04-X-2014.
Picking grapes at Vanji's. Not the first time, and I'm an experienced picker, did that many times at dad's, and even once in Gemenc. Not to bogart the saxo for whole day, Ender drove me there and left me at the end of the pavement. There's another hundred or so meters of field road, which is now mostly mud.
The crop was no good. Worst year. „If anyone ever offers you a glass of wine vintage 14, spit in his eye“ - „So what to pick what to skip?“ - „If there's three or more good grapes on a bunch, pick, if less, skip“.
There wasn't much to carry, he lined up shallow crates along the line, so you just lay what you pick into the nearest, and his son (the younger one, the older is in Pest) will come with the little tractor to gather them and take them to the gnasher. Now it doesn't matter how many one has to pick, it only changes the speed - but the length of it and the number of bunches to cut is still ahead. So regardless of quality of the pickings, it still took whole day.
Of the gang I knew him, wife and son, and Eči. Few more I knew from somewhere. The lunch was, of course, simmered domestic paprikaš in a kettle. On gas, though.
The gnasher is interesting, removes the stalks. Says it's a technological miracle, various competition tried to imitate it and couldn't, these Italian engineers fine tuned the geometry of the tool down to quarter millimeter, and it works miraculously. There behind it, the wheelbarrow is full of stalks, not a single grape on it.
He bought more land next to his since last time and planted more rows, so we couldn't be finished before dark. I thought to call Ender to drive me back, it's not complicated to find (in the village take first left, drive until end), but Eči said he'll take me home. Wanted to see the house, wasn't there since once moba. So we got there, and sat for a while, talked, and then he left. I said to Ender „this guy was her classmate“. „What? I thought it was someone's parent“ (there he is on the picture, bottom left). Well yes, short gray beard, thinning scalp, looks quite grandfatherly (though I think he isn't).
The brokenek (v. house dictionary) is freely roaming the backyard. We let it out because the others in the pen want to smite it, I guess that's their order, kill the sick, g'bye adios.
Mentions: Ender Aquila (Ender), Endre Felbab (Eči), Gemenc, house dictionary, moba, saxo, Vilmoš Baranji (Vanji), in serbian