Fraternity-Testvériség, 1963 (40. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1963-04-01 / 4. szám
FRATERNITY 7 He could not — like so many others — escape the stringent economic conditions in Austria- Hungary by emigrating to a foreign land. He was bound to his place by a growing family. Instead, he collected a vast amount of information about the history of the United States and life in this country. On leisurely winter evenings he would often tell stories about America to his children grouped around the fire, stories that left a deep impression on Alexander Finta and in years to come nourished his longing for the United States.6 He was a child enchanted by colors and the wonders of nature. In his curiosity he smuggled crow’s eggs into sparrow nests, sparrow eggs into lark nests, wild duck eggs into partridge nests, watching how the bewildered mothers then fed and protected their heterogeneous broods.7 (From these observations, he later said, sprang his dislike of the chauvinism and discrimination against minorities then so prevalent in Europe.) School, however, appeared immensely boring. Finta already knew the material that the upper grade was just learning. He carved the benches and drew cartoons of the teacher to pass the time away. When he was expelled for a childish prank three years later —■ at the age of nine — he was overjoyed.8 At last he felt free to learn what interested him — the secrets of nature and life. His mother grieved, but his father regarded the situation more practically and merely asked: “What do you want to be -—-a bootmaker’s apprentice or a herdboy?” Finta chose the latter. Early next morning, father and son set off for a distant prairie where Miklós Finta, the boy’s uncle, was tending a herd of horses with his men.9 6 Ibid. 7 Finta, op. cit., p. 86. 8 Ibid., pp. 14-16. 9 Ibid., p. 17.
