Tartu

Estonia

August 20, 2014

Jewish Cemetery, Roosi Street, Tartu

Herr Schapiro buried his young daughter here (1898-1922) and then his wife Hinde Simon (1923).

The Bakst Family is here.  Slomo (1872-1940).  Liuba (1868-1949).  Boris (1901-1941).

Kune Lea Kaplan (1876-1926)

Aisik Grinson (1847-1924)

Ernestine Flachs (1868-1910)

Aron Liebermann (1879-1925)

Samuel Blum (1860-1913)

A.J. Sois (1886-1913)

Abram Pasternak (1864-1928) was buried here by his wife.

Segulda 

Latvia

August 26, 2014

Cool.  Rain.

“Latvia” is printed on a sign of deep blue with a circle of gold stars.  It is the only indication that I driven across the boundary of the sovereign nation of Estonia and into the sovereign nation of Latvia, both members of the European Union.  

Barriers?   Uniforms?  Questions?  Paperwork?  None of the above.

No anger.  No fear.  No fences between good neighbors. 

How civil.  How civilized. 

Unfortunately, unlike the “Union,” the weather is not cooperating.

For two days, I must forcibly eject myself from the comfort of the Villa Alberta to see the local castles.

Kaunas

Lithuania

September 19, 2014

The Eyes Cannot Answer “Why?”

The eyes.  The eyes.  Always the eyes!

The eyes remember.  The eyes see.  Do the eyes foretell?

The eyes know.  The eyes teach.   

The eyes know what happened.

Do the eyes know why?