no matter that we met few hours ago, the child wants a little more. So we filled another dozen extra minutes.
The visits on sGradlj.com stuck around 800-900 a day, and today it soared insanely, between 3 and 7000 a day. Til the end of month the total ended not with the expected 30000, it was 50000.
The „who needs me, will find me“ came out as prophetic. While I was processing the shots, Vera's mom called, on landline, she'd come as we agreed long ago. So she did, got a prepared MMS, which was the actual reason for coming, and then we sat and talked a whole lot, drank one [shot of] cherry too. Heard some news, first a gossip that the thing on Senjak was done by Milić himself, thickly done by cocaine. The other, not a gossip, Vera is quite deactivated in the SNS, which she anyway joined only to get a job (for which there's nobody else qualified in the whole town, narrow speciality), she doesn't go to those events of theirs, isn't invited anymore, and she's also not the headperson at her job, which is maybe 6000 dinars less of salary, but the amout of work is cut by half, so she's now bored at work... And she did find some guy and he turned a fuckup, she barely found a way to ofhook him.
She sat with us until about half ten, and less than an hour later we spoke with our Seattleians. Everything same as last time, no real news, except Go's garden grew more, she'll have everything.
The last ten shots I did eventually in the morning. In the afternoon, a message from Dragana, „G55 is meeting in Renesansa tomorrow, she won't be coming“. Well neither will I, fuck that contraption where you need strong spectacles to pee. And I don't need to sit with that company to agree on things, we agreed already and then it turned out that some others agreed otherwise and recorded something completely different [from Bajaga's rendition of „Look what they've done with my song“]. Well let them, then, they took over the initiative, may they carry it further.
On tuesday agreed with Mima on details for thursday, they all convene at Borče's at noon and that's it. She repeated address after me, wrote it down, everything okay. On wensday at 13:00 I let the electricity through the van (so its dashboard clock showed the correct time), and took it to the carwash. Maris, the carwash, reduced the time per token, from seven imaginary units (lasting about 90 seconds) down to five. And when it displays 1,5 units, you have three seconds left. It's rather obvious that I didn't properly wash the roof, but who fucks it. For that one day in three months that I drive it, it's cute enough. I'll have to move it again when the cherry ripens, anyway.
Neša split the nail on the thumbtoe, it swole and filled with puss, so there was a hasty exchange of recipes while I was still asleep. Later I heard he soaked the leg for two hours in an MMS bath, and then got an ointment of plantain and one more plant, and got better.
I remembered to invite Duca too, and she replied right on. I said you only need to walk from your gate to the van, you're on my way, can just pick you up. Thanks but no, have no will to move anywhere, even that little. Okay, offered as treated [our porverb, means exactly that - if you're offered, it counts the same even if you don't take it].
Thursday, she woke me up just right at ten, so I had my coffee at leisure, a shower (washed hair too, which I don't do every time in recent years, it doesn't become greasy, could be because of her soaps, and the last one of 80% lard and 20% of fucked [literally, not virgin] olive oyl, is the best so far), got into the van at 10:45, all as planned. Got at Borče's right on time, Momir was already there. Waiting for Mima to come with R.S. who is about a kilometer away. When the academic fifteen [minutes of waiting] was about expiring, I asked Borče to call her, my phone was in the van, on the bottom of my green photo bag. Turned out she wrote the number wrongly, despite having clearly repeated it. So two days later she misinterpreted the first digit. And she did send me a message to check the address this morning, but I didn't even look at it, because I kept getting dozens of the same message from Jeptel that my due date was the twonieth, I pay no more heed to that. And she tried to call me four times, no reply, phone in the bag - what need do I have of a phone, I did everything right, everything as arranged... And so we lost twentysome minutes. The remaining two we picked along the way, reached the goal by 12:15 and still weren't late enough.
There, a surprise - Paja showed up. He's all white, just like almost all of us, but in every other respect same as he always was, same speech and intonation, everything. Said he remembers me every time he goes through Irig, because of the double curve in its center, where there's a banister with one plank longer, where I once explained was my favorite spot to hang my bag while hitchhiking. Which did occur, maybe twice, and which I completely forgot until he now reminded me...
