BEST WISHES

This weekend marks several celebrations we want to honor:

1. L'Shana Tova Tikatevu! Today marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year 5773. May it bring peace and health into each and every home! Celebrate the coming of a sweet new year with apples and honey.

2. Best wishes to Zack and Kerri on Friday's nuptials! May the years flow with love and fun!

3. Happy Birthday to Gigi Turbow who has a very special birthday today! Enjoy your time in South Bend with Leslie and Bill.

4. Michigan and Notre Dame victories! Next weekend, one must fall to the other (unfortunately). Go Blue!

We have much for which we are thankful. It may be a long time until the third Thursday in November, but it is worth noting right now that we are thankful to be happy in Moscow, living in a nice, safe and fun neighborhood. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

We are lucky to be citizens of the United States of America. Despite the issues our country may face, it is still far more preferable than most every other place on the planet.

This was brought home, again, in two very specific ways yesterday.

A. We emerged from the metro station yesterday afternoon to find the station ringed by armed militia. We continued on our way uninterrupted to see a movie, "Grabbers," and down the street we saw at least a dozen large army troop trucks. There was an anti-Putin, pro-democracy demonstration happenng farther away, and out of the trucks jumped militia men. Like the Cossacks from "Dr. Zhivago," these troops were away from the action, but were headed down the streets to begin controlling and herding the crowd. Scary and off putting!

B. We went into a store to buy a simple, lined notebook and a basic two-pocket folder, and we were once again flabbergastd by the prices. What we may pay $2-4 for, the Russians pay at least twice as much. One spiral notebook, without lined paper, cost $25! How Russian families make it remains unfathomable to Andrea and me.

And with that, our thoughts are with the families of all American service men and women deployed domestically and abroad, as well as with the families of the four diplomats who were killed by ignorance and hatred this past week.