"We are here because enough people ignored the voices who told them that the world could not change!"

What's Latin for "they came, they saw, they charmed?" That's what President and Mrs. Obama did when he spoke to the Czech people on April 5th, 2009 on a hazy Sunday morning at Hradcany Namesti (Prague Castle Square).

Beginning with Czech history from Chicago (something well-known to Czech people and hardly known outside of Chicago within America), President Obama shared his Chicago roots in a way that charmed the Czechs and Americans like me in the audience. He honored Czech people for things they love about themselves and by extension, that Czechs teach foreigners to love about them as well: their humor, their high level of culture, their "unconquerable spirit despite empires rising and falling, and the "revolutions ... led in arts and sciences, politics, and poetry. "

My very favorite part of the speech was one I did not expect. When he was establishing connection with his Czech audience, President Obama talked about the improbability of him serving the United States as President and of Czech people being free to live their lives in democracy:

"We are here today because enough people ignored the voices who told them that the world could not change."

What a perfect thing to say to a nation of skeptics who don't believe that democracy will change anything, who don't believe that corruption can ever end, and that don't believe their politicians will stop arguing and start governing. President Obama was asking Czechs to believe. It was easily the most moving part of his speech.

He was asking them to recognize their own power as citizens and visionaries if they organize and work for and believe in change. After all, it was their first democratically-elected President, President Vaclav Havel, who proved that "moral leadership is more important than any weapon." Believe, Czech people, believe!

He did not come here to argue the merits of the proposed missile defense system to the Czech people. He aimed much bigger than that. He came to propose a nuclear-free world. Now if any other politician proposed such a thing in a speech, I have to admit, I would roll my eyes that he expected me to believe such a Pollyanna vision is possible. But if there is anything I have learned about my President is that he accomplishes things that others might not even dream up. This is a man who had his credit card denied trying to get into the Democratic convention in 2000 in Los Angelas just so he could attend and eight years later was the nominee of his party. I'm not discounting the possibility that he could actually do it.

He broke the whole idea of eliminating nuclear weapons down to manageable short-term goals, any one of which would be an accomplishment in it's own right. Godspeed, Mr. President.

He even labeled the Czech Republic as a being in the heart of Central Europe, not Eastern Europe! Americans labelling the Czech Republic as "Eastern Europe" drives Czech people crazy. We Yanks can't help it, we still have that Iron Curtain line in our heads. When I talk to Czech friends my age, I realize they do too. It is a new generation, born in freedom, that has a new reality. Major charm points, President Obama. Thanks for coming to the Czech Republic!

There are great photos of President and Mrs. Obama in Prague on the White House blog dated April 9, 2009 at http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog.

President Obama in Prague!

Dreams of My Father (in Czech!)

President Obama came to Prague to speak and 30,000 of us showed up! I was excited especially after my blogged open letter asking President Obama to come to Prague to talk to the Czechs about the radar base was read by a corespondent at the BBC. A producer emailed me and asked if I would be willing to do an interview. "Could you also find us a skeptical Czech to interview," they asked. Someone who represents Prime Minister Topolanek's viewpoint [that the American way is the "highway to hell?"]. Ha. That would be easy. ALL Czechs are skeptical!

I tried to get a press pass at the American Cultural Center. And why not? Bloggers get press passes to almost everything back home from the Democratic and Republican conventions to the Inauguration. Now that newspapers are closing at the rate of one a week in America, bloggers have never been a more important part of the democracy conversation. I have to admit I felt sheepish though when I took my place in press pass pickup line and asked the embassy lady if I was on the list. The guy in front of me was from Danish TV. The guy behind me was from the Washington Post Berlin bureau.

"Name?" she said. I told her my first name and surname. "No, the name of your media outlet." I gamely replied "Empty Nest Expat." Gentle readers, you would have been proud of me. I managed to carry that off with a straight face. "Uh, I don't think you're on the list," she said. "But here, she said, is an invitation to have a closer spot at the speech."

It was harder than I thought to find a skeptical Czech who was willing to go with me and be interviewed. I called a friend on April 1st and asked him but he couldn't talk right then. He called me back the next day and asked "Is this for real? I was laying in bed thinking about it and then I remembered that you Americans have this holiday...." No, no. This was for real. Not an April Fool's joke.

I asked another Czech who I knew to be really skeptical of Obama's stimulus package. He had asked me after the stimulus package passed, "Why is America spending all of that money going into debt? We [the Czech Republic] couldn't afford that debt. And why is all of that money being funneled to companies rather than regular people? It just creates graft."

He wouldn't be my skeptical Czech either though. "Journalists? I'm skeptical of them too. They just pull a bit out of what everyone says to manipulate the news." Man, these Czechs are tough cookies. They don't have much faith in ANYBODY!

Luckily, I met this articulate young man at the tram stop on the way to the speech. We instantly hit it off. He looked at my invitation and said "this is very Czech. It's meaningless. It's just to make you feel important while you stand with everyone else at the speech."

"But it's from the American Embassy!" I said. "Doesn't matter. It's not going to get you any closer. This is Czech," he kept saying.

He was right. We were in the back half, far, far from the press risers. The producer emailed me and said they were unable to get down from the risers to talk to the people. It didn't look like the interview would come off. I was disappointed but knew that the interview wasn't the point of the morning.

Protestors at the entrance to Prague Castle.

Gee, I guess I needn't have worried
about how I looked when I went
to try and get a press pass.

Yes, that number is 70!

A Czech patriot wearing his medals
and proudly displaying a beloved photograph
of his father with Founder of the Czech Republic Masaryk.
This man was imprisoned by Communists after WWII.

My pal Petr whom I met that day
kept me entertained for three hours.
He was my skeptical Czech!

Michael
aka Blogging Gelle!

Everybody watching for the big entrance.

30,000 cameras reach up as the couple takes the stage.

The experience itself was underwhelming.
Three hours of waiting
with the realization you can't see a thing!

Thank goodness someone invented YouTube.
I hope to write more
about Obama's speech after the Easter Holiday.

The American flag, the Czech flag,
and the European Union Flag.

There is always room for wit on my blog.
These protestors made their point
by making everyone smile.

30,000 people leaving the square -
all wanting to go
a different direction than us.

After we had left the square, I got another text from the producer saying "can you come down here in five minutes, we are able to get off the risers." By then we were long gone out of the square and going back through the alley of 30,000 people and into the square would easily have taken a half hour.

I have increased appreciation for journalists after this. We were tired. We just wanted to go home. Journalists have to write something, after all that standing, and then produce it on deadline. Their job is a lot less glamorous than TV makes it look. And they do it day, after day, after day.

Share the Best of Czech Culture

It would be a shame if all of these foreign reporters and diplomats came to Prague for President Obama's visit and left knowing no more about Czech culture than when they came.

If you are hosting foreign teammates this week at your organization, and those teammates love to read great books, it's my suggestion you tell them all about Bohumil Hrabal. Better yet, give them an English-language version of "I Served the King of England," or if you are feeling r-e-a-l-l-y expansive, the entire set of Bohumil Hrabal's works!

No one in America reads Hrabal, or knows about him. I couldn't help thinking when I read "I Served the King of England" how much Bill Clinton, who is known to be a great reader of fiction, would enjoy this book.

Spread the word about a great Czech author and let Prague visitors leave with a little Czech charm under their arm.

An Evening with the Hari Krishnas

Marcello

This is my flatmate, Marcello, age 35