Marcus L Endicott

Original Map Circa 1990 Vilnius to Riga

Sunday, October 7, 1990

Sasha woke me up at 8am, saying the weather was good and that we should travel. It took nearly two hours for us to clean up, get packed, and for Yuri to prepare a delicious breakfast of hashbrown potatoes. It seemed the whole neighborhood was there to see us off. Whispering "perestroika", old women and children children were hanging out of windows.

We rode north to the Lithuanian border, where we stopped for photos and lunch of canned fish, lard sandwiches, watermelon, Sesamki bars, and Himalajki cookies with honey. I was perhaps a little disappointed not to find any sort of official presence there. However, we did pass an informal police checkpoint in the first town we came to. I flashed them a peace sign, and they broke into laughter. We continued on to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, stopping only twice, once for Sasha to repair a broken spoke, and again to snack on apples, sesame bars, and traubenzucker sugar tablets. We arrived during a light rain, late in the day.

We rode through one of the loveliest though most dilapidated old towns I've seen in Europe, to locate the apartment of the Servas host we called from Brest. No one was home. So, we went to the Intourist hotel, but a double room cost $83, only payable in hard currency. There were lots of kids hanging around. At first I was a little afraid of them, but we ended up trading stickers for pins.

After trying to call another Servas host, who happened to be in graduate school at Notre Dame at the time, his lovely parents, Ramelyte & Valentin, both mathematics professors, invited us to be their guests anyway. We had a hard and confusing ride across town trying to find them. They served us a good dinner with tea. We relaxed watching TV before going to bed.

Monday, October 8, 1990

Awoke at 6am to say goodbye to Sasha, who had to return to his Ph.D. program in Minsk. I went back to sleep for a couple of hours. I listened to the BBC before getting up again. I got horrendous reception in this forest of apartment blocks near the towering, space-age telecommunications needle. I wrote in my journal and straightened up the living room, before setting up my computer. I had a nice breakfast of cheese, salami, tea, milk, yogurt, and omelet together with my hosts. Afterwards, I gave them a tour of my computer and printed out a list of my contact addresses there.

I went into town by trolley with my host when he went to work in the afternoon. I went to visit what I thought was the EYFA contact, but turned out to be a representative of the green movement, not the Green Party, named Saulius. We talked some, and he offered to arrange a "program" for me. Afterwards, I wandered around the city center snacking, before going to check on a Green Party contact at the Academy of Management. From there, I was taken to the parliament cafeteria, where I had lunch with meat while waiting for liaison people to come. I saw later on the news that the party chairman was occupied at that time with a debate on the participation of Lithuanians in the Soviet Army. Two young people arrived at 4pm, a guy named Rimvydas and a woman from the Environmental Protection Department. They tried to explain the current situation with the Green Party to me, but it was confusing. Later we went to visit the Environmental Protection Department headquarters for more formal conference on Lithuanian ecology. I also enjoyed informal talks with enthusiastic young people working there.

I returned to my host family by bus. We had a delicious dinner meat and potatoes. I washed nearly all of my by now putrid clothing by hand in tubs, hanging it to dry on the balcony. Saulius called from across town, but I could hardly hear him; it was the worst telephone connection I ever had in my life. I went to bed after the evening news on television.

Tuesday, October 9, 1990

I listened to the BBC and wrote in my journal before getting up to clear the bedding from the living room. I set up my computer to revise my list of contacts. We had cheese and salami toast with tea for breakfast. Afterwards, Valentin and I shared family pictures and talked a long time about life in America. Roma left for work at her institute. I played games on the computer. We tried to book a call to the States, but same day service was not possible. I tried to call Moscow, also without success. However, I did get through to Riga.

I went into town by bus and wandered around extensively, snacking on buns and ice cream. I made an attempt to find OVIR, the office of visa and registration, but had so much trouble that I gave up. I found the wrong one (apparently not for foreigners), but stood in line anyway hoping to get some information. After half an hour in a line that wasn't moving at all, I determined Lithuania was independent and Russian bureaucracy could go to hell without me. I then went to the central telephone exchange to send a telegram to my father in Texas, which cost me 12 Roubles, and saw kids playing games in a make-shift computer center. I also went by the central post office and waited in line for half an hour to get 42 Roubles worth of new Lithuanian stamps.