The gathering was sort of massive, of course of the regulars who keep coming, lacking only those who'd have to travel far - from Subotica, Sarajevo and who knows where else. The ladies shaped up properly, specially those of the previous two years, whom I remember only from these gatherings. Possibly the ones who don't look so youthful don't attend as much... Of course I was the dežurni photographer, even recharged the batteries in both eos70 and the flash, counting on this being a čarda [pannonian style fishers' tavern by a river], there'll be a viev of water, we'll be under a roof in the shade and the background will blast glitter. Bullseye - it was exactly so, and I didn't have to drag any shots out of mud. We could have taken outside tables, but the breeze was strong enough to blow away the serviettes.
The grub was rather good, they acquired skills recently, them cooks, the fish was almost boneless, excellent, all kudos, missed only a good plate of čorba... which two guys (S.I. from Kikinda and M.D. who was „aborigine, living 400m from here“) ordered separately, in the end. I announced that I'd be a pridrug (v. house dictionary) but by the time it arrived I was already sipping my coffee.
It suited my ego that I was being shown various photos from previous gatherings and in each case it was me who made those shots... Specially when I.G. said she dug out the photos from the absolvents' [ekskurzija] (and she remembered Roj Delić, they are from the same city, whom nobody else can remember), I said I know those, still have the negatives, I was the photo laboratory for the whole class.
Borče brought a news, he found out that our pall from Čurda had died, the guy who held maths in hungarian in mašinska (and probably one more school, could be 13.). I was once at a moba for him, and he for me - he was leveling the concrete for the basement floor, „but I had that done by a professional“ - „so will I. We were together several times on a popravni, too bad I didn't speak hungarian then. And yup, we went together to donate blood, I think twice (v. 27-XI-1985.).
Of three most prominet ladies, all three found time to stand or sit with me, so we had time for a stretch of talk. One of them has five grandchildren, others fewer. It was more a matter of them asking me where I was, what I did. Fuckit, not an ordinary life [title of album by Korni grupa], there's stuff to talk about. I pointed them to sGradlj.com, let them read what I didn't have the time to tell. One specially came to our table when she was leaving, „I have to specially greet this man“. Though, I did notice her as early as 2013, but never expected any degree of acquaintance.
Had this occurred not in broad daylight, who knows... We impressed each others well. And the statistical anomaly keeps following me, two out of the three were natural blondes.
The one from an even older generation recitred again, Yesenyin this time, „Play, accordion“. And I got in my head immediately that bosnian band, „Болеро“ (bolero - yup, they spelled themselves in cyrillic), who turned that ino one of their crazier songs. When the bosnian romantique and drunken Russians collide... And no matter what effort she invested, and the considerable skill, no help, I got them in my head.
There was talk about almost anything, of distilling rakija, of children and grandchildren, about the horrible state of education, specially from one girl, from IV3 but long time in Novi, about how's it during classes in Jovina gimnazija, „when history professor comes to class and brings along a printed issue of Informer, and then explains to the class that not all Germans are nazis, but all Croats are ustaše, just like all those who don't love Vučić“. They fired the last six professors of the old school's kernel, at the last day of (fourth grade's) school, and then the remaining 28 of the core staff took sick leave, on neurological basis, because they couldn't stand the mental torture.
Near the end I understood that, as I.G. announced, this was the small, in-between meeting, the main will be again in october. Who knows why was it good that I didn't try to call I.Z., nobody picks up on her rewinding secretary phone, nor anyone seems to listen to the recorded messages.
I distributed my passengers in reverse order, arrived home about half eight, everything fine. I did the shots the next day eventually. Not that I was tired, I was even ready to do so, but she said leave it for tomorrow, tonight we'll finish the cherry, to empty that cask, seems we'll need it soon. Well, no can do, there's more left... but okay, it seems the remainder will fit a 5 liter, so let's liberate this 20 one [how to read this without implying 21? 20 is an adjective here].
Friday. Incoming video of Tanja repeating „baba, deda, deda, baba“, with rhythm and almost a melody. Two minutes later there they are, calling, so we spoke. She managed to climb, on her own (!), to the barstool. Raise that: she climbed down on her own too. A little dragon.
