april 1983.
This month Dženk went to vojska, to serve his year. The farewell party saw a sizable gang - Šaki, Brata with his sister, Živa (who seems to have been with her again, or just reheating the sarma), and one guy whom we called Majstor (yes, majstor), as in „maestro, our way“. And, of course, Dženk's girl, don't know whether they were married already.
This photo was dug out by fes in august of 2024. The only one so far where my rolling [a cigarette] can be seen, not really out of a tozna yet, but from the best substitute, some red tin box, left from some tablets. The paper, of course, the Halo Lulu 22 from Tvornica papira Rijeka.
My dear was well into wearing wide dresses, eighth month...
Some random anecdotes from mašinska...
„Professor, which is better, Fjord or Jung?“, that Ješić kid from Perlez asks.
„Fjord, of course, you can't sail your ship into Jung to shelter from a storm“
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A frequent gag with a digitron (i.e. calculator, this was the generic name, named so after a local brand from Buje). One trick was to type 3515390 and pass it to the guy behind so he'd see it upside down... which, depending on how you look at it, can be read as „obesi se“ (hang yourself). Wrong reading, I said, it's „obe sise“ (both tits).
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There were some Paunović brothers (paun - peacock), very much alike but not twins, it was the older one who failed a year so they now sat together. They were merry rascals, and for once they managed to crack some joke which I didn't even get at all, let alone quip back at them, which was the only time in my educational career. But that was now, near the end of the [academic] year. Them being a bit noisier, from day one, I'd pretend to accidentally call them Ćurković (ćurka - turkey). As in that bosnian joke with Fata, where's Mujo, there larking... um, what am I saying, owling, I mixed up the birds (to lark is an euphemism for fuck, invented and used by translators from those of Kerouac and Henry Miller and Fest movies; sova - owl, soviti - to sleep or nap; to kill an owl - to sleep deep).
On some other occasion, I guess it was some geometry on the menu, I elaborate on the importance of threedimensionality because that's how our eyes are laid out... to differ from hens. And there I explain how to cause catalepsy in them, they go into stupor if they suddenly see the same thing with both eyes.
Next class in that division they report that it didn't work, they tried. What, with a hen? Well not exactly, we tried to topple Ćurka.
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It's possible that the Paunovići were eventually next year, because I remember they were in the same division as that Spasić guy (v. 25-VIII-1983.), which was a problem at times. Not that they ever engaged in any shenanigans together or that they were on bad terms with each other, they were two city bums and he was a montagnari raw material, somewhat stupid but cunning. The problem was heaving two such epicentres in the same room. Once I held a written task, and I saw Spasić casting looks through the window, aha, must be having an aide in the yard. So I said, „look, tsar, it's not proper that such a tsar as you sits there in a corner, here, take my desk, sit important as a tsar should“.
For next written [task] he counted, rightfully so, that he'd sit at the cathedra, so he devised a different plan. During the recess in comes another lad, „to return his watch“. I said you can't come in, but give me the watch and I'll pass it to him. Now look at that, the same soviet Molnia (Молния, lightning), pocket model, with a lid, as the one I have. I've seen them with a different face, mine is kind of purple, let's see this one... oops... a paper fell out. Let's see, umm... good for you that this didn't reach you, the guy who did this has no clue, it's all wrong. And I gave him the watch.
Mentions: 25-VIII-1983., Brata Maljković, fes, Gradivoj Jankulov (Dženk), majstor, MPSŠC (mašinska), sarma, Šaki, tozna, vojska, Živa Ravajlović, in serbian
25-VIII-2024 - 5-IX-2025