Around 16:30, I met Saulius at his office. He drove me to the offices of the newspaper, GREEN LITHUANIA, for an interview. He was pressed for time, so left in a hurry. Three women were there to meet us. The spirituality editor, Antanina, translated in lovely Indian English. She is a devotee of a guru from India, named Sai Baba. Her stories about how this choice of spiritual path effected her parents, were for me hilariously similar to those I heard at home. Fortunately for me, they couldn't get their micro-cassette recorder to work right.

I picked up a snack before taking a crowded bus back to my host family. They were waiting with ale, cheese, and apple pie. Valentin lamented that hops for making beer have been unavailable since the summer blockade. We watched the evening news from Moscow and "Dynasty" from Poland on television. Valentin read the whole manual for my computer before going to bed.

Wednesday, October 10, 1990

I listened to VOA and wrote in my journal before getting up. I cleared the bedding from the living room. Valentin made a delicious breakfast of crepes and tea for me.

I took a packed bus to meet Saulius at his old office in the Academy of Science building. He drove us to the ecological center, Alternatyva, shared by both the green movement and the Green Party. We met there with the director, Arturas, and his assistant, Aidas.

This cooperation was not necessarily the rule, as people from the Green Party referred to people in the green movement as being at least pink, if not red, due to their connection with the nature protection clubs created under the old system. This is consistent with the emerging pattern of Eastern European greens being slightly right of center in reaction to left of center governments. They strongly favor democracy and market economy. This is in contrast to Western greens who are slightly left of center in reaction to their right of center governments. Of course, this is complicated by the fact that totalitarianism is really a form of conservatism and therefore right of center.

We discussed socially and ecologically responsible tourism. We watched video tapes of their peace march through a Soviet military base, of a rock concert held on top of a waste dump, and their drive to exchange war toys for peace toys. This last was particularly dramatic when the war toys were put in a hot air balloon and then they vanished into infinity.

They took me to a decent state restaurant for a lunch of carrot salad, fish patties, soup, and meat with noodles. They stubbornly refused to let me pay. We had cake and tea back at the ecological center. I tried all afternoon to make a direct connection with GreenNet in London. The computer signal tones from London were audible four times, but my computer would not pick them up and connect. I called an expert in Tallinn for advice. He was a bit surprised, but tried to help. I also called to the SovAm Teleport in Moscow for some information. A television crew from their program, Green Wave, burst in by surprise, having come for another reason, but I declined to be interviewed at that time. I finally ran out of 9 volt batteries for my modem.

Again, I took a packed bus back to my host family. On the way back to the apartment, I stopped at the nearby hard currency store to look for batteries, but there were no 9 volt ones available. Valentin and I met at the door going in. Later he drew me a map of where to perhaps find the batteries. He also gave me maps of Riga and Tallinn. We had dinner of yogurt, blueberry crepes, grapes, and wine. Valentin was originally from Crimea and so he really appreciated southern delicacies like grapes and wine. (In fact, some of my Lithuanian friends asked me why I was staying with a Ukrainian family. I had to delicately explain to them that Roma was Lithuanian and that Valentin had been living there for decades.) I perused books about Lithuanian art and architecture, while my hosts watched TV. Later Valentin showed Roma my book and, since she doesn't read English, explained various aspects to her.

Thursday, October 11, 1990

I listened to the VOA and wrote in my journal, and straightened up the living room before taking a shower. I had breakfast of cheese filled crepes with blueberry sauce, tea, dark bread, 2 kinds of cheese, butter, and salami with Roma and Valentin in the kitchen. I took the bus into town and went to a photography shop looking for 9 volt batteries, but only found 4.5 volt ones. So, I bought four of those for 1 Rouble and 20 Kopeks. I also went by an electronics store, but it was mobbed by what seemed to be more than a hundred people, who were spilling out into the street and almost blocking traffic. Following Valentin's "treasure map" further, I went to the central department store, next to the Intourist hotel, but there were no 9 volt batteries, which they call "Krona".

