I Live 2 Skype

Today was another Skype day from Bucharest. Here is what I learned in my 30 minutes of Virtual Face Time:

1) They leave tomorrow morning early (which is just after midnight for us) for Northern Romania in which (I’m not making this up) they skirt along Transylvania and the Carpathian mountain range. If you are not familiar with Transylvania, please check out the scholarly information helpfully offered here. And here.

2) They went to a real live prison today. Felons apparently differ in post-communist Romania from America in several significant ways, not the least of which they let their maximum security prisoners walk around, in the open, meaning…and I don’t think I can overstress this…not behind bars, and in “normal” clothes…with all sorts of woodworking and glass cutting tools in their rooms…afterwards I wondered if they had mistaken “maximum security prison” for an Eastern European form a Male Adult Day Care. I guess I better check on that.

3) Megh and Cassie walked through the entire prison except for one room…and I forgot why…I think it had something to do with it being where all the murderers were milling about before lunch, or something. She just said that she and Cassie decided they “didn’t need to see whatever was in there.” As her mother I would comment unbiasedly, “No DUH!” However, Kevin, who is there but still lacks the patented “Mother Instinct” basically because he is a Father, is in the background saying, “Why didn’t you go in there! I was there to take care of you!” I didn’t have the heart to remind him of the number of felons (of which included more than one…the clue being the “s” after felon…) vs. the number of him…even after taking into account what weapons he had “packed.” (Let me give you a hint: none.)

4) Megh’s favorite dinner tonight was traditionally Romanian which came in the form of a traditional Chinese restaurant where she had some traditionally Romanian food in the manner they called “General Tzao’s Chicken.” Classical music, in the form of David Cassidy (of “Partridge Family" fame), was provided for their dining enjoyment.

5) Cassie, being the ever-fun-loving cruise director had them while away the travel miles by playing an ever-fun-loving game: Each person had to say 5 kind/nice/complimentary/ positive things from the heart as they drove to the prison. Let it be noted that Kev (whose name…I kid you not…means “kind” in some foreign language) got a grand total of…2… He said he would have gotten 3 but he talked too long and it turned into a negative. They failed to tell me how the others fared. Maybe they’ll do a “Round 2: Cynical Edition.” Kev would be a natural. I say that with total love and respect.

6) Then they signed off…to pack. They’ll do a 5 day circuit….feel free to Follow! Along! They’ll go to Tirgu Ocna (a prison/hospital) and then to Iasi (where Sabina’s entire family were slaughtered along with most of the village.) Then they’ll go to the mouth of the Danube-Black Sea Canal Project (which was finished 30 years after Communism was) and then back to Bucharest.

Hoping they have internet at all those places at: marcyjoybryan@gmail.com