Did the photos slowly, during the day. Experience, tradition, quality, warranty, as the old slogan went. I knew how will the light be (it'll be fine, thank you) in advance, so I mde very few shot without it. The agreement with Lena is that we drop by next sunday anyway, despite them already packing for the vacation, because they fly around noon next day, so no rush, come as you like, just don't bring any food, they'll be away for two weeks. Later I sent a message to Dragana to ask when was it, „at 16h, hope you know where“, „Elmont“ „bravo“. I decided to give up on the bicycle, haven't tried those new lights (the old one lost contact, needs poking) and for the way back someone will offer transportation, as it regularly occurs. Walking would be no problem, did that three years ago, distance is the same as to her place, but back then I had arrived all sweaty, not nice. So cab it is, one has one can.
The semibig parastos at 52 years (should have been 52,5, which would be in october, but who knows why was it moved to today, I'm not in the committee anymore so I don't know, and Dragana didn't attend meetings so I have no in). The cabbie, amazingly, drove a C4, same as Joda, just a monochrome version with manual shift. Looks like van's shift dropped by.
Why now at two and a half years, „the older the more often, and they told me it would be the opposite“.
As per my habit, I left enough spare time and was among the first ten arrivals. Right behind me there came Vasilija. Barely walks, even worse than last fall, but won't let it be an obstacle, just takes care to park as close as possible. Next comes Čarga, and just when I told him how I hope no ćaci would try to spew bullshit, but if one comes along, I prepared a counter - and showed him a „FCK SNS“ badge from my pocket. Then some lady asked him does he know the guy who keeps appearing in all the protests, one of those... Veterans? Yup, them. He's the guy, you just didn't make him out without the beret.
Then the others gradually came in. Of my IV5pp folks there were Jasmina (the bandaid on her cheek shrunk a bit, but it started bleeding when we ate, so we quickly gathered the serviettes and gave her), Mima, Bajlo and Dragana. Of IV4 Žuca, Ksenija, Vlada, Milica, Čarga and four more. Of IV3 Paja, Radoje, J.J. and the Bilja/Ljilja/Šilja who was once married to Bora. J.J. is looking swell again, holding up, and I even told her she looks, to me, better now than in gimnazija.
I asked around for any news on a few, of course, chicks, and... from IV1, D.M. died a year or two ago (Dragana didn't know and she's [in the] next building, hundred meters door to door), and S.J. (the third girl, maybe the prettiest, now that I think of it) is known only to have moved to Novi right after gimnazija and there the trace goes cold. And I heard that Radisav died, maybe this fall.
The grub was okay, what we got - two smaller ovals with barbecue and butkice on the third. Everything was good, it's just that I fucked up taking something pale, thinking it was a white vešalica (hanger), but it was a spread [chicken] thigh. Gimme a break, I had the same thing, of turkey, for lunch, about five times better. And the cucumbers were wrong and the tomatoes on the salad were plastic fakes, but decoration can easily be skipped, shredded cabbage underneath was good. Mima said the barbecue overyester was mediocre... well didn't I say that it makes no sense to eat anything but fish at a čarda.
We drank some rakija, labeled as such, said it was apricot, and it did have some aroma, and came in a small bucket with ice and fancy shmancy packaging, a bottle of about quarter liter similar to what a pharmacy would use, cork cork with twisted wire as if it was champagne, hundred mother cunts just there's no rakija in it, two beers that after third I'd blow zero [expanded: I'd bet that after three shots I'd blow zero percent on alcotest].
By rakija one knows the day... The sour [water] is Saguaro, so they're buying from Lidl. We asked, after dinner, do they have the Sila („force“) wine, from Simo Lazin's basement, that we had four years ago (v. 03-VI-2022.)... nope, he knows nothing of it. I let Dragana negotiate, says they have from Lidl, have black have white. Okay, white, and again he brings something of half a liter or three quarters, again the fancy packaging (and from Lidl they probably buy it by the bag), in a bucket with ice, where it was chilled for like third minute in a row. Not that it was bad, but wasn't attractive either. The others at our table, nothing.
So we drank that, Bajlo finished shooting around, saw Vasilija to her car. Dragana complained of her leg going quite badly, I said okay let's share a cab, so using her as an excuse I snuck out too. This is no party, traffic between tables was minimal, can't hear the music (actually you can, up to halfway between the toilets and the nearest tables), wine tepid and average, no company to drink with, and Paja wasn't at hand to spill any fresh jokes, so scram. Taxi left her at the building, me at the house, at 19:30.