I took a bus to the ecological center. Aidas and I snacked on cake, tea, and apples. I was expressed my curiosity about the highly sophisticated security system there at the ecological center, and came to learn that it was located on the former premises (in an apartment block) of what had been a "pseudo- military" organization before the recent democratization. At noon, I tried to book a call home, but the operator said she couldn't place a voice call to the States for three days, but that we could send a fax. We said, "sure." So, after stating "telefax" loud and clear I continued to talk with my father for 3 minutes. I gave him the telephone number of Soviet Travels in Moscow for any messages. I worked all afternoon, trying to make connection with electronic bulletin board systems in both Tallinn and Moscow. Finally, I called the SovAm Teleport office in Moscow for some information and help. I found out that their two primary numbers only supports modems with MNP error correction, but got another number for 300 baud (CCITT.) After that I made a successful connection, but had no password to enter the system.

I went back into town by bus in the evening. I got something resembling rice burgers on the street from a pushcart vendor, and an ice cream bar from a kiosk or market stall. Afterwards, I went looking for the offices of the GREEN LITHUANIA newspaper in the rain. I got a little disoriented, but finally found the place. Antanina and one of the other women were working on their interview with me, when I arrived and were glad to see me. Antanina wanted to talk my ear off about Sai Baba's miracles in her life. But I showed them my book, and we completed the interview.

I went back to my host family by bus. I had mushrooms, potatoes, beer, and yogurt by myself, while Roma and Valentin watched television. They had a nice TV set that they brought from Germany.

Friday, October 12, 1990

I listened to the VOA and wrote in my journal before straightening up the living room. We had breakfast of tea, bread, butter, cheese, salami, eggs, paprika, tomatoes, and more. Roma's brother, Antanitas, came over, and Roma and Valentin went with him to the hospital to visit his daughter there. I stayed behind and phoned Volodya and Tatyana in Leningrad for Teleport account information.

I went to the ecological center by taxi for 10 Roubles. I worked there all day on my computer. Aidas found his account information; so after we spoke with the SovAm staff, we got into the Teleport. I uploaded information to the conferences "reg.eeurope" and "awf.rainbownews". This was the first time in five months that I could access awf.rainbownews, because it is not available on GreenNet. I also got onto CompuServe and sent Dad lots of email. GEnie was available too, but I couldn't remember my password. Later in the day, I received email back from Bill Leland, the director of EcoNet, advising me of account availability. I then logged onto my own account and discovered lots of mail which hadn't been rerouted to GreenNet.

We snacked on bread, cheese, and tea there at the center. I gave a demonstration for the staff of the whole process of connecting to both Moscow and San Francisco and sending email, until my our 9 volt battery failed. I felt a little guilty because we had taken it from their radiation meter.

I went by the dollar shop, Mercurius, for a gift for my hosts on the way back to their apartment, but it was already closed. I walked the rest of the way back. We had dinner together, which was the same as breakfast except that we also had cake with both rose and honey wines. I talked to them about how their son, Askoldas, in the States could get email to them. They were very interested in my book, and gave his address so that I could send him a copy when I got home. We watched the evening news on television before I went to sleep on the sofa bed.

>Date:  12-Oct-90  05:24 CDT
>From:  M.L. Endicott [72330,72] [72330,72]
>Subj:  Love from Lithuania
>
>Hi from Vilnius, Lithuania!  Enjoyed our "telefax" conversation
yesterday.
>Slow telegrams via Moscow.  Tell Hamlin to send me some e-mail.  I am
>online from the Ecological Center in Vilnius via my equipment, their
>SOVAM/TELEPORT account in Moscow, and your account here.
>
>I crossed the border at Brest without problem.  But later found out there
>was one open with Lithuania which the S.U. consul in Krakow did not
>inform me about (of course!)  I met a great christian nationalist bicycle
>tourist in Poland who accompanied me from Brest to Vilnius, 4 days - the
>best part of trip, great camping here.
>
>I'm staying with a family of mathemticians, whose son is now at South
>Bend, Indiana (??)  Will leave for Riga monday or tuesday.  My visa is
>valid until Nov. 15.  Will then be in Leningrad.  Plan to stay thru New
>Year in Moscow if possible.  Plenty of food here.  Wonderful people.
>
>Please post accompanying info on EcoNet conf. reg.eeurope if possible. 
>Check to see if it is already there - as am trying other possibilities
>also.
>
>Love, Marcus  :-)  o-o


