Skip to main content

Riddle, dehydrator, prisoner.

 June, 2024



Recently my library got a donation (a box with riddle cards), something like American Riddles. I tried a few cards, didn’t get any answers, not even the wrong ones, lol. But I came up with my own riddle: the house smells like garlic and onion, but there is no meal cooking on the stove. 


While you are thinking, I will tell you what I learned on one of the Russian independent YouTube channels.

However, you may have already seen or read about it in the news. 


An U.S. soldier (Gordon Black) was detained in Russia last week. Today, the Vladivostok court sentenced him to almost 4 years in a penal colony.


There are a couple of links to the articles I found and read. They actually answered my questions about how he ended up in Russia and so on.


But before learning his story, I thought of him and remembered my “life insurance” experience. 

It was 2018, I know the year because in 2018 I went to Russia. 

My husband mentioned a few times that I should get life insurance. He was saying that I was young and healthy and I wouldn't have to pay much. I had no idea about the life insurance subject, but I tried to figure it out.


I spent 3 weeks of my life talking to different agents, translating paperwork (how many pages there were, 19? X-amount of pages filled with unknown words and meanings). I even met (at home) with a nurse who checked on my health, and I gave them permission to look at my medical records. 

One of the agents who was looking for a life insurance company asked me if I was going to travel. And I said: “Yes, to Russia”. She replied: “Well, not every company will want to insure you”. 


It was very funny and insulting to me then. I couldn’t not believe that my home country was so ..unlikable…unattractive…in the eyes of representatives of the life insurance companies. I was probably even shocked.


In the end, one of the insurance companies contacted me  to negotiate a price and policy. 

LOL. They wanted me to pay $100 per month instead of $20, as it was advertised in the beginning. 


I decided that my money would be safe with me. I still don't quite understand what the benefit is of giving the money away and maybe never getting it back.


But the insurance companies were right not to trust the Russian government.


That's why I was wondering how this guy got to Russia and why. Links to the articles are down below.

I hope that he will be released somehow soon. An independent journalist suggested that Gordon Black would be used by the Russian government as an exchange fund.


The answer to my riddle is the Food Dehydrator machine I checked out from the library.

I got some garlic and green onion from my garden. In my opinion, the best way to preserve them is drying. This is not or hardly possible with the New England humidity. 

I am glad that the library has expanded its services by providing various items such as bread makers or dehydrators. 





By the way, did you see my photos from Tomsk 2018?
















Resources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/05/06/us-soldier-detained-russia/

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/us-soldier-detained-russia-officials-say-rcna150928
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Four days and Three nights of Vacation in Vermont

  I love going on vacation, but I love coming back even more. I'll tell you about the most remarkable activities for me. I will try briefly… We spent one night out of 3 in a tent. (We actually planned to have 2 nights in a tent, but the weather decided for us).  We visited Sugarbush Farm and Billings Farm & Museum, stopped at a store selling sheds and cottages, looked at the cider production process (Woods cider Mill), met with a representative of the company that will drill a well on our site, and asked questions to city officials.  And, of course, we admired the beauty of the season. It’s a pity that we couldn’t stop on the highway for photography.  At this time of the year, tourists travel to Vermont and New Hampshire specifically to admire the foliage. Daniel heard about the town of Woodstock even before the vacation. Therefore, we began to look for sights that can be seen there. As the first attraction, Google gave us The Sugarbush Farm. Google says: “ Rural...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old New Year

  Do you know what day is today (Jan 13)?  Russians celebrate the Old New Year on the night of January 13-14. How did it happen that Russians celebrate the New Year twice?  Simply by adopting a different calendar. Of course, it was not really simple, but after the October Revolution (1917), the Bolsheviks switched from the Julian calendar to Gregorian one. Because of this, all the dates moved 13 days ahead. The year 1919 began on January 1st but in accordance with the new Gregorian calendar. The Julian calendar was 2 weeks behind the Gregorian one, as a result of which the celebration of the new year was postponed from January 14th to January 1st. The Old New year isn't an official holiday. There are definitely no people who would remember the old calendar. Russians, by definition, like to celebrate holidays. The more reasons to celebrate, the better. The Old New Year is usually less festive. There may be no more gifts under the tree.  Many Russians will wait until t...
Post a Comment
Read more

The 36-hour Day

  October 20, 2013.  I was flying to America towards my unknown future. The unknown future did not frighten me absolutely. On the contrary, it was incredibly intriguing: how will my life turn out, where will I work, with whom will I make friends? I didn’t have questions like “Will I be able to get accustomed?”. The question was: “When?”.  Like many Russian women I’m hardy, determined, and purposeful. The main thing was not to get lost on the way. The trip was long and inconvenient. I wasn’t worried about geography, I just picked the cheapest tickets. I flew from Tomsk to Moscow, then to Los Angeles and then to Boston. I have never in my life traveled abroad. I was very nervous about the long trip. I was not  afraid to fly. But all these security, take your belt and shoes off, cell phone out of pockets, endless lines, navigating in big airports. Leaving Tomsk was easy from that point of view. I will not touch emotions though.  Moscow    At the Moscow ai...
Post a Comment
Read more