William Penn Life, 2010 (45. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2010-11-01 / 11. szám
Tibor's Take with Tibor Check, Jr. My favorite color Pink is now FOR MOST FAMILIES the yearly calendar is emblazoned with "star days" and "red circle days." A birth or wedding is denoted with a happy connotation. A death or tragic accident usually marks the calendar with the distinction of sadness and despair. January 1st earns the mark of a happy face and star. Until 1991, the first day of the new year meant that Karácsonyi and the "Season of Giving" would end in just a few more days with the Three Kings celebration. My birth occurred at: 12:00:10 a.m., Jan. 1,1991. My birth changed the Cseh család holiday rituals for decades to come. The Yuletide celebration length would now last longer and be more intense. It also meant gifts for me at Christmas and, a week later, gifts again for my birthday party. In contrast, August 28th denotes a red circle of sadness. On that date in 1993, my édes nagymama passed away after a heart attack. This event left a lifelong impression upon me for several reasons. For one, it was my first real experience with the death of a loved one. I was my nagymama's favorite, and I loved her dearly. Unfortunately for me, I was just shy of three years old and did not have the opportunity to enjoy an entire childhood of experiences with her. Growing up, I was envious of most of my friends because they had grandmothers to do cool things with. Many of my school chums took the experiences they could have with their grandparents for granted. The late, great Frank Borisz came from Brecksville to Youngstown and played those seldom-heard funeral songs over my nagymama's casket. Feri's (my nagypapa's name for Mr. Borisz) Magyar violin playing is the first time I remembered an experience "Hungarian-style." I am sure I had other earlier exposures to my Flungarian culture, but this is the first one I remember. The funeral and Feri's beautiful performance were my epiphany to the "Hungarian Experience." The grief and consternation of August 28th was compounded exponentially this year. On that very day 17 years after Grandmother Check's passing, my édesmama, my sweet mother, was diagnosed with breast cancer. At first, it really did not sink in. It wasn't obviously apparent, like a cold or a broken leg. She was the same as she has always been. Nothing changed in her appearance or her zeal to keep our home in order. My siblings and I exhibited an oblivious attitude to her malady. But, as time went on, the cancer and its implications became more apparent. First, she could not go with us to the WPA Fraternal Fest; the risk of picking up an infection prior to her surgery kept her at home. On the bus ride down to Scenic View, I quietly reflected on how I missed her and how she emphasizes doing things as an entire family. My mind really began to wander. I was really bummed out, and for the first time I realized the seriousness of her sickness. My anyám's surgery three days later was successful. It took her about a month to recover. Her chemotherapy sessions began a few weeks ago. There is nausea, pain, fatigue and hair loss. It is hard to adjust to my mom being bald. Her curly brown hair fell out in a rather steady fashion. She now wears a wig. Throughout this ordeal, she has maintained her sense of humor. One morning before we left for school, a small clump of curls gently fell to the ground as I hugged her goodbye. She said with her dry sense of humor: "Lizzy, could you sweep up the hair; I'm shedding like the dog!" Consider & Discuss I had intended to pose the following “points to ponder" last month, but space did not permit. What if President Eisenhower would have sent troops to Hungary in 1956? Would the Russians have backed down? My dad had a friend who was a career military man. He not only told my dad but exhibited physical proof that he was training America- Hungarian soldiers to be dropped behind enemy lines for an invasion into Hungary. The training actually began late 1955. Intelligence reports indicated that a Hungarian Revolution was probably going to take place around the feast day of St. Stephen. Unfortunately, the training was abruptly ended in early August 1956. No explanation was ever given to my dad’s friend. As every good soldier knows, you must take orders, not question them. Do you think America was that close to invading Hungary? If the U.S.A. would have been more aggressive, would the revolution have occurred? If there was not a Revolution of 1956, how would Hungary and America be different today? 8 ° November 2010 0 William Penn Life