Well at least I met a few people. Who knows how many of us will be alive in three years. Did the photos later, all hundred plus some, as Bajlo insisted on taking a shot of everyone individually (though he managed to skip a few), so there's the quantity, seeing how there weren't other events or special moments. While I was at it, Mima called, said I forgot the jacket, and passed her phone to Bajlo to arrange the handover. The first variant was to leave it with the waiters so I'd pick it the next day or so, second that he'd take it home and visit me the next time he'd come to town, next... third time the charm, he'll leave it at Dragana. That's the ticket, I'll be seeing her in two days. Around 22 she reported that the jacket arrived. Must have happened an hour before that, shouldn't take more than ten minutes for it to reach her.
On sunday we opened the season. After lunch I took out the still, then did it in slow steps. Didn't expect anything special, it's the early cherry, not much sugar in it, and it was bare twenty kilos, plus the seven-eight jars of pekmez (where she also doesn't put much sugar, nor does she simmer it to some thickness) which may carry some five kilos, so we eyeballed it to less than three liters, or that it may be weak so we may put it all into the next still. Instead, a surprise - methanol came at 68%, ethanol at 66%. Whoa, buddy. And we got 3,5 liters at 51, plus two liters of patoka, not bad enough. Good beginning of season.
Late aftrnoon, Nina calls to say she's positive. On what, dammit, but then I see she's in a good mood. Says she's in plus with money, more on accounts than she owes, it's been a month with five fridays, three paychecks landed. Ah, yes, I had that a few times, when it's not twice a month but every other week, so it's not 24 checks a year but rather 26, so twice a year you get pleased like that, out of surprisedness. While we talked, Vera's mom called on landline, she'd come to buy eggs. And she did come and then talked at length with Nina. It was past nine when we finished the talk, then she took the eggs, we bid it up to eight cartons, 80 eggs. If it were free she wouldn't take as much, would be shameful, so this way we got rid of a weekly crop, so I don't have to go buy a barrel for more noodles. And we shoved her three soaps from the last batch and a bag of noodles. Along the way Dragana called just to confirm for tomorrow, and tell how Bajlo just couldn't possibly understand how to call her on the interphone to be buzzed in when he brought my jacket...And then „let's drink one“, and then couldn't shoo her out, but then Go was late with her call so it all happily ended.
As usual, first round was mom and daughter talk (about pizza dough, hers didn't quite rise to the last occasion, then about gardens), then some twenty minutes when Stanley talked with Anita, because she got into angry at her friend (who kept tickling her even after being told to stop, so she spilled [her] soup, and because she just helps herself with whatever she spots, not even thinking a permission may be asked for, lacking that minimal housebreaking, mom's a free artist, dad kicked it on overdose, mom's boyfriend also a free profession). The remainder was, as customary, between Stanley and us, about his work. His Žolt returned, brought him a bag of hungarian candy (!), didn't even thank him for holding the fort all alone for more than two weeks, and still owes him six grand.
Whle we talked, there was a brief torrent. Smelled just right, of ozone and freshly watered dust.
Mentions: 13. april, 27-XI-1985., 03-VI-2022., Anita Jennifer Berger (Anita), Borivoj Raboški (Bora), butkice, Čedomir Spajin (Paja), čorba, Čurda, dežurni, Dragana Vitas (Dragana), Dušica Tošin (Duca), ekskurzija, Elmont, eos70, gimnazija, Gorana Sredljević (Go), house dictionary, IV3, IV4, IV5pp, Jasmina Vlajin, Jelena Sredljević (Lena), Joda, Korni grupa, Ksenija, Mališa Borkovski (Borče), maturski parastos (parastos), Merima Tabarski (Mima), Milan Nastić, Milica Zubatović, moba, Momir Hadžipopov, MPSŠC (mašinska), Nenad Bajlo (Bajlo), Nenad Berger (Neša), Nevena Sredljević (Nina), Novi Sad, Paja Ćurčić, pekmez, popravni, Radisav Pajsić, Radoje Stević, rakija, sGradlj.com, Stanimir Hadžić (Adža), Stanley Berger, Tanja Nastić, Vasilija Zajić, Velemir Prokin (Čarga), Vera Vraneš, Vlada Markanić, Živana Armatović (Žuca), in serbian
25-V-2026 - 16-VII-2026