Strange day

What a strange day it was today. So much has happened that it feels like several days were rolled into one.

I was invited to an art exhibition opening at my sister's school commemorating war events in the city of Vukovar during 1991. Apparently an art teacher at the my sister's school talked to the kids at the time and showed them Picasso's painting "Guernica". It was Picasso's way of expressing anger over the 1937 Nazi bombing of Gernika (in Spain) and the horrors that happened there. (Wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_(painting) ).

Similar events were unfolding at the time at the Croatian city of Vukovar. Croatia has declared its independence from the former Yugoslavia about 5 months prior to Vukovar occupation. Vukovar was under siege for a long time and practically wiped out by the time city fell. Thousands of people were executed and tortured and it was a terrible time. I was already in the US by that time and watched it all on TV and read about it in NY Times. I called home when I could as it cost some $3-$4 per minute back then to call. Frequent air raids then sent people running into shelters on a daily basis. Many were displaced and killed. I still have all of the letters that I have received from my friends during that time and they all wrote about the new war reality they lived in. Zagreb, ended up being only some 30 miles from the front lines but the enemy never managed to make it through and the damage in the city was minimal. Vukovar, maybe 150 miles away, was nearly erased. For those that are interested, you can read more about the Battle of Vukovar here: http://www.answers.com/topic/battle-of-vukovar.

Inspired by Guernica, the kids then painted and drew what they thought and felt. This resulted in some 200 drawings that this teacher kept and has since displayed in many galleries around the world. I just kept looking through all those drawings and just wanted to cry and cry and cry. There was so much sadness there that it was impossible not to feel it. It will take an untold number of years for people to not be personally affected by everything that happened. My sister wants me to go visit the city and the memorials there but I am not sure that I want to. These things never leave you. The art teacher talked about his experience (before I saw the kids' drawings) and mentioned that some day he'd like to collect all of the drawings into a book and I thought to myself, this is so great, I could help him with the book. I should talk to this guy. In my mind I've already started on the whole thing. After seeing the drawings, I don't know that I would be brave enough to do it. Time will tell. I wanted to share some of the images that you see attached here. They speak more than any words. Just remember how very, very lucky we all are not to had to have lived through such things. Afterwards I've talked to a number of people including one of the soldiers that was at Vukovar at the time.

Then I saw a girl that I used to attend elementary school with. Recognized her right away. Then some happy moments ensued as we reminisced about how things once were when we were kids many years ago. I met a bunch of my sister's friends and we went to a local coffee shop to talk for a while.

Got home, figured the day was over and went to my computer to work. Then I heard screaming and shuffling and running around the house. Ivona (my niece), on her way to bed mind you, tripped, fell and split her chin open. So I assisted my sister to the emergency room at midnight. Ivona lived and went home scared but safe with a couple of stitches in her chin. It's 2:30 am and I think it's time for a break. I hope for a less eventful day tomorrow.