14-IX-2019.

The annual parastos of IV₄, or as Žuca has put it, "another trip with our tourist agency". Or, more to the point, "let's go out while you guys can still drive". I offered to take seven people aboard the van if needed, but only as the last reserve - I came with the van last year (08-IX-2018.) and then had only two passengers there and four back. Turned out I almost should have to repeat it, but narrowly escaped - I came to her on a bike (she's only 1,5km from here), left the bike in her yard, and then we waited for Vlada to show up. He had car trouble and eventually borrowed a cousin's car for the day.

This time we went to Čarga's place on Vršački breg (which is now called a mountain on a technicality, as it's somewhat taller than 500m, but all the natives call it breg - a hill). With his third ("the best", as he'd say) wife. Gavra called the smokers into his Saab (i.e. Dragana, two other girls and me); Bajlo was waiting along the way as his village is along the road. The present folks: Milica, Jozda, Borko, Radoje, Vlada, Ildika, Vladimira.

We first visited the cemetery there, where B.N. was buried (they're already six people short - while we were the first class to lose someone, they're competing with IV₃ with who lost more); his widow was already there, waiting. We parked at the north gate, not main, and I had to play a guide - the main gate was just 100m ahead, but barely anyone remembered the layout. I did, I was at this cemetery three times in the last five years.

Then we all drove to a monastery, a bit further away than the place where the road to Žarko's place turns off the main. Being a solid unbeliever I stayed outside, just smoking and walking. At least found a fount of fresh water, and a big tree to pee under. Nobody was surprised much, as Milica said, "he's the antichrist here". Then we climbed up the hill, and parked where the tourist buses park, and I thought it would be at least a few hundred meters up the hill, carrying bottles and stuff, but it was actually onl 50m, downhill to the side. Nice place they have.

The so-called catering only brought styrofoam boxes with barbecued stuff (meat was between excellent and good, varying; bread was the awful white industrial sponge). There were three bottles with stiff drinks - Jozda, as usual, brought a loza; the hosts pulled up a vintage bottle of local vinjak (kind of late, when everyone who wanted already had something else) and I brought a liter of last year's tuttifrutti. I proudly keep a photo of all three bottles, where mine is half empty, other two missing barely a fifth.

Jozda was bitching about smoking, not much, not too loud, but managed to be heard, so I cracked a joke (which only, I think, Dragana got.. involved Ildika) and then refused to go with them on a hike up to the tower. Antismokers can take whichever space they want, and keep it to themselves, I'm not going there.

Nothing much happened, except it took us more than two hours to drive back. Because the guys who drove the first two cars weren't any younger than the rest, and as the dusk fell they went from driving 90kmh to 80, to 70... eventually near 50. And Gavra didn't see any point in passing the convoy and getting home ahead of others, specially in my case, as I'd just have to wait for Žuca or to steal my bike from her yard.

The ride home from her place was a good test for the new light, and dang it didn't connect properly... until I touched the brake. Aha! I connected the mass wire to the brake's spring (because I could do it by bare fingers), and it turns out that the moving parts of the brake don't quite connect to the frame, there's the grease and whatnot, so OK, I'll affix the wire elsewhere.

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Mentions: 08-IX-2018., Dragana Vitas (Dragana), Gavrilo Taroški (Gavra), Ildika , IV₃, IV₄, Jovan Zdanić (Jozda), loza, Mališa Borkovski (Borko), maturski parastos (parastos), Milica Zubatović, Nenad Bajlo (Bajlo), Radoje Stević, Velemir Prokin (Čarga), vinjak, Vlada Markanić, Vladimira Brkljević, Žarko Zarin, Živana Armatović (Žuca), in serbian

7-XII-2019 - 18-VI-2024