>Date:  12-Oct-90 09:37 CDT
>From:  M.L. Endicott [72330,72] [72330,72]
>Subj:  fun fun fun
>
>Hi again from L!  Its 4:30pal time and its been a full day of
>international telecommunication here at the Lithuanian Greens Ecological
>Center in Vilnius.  I made contact with SOVAM in Moscow at 300 baud,
>CCITT.  From there I can access compuserve, genie, econet, and more.  I
>have forgotten my Genie password, there may be a new one anyway as the old
>may have been tempo.  If you post it here as mail, I can read it here
>(addressed to self.)  I posted above addresses on econet alr.  Will try to
>contact you again here if not from Riga.  No need to check WELL messages,
>since I can reach you this way.  bye for now.  Marcus


>Topic 35  Lithuanian Greens / mendicott 
>rbistrickas    reg.eeurope     5:47 am  Oct 12, 1990 
> 
>Lithuanian Green Movement 
>Kalvariju 130-48 
>232042 Vilnius 
>tel: 765609 
>tel & fax: (0122) 766737 
>[5 deputies in parliament] 
>[40 local clubu & groups, including 400 active members] 
>[monthly 1 hour TV program: ZALIOJI BANGA (GREEN WAVE)] 
> 
>ZALIOJI LIETUVA (GREEN LITHUANIA-MEA.Jaksto street 9 
>232600 Vilnius 
>tel: 627-458 
>[Alvydas Karalius, editor] 
>[biweekly publication of Lithuanian Green Movement] 
> 
>Lithuanian Greens Ecological Center "Alternatyva" 
>Kalvariju 130-48 
>232042 Vilnius 
>tel: 765609 
>tel & fax: (0122) 766737 
>[Arturas Abromavicius, director] 
> 
>Lithuanian Green Party 
>[4 deputies in parliament] 
>[200 members] 
>[postal address: Pylimo 4, 232001 Vilnius] 
>[publication: PUSIAUSVYRA (EQUILIBRIUM)] 
>-Zigmas Vaisvila, PhD. physics 
> Taikos 87-30 
> 232035 Vilnius 
> tel: 42-39-23 (home) 
>      61-14-15 (work) 
> [chairman of Lithuanian Green Party] 
> [member: 
>  Sajudis executive council, 
>  Lithuanian Supreme Soviet, 
>  USSR Congress of People's Deputies] 
            

Saturday, October 13, 1990

I listened to the VOA and wrote in my journal, and straightened up the living room. I slipped out the door at 08:30 to go to the Mercurius dollar shop to get some olive oil to present my hosts. It took only 15 minutes to walk briskly through the thick fog, which brought back memories of junior high school at Institute Montana high atop the Zugerberg in Switzerland. I hung around watching the people until the shop opened promptly at 09:00. But I was disappointed to find that the olive oil had been sold out since my last visit. It took me a long time to decide what I should get instead, from the meager supply of foodstuffs. I finally decided on tea and chocolate. But I was surprised to find out that the prices were in so-called hard currency, or gold, Roubles rather than dollars. This almost doubled the prices. So, I only bought chocolate made in Lithuania. I was further surprised to see that the shop not only accepted US coins, but also gave them as change.

I came back to a breakfast of dumplings, tomatoes, paprika, tea, bread, salami, venison sausage, cheese, and more. Unfortunately, I discovered that the chocolates were liqueur filled cordials, but at least they tasted good. I thought that at $4.12 (2.30 hdc roubles) they ought to taste good.

Roma's brother came by with his car. He took all of us to the nearby old capital of Lithuania, called Trakai. The weather was perfect. We visited a beautifully reconstructed old castle on an island, surrounded by a magnificent lake. However, the castle was swarming with ill-mannered school children. Afterwards, we went to a "Kariume kabine" for lunch. This is a traditional restaurant of a unique, tiny transplanted ethnic group of Turkic peoples from Crimea. They were brought here to be sentries for King Tautas. Their homes interestingly have only three windows facing the street. We toured their small museum. We also toured a "tourist base". We took the old road back to Vilnius, and saw several old royal estates along the way.

But I enjoyed touring grocery stores looking for ale with Valentin and Antanitas most of all. Some products were already at "market" prices, ahead of the January 1, 1991, privatization. Back at the apartment, we drank wine and watched a Soviet television documentary about John Lennon, before dining on smoked fish, tomatoes, black bread, tea, and soda with syrup.

Sunday, October 14, 1990

I listened to the VOA and wrote in my journal, before straightening up the living room. I had an early breakfast alone in the kitchen of syrup and soda, yogurt, black bread, butter, cheese, and salami.

I took buses to the ecological center. Aidas made an adapter for my modem from a 9 volt battery he dismantled and a spare 9 volt transformer. It worked fine. I spent the whole day working on my computer, EcoNet, and CompuServe. I finished reviewing the old email which had piled up on EcoNet. I also read new mail from Dad on CompuServe and posted reply. I visited conferences and searched various key words on both EcoNet and the San Francisco\Moscow Teleport (SFMT). Disappointingly, CompuServe did not allow a primary search of users by on geography.

Aidas returned with lunch of apple juice and cheese sandwiches. Afterwards, we tried to get his Apple Macintosh and US Robotics Courier 2400e hardware, and Red Ryder and MicroPhone software to work right, but without success. He also shot a video interview with me for their television show, GREEN WAVE.

I took a bus back to my host family, but no one was home when I arrived. Roma and Valentin had gone to look for a new country house. I was snacking on warm milk, black bread, and cheese spread with cayenne pepper when they returned. We later hooked up the computer to their phone and sent email to some folks at Notre Dame on PeaceNet. We had dinner of potato pancakes and watched television before going to bed.

>Date:  13-Oct-90 09:40 EDT 
>From:  M.L. Endicott [72330,72] [72330,72] 
>Subj:  reply to your messages 
> 
>Dear Marcus, have downloaded all your messages and will try to get the
>info onto econet when I get a little bit more time.  Have left the
>messages in the mailbox for the moment -- will delete next week.  Good to
>hear that things are working out well with you -- continue to stay in
>contact via compuserve.  Also, Hamlin really would like for you to call
>him.  Love, Dad


>Date:  13-Oct-90 17:54 EDT 
>From:  M.L. Endicott [72330,72] [72330,72] 
>Subj:  2d reply to your messages 
> 
>Dear Marcus, am back on again after reading over the download -- have
>deleted your old messages since I now have hard copies that I am sure of. 
>Have checked the documentation you left and your GENIE password is not
>included -- sorry.  Also, will not be trying to get your info onto econet
>as you say that you can do it yourself.  You should delete my messages to
>you have reading or downloading them. 
> 
>Talked on the phone with Nanny & Poppy this afternoon. They were glad to
>hear that you were OK and were fasci nated by CompuServe. 
> 
>Bruce and Kathy Knaack are here now (I am at Duane's with Caroline,
>Nicole, and Sarah), so will sign off. 
> 
>Take care and stay in touch.  Love, Dad 


>Date:  14-Oct-90
>From:  M.L. Endicott [72330,72] [72330,72] 
>Subj: 
>
>Hi Dad,
>I'm writing this for upload Sunday, 12:00 noon local time.  Its a
>beautiful sunny day in Vilnius.  There is a congress of the greens here
>this weekend, so I'm alone in the eco center all day.  Phone calls to
>Moscow are only 25 kopeks per minute (20+ rubles to the dollar black.)  No
>regular 9volt batteries are available here now, so we dismantled an old
>one and attached a transformer - seems to work fine with my modem.  [Wish
>I had brought an MNP error correction modem instead of the one I did, as I
>haven't used the fax option.]
>
>I can use my econet account from here so am happy.  I should have no
>trouble using this system (SOVAM Teleport) throughout my stay (tho lack of
>contact is not grounds for concern!)  I plan to leave tommorrow by bike
>for Riga, Latvia.  With acceptable weather it will take a comfortable four
>days riding time.  I will be attending a medium-sized ecological
>conference there for a week.  I plan to be in Riga until the end of the
>month.  My concept now is to finish bicycling in Leningrad, perhaps with a
>press conference at the US consulate, if I can enlist the press attache's
>interest and assistance.
>
>My visa is valid through November 15.  If I can get it extended (which I
>should be able to do), I want to stay in the USSR through New Year. 
>(Privatisation officially takes place January 1.)  I have no concrete idea
>of return date or travel route; will keep you posted as I discover the
>future.
>
>Please call Kathy Dudek, at (704) 293-9670 [perhaps 7am EST], and tell her
>that I'm in the Soviet Union and have this good communication link with
>you.  Perhaps there are some things that I need to know about my business.
>
>Here is some information about my private telex number (via econet):
>
>>From attmail!telex Fri Jun 15 05:08 PDT 1990 
>>>From telex Fri Jun 15 12:06:29 GMT 1990 remote from attmail 
>>Date: Fri Jun 15 08:06:53 EDT 1990 
>>From: attmail!telex (AT&T  Tlx ) 
>>Auto-Forwarded-From: attmail!mendicott (Marcus  Mendicott ) 
>>Auto-Forward-Count: 1 
>>Subject: TELEX MESSAGE 
>>To: attmail!mendicott (Marcus  Mendicott ) 
>> 
>>ZCZC MAX253 
>> 
>>TRTATT 
>>159101 
>> 
>>150240522+MENDICOTT 
>> 
>>BT 
>>this telex message welcomes you to the world of at+t mail where, THROUGH
>>AN ARRANGEMENT WITH TRT TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION, you can send
>>messages to any telex terminal in the united states or throughout the
>>world. instructions on how to use this telex access service can be found
>>in THE ON LINE HELP FACILITY. your telex correspondents can send messages
>>from their telex terminal to your at+t MAIL account by simply dialing the
>>telex number assigned to you, and sending their message. your telex
>>number and identifying answerback are as follows, and should be given to
>>all your domestic and international  telex correspondents: 
>>              telex number - 150240522 
>>              answerback   - MENDICOTT    
>>NOTICE THAT YOUR TELEX NUMBER IS YOUR AT+T MAIL ACCOUNT NUMBER 
>>PRECEDED BY 15= AND YOUR TELEX ANSWERBACK IS YOUR AT+T MAIL
>>USERNAME. 
>>if you have any questions or need assistance please telephone 
>>1-800-mail-672.
>
>
>Love,
>Marcus
            

Monday, October 15, 1990

I listened to the VOA and wrote in my journal, and straightened up the living room for the last time. I breakfasted in the kitchen with Valentin. Roma had gone to the dentist. We had tea, yogurt, good quark and flour patties, black bread, butter, cheese, and salami. I packed up afterwards.

Antanina, from the GREEN LITHUANIA newspaper, arrived with a photographer at 09:00. So, I started loading my bike down on the street in front of the building. Aidas also showed up soon after. There were photos, hugs, and good-byes all around before leaving.

Aidas joined me with his bike and video camera for a 20 kilometer ride out of town into the countryside. One woman waiting at the bus stop to go to work shouted in English as we rode past, "How are you doing?" Aidas answered back, "Marvelous!" He shot some video footage of me after we reached the countryside.

I continued on alone the rest of the day. I stopped at nice wayside rest area for a picnic lunch of syrup water, Himalajki cookies, and Sesamki bars. Afterwards, I continued down the wide shoulder of the long, straight, boring new M12 four lane highway past the town of Ukmerge, where I started looking for a place to camp. But soon I reached the construction where the four lane highway, and the wide shoulder, ended. I finally found a good place before dusk in a huge forest with no sign of humanity.

I cooked some Soviet instant soup that Sasha had left with me. Afterwards, I set my tent up in the middle of a damp fir thicket. Just before dark, I saw a big owl close by. And I was awoken in the night by a big buck snorting in my ear.

Tuesday, October 16, 1990

I woke up cold and damp. Unfortunately, I slept cold because I had thoughtlessly left the tent door open and failed to fully inflate my mattress. The temperature had dipped to around 0 degrees Centigrade.

I listened to the VOA, and had a vitamin and chocolate, before getting up to shit in a cat hole. After boiling swamp water for five minutes, I made a big pot of Lapsang Souchong, using packets of artificial lemon flavoring liberated from my grandfather's deathbed. I also enjoyed some Himalajki cookies and Sesamki bars with it. I wrote in my journal, before packing up wet. I hit the road happy, on a foggy morning.

I reached my immediate destination of the town of Panevezys by lunch time. I stopped to telephone Aidas' friend, Giedrius, a new Lithuanian state inspector of environment and weather. But no one at his home or work could speak English, or German. I ate a couple of ice cream cones and went to look for the bus station, where I was supposed to meet Giedrius after work. When I got to the bus station a long-haired man rushed out of a cooperative (private) music kiosk, and told me in good English that several people were looking for me. Soon Giedrius showed up and lead me with his car to his parent's nice house.

I met his young wife, Salvinia, and their beautiful five month old baby daughter, Agne. I was served a good lunch of fish, tomatoes, potatoes, and homemade beer that his father made. We tried to communicate through an old English-Lithuanian dictionary, until a local English teacher, who spoke excellently, arrived and straightened out our minor misunderstandings, whereupon we all laughed heartily.

We went to meet with eight young greens for a dinner of the Lithuanian national dish, "zepelina", something like greasy dumplings. We talked for many hours about ecology in Lithuania and America. They presented me with a number of gifts, including a national sash. We also sang songs.

Back at Giedrius', after I took a bath, we drank beer and listened to my Asheville Skyline cassette, played chess with my computer, and looked at photos until midnight. He offered me the hospitality of his in-laws, who live in the last town before the Latvian border, for the following night, which I gladly accepted. I had a welcome, wonderful dry, warm bed in their clean and neat guest room.

Wednesday, October 17, 1990

I listened to the VOA and wrote in my journal before getting up. I packed before eating breakfast of potato pancakes with sour cream, tea with jam, bread, butter, salami, and pickles. After Giedrius' mother gave me a sandwich, apples, pickles, and syrup water, his father lead me out of town in their new car.

The road north toward Latvia was narrow and carried a lot of big trucks, but it was flat and the day was sunny. I stopped to snack and piss at rest areas, as there wasn't much forest.

I arrived at the village of Salociai and found the house of Giedrius' in-laws at around 15:00, but no one was home except their obnoxious dog. However, I sat in their lovely fall farmyard until a long-haired teenager came home from school beaming. This turned out to be Salvinia's baby brother, Gintautas, a heavy metal guitarist.

He warmed up a big lunch for us. I insisted we blast my copy of the Grateful Dead's latest two albums from his terrible Soviet mono cassette player, instead of his Sodom and Testament thrash metal sounds. He showed me his coin collection. He had some old coins from tsarist Russia and free Lithuania and Latvia. We went through all the coins from my trip, and I gave him most of the doubles he didn't have. He gave me some Russian, Soviet, and Nazi coins and bills which he had doubles of. So, I gave him some Yugoslavian, Polish, and American bills. He taught me how to play dominoes, while we watched television until his mother, father, and three brother-in-laws returned dirty from a day of harvesting beets for the collective farm. They were being paid 50 Roubles each for two days of work, in contrast to a usual monthly pay of perhaps 200 Roubles.

Andrus, one of Giedrius' three fellow brother-in-laws, was an airline employee in Vilnius and spoke English well. Remis, the other brother-in-law, was a student of Russian language who also spoke German. He was quick to note that it was not a good time to be a student of Russian in Lithuania. We enjoyed a big dinner of sausages, soup, potatoes, pickles, tomatoes, apples, bread, and beer. We talked animatedly in English and German all evening while watching television. After Giedrius left, the other two asked me to make an invitation to America for them. They wanted to buy a car, which is hard to get there. We discussed hypothetical details until going to bed. Their over-worked mother-in-law insisted on making a bed for me alone in a huge room. I woke up once in the night to make the trip around back of the barn, by the barking dog and the honking geese, to the outhouse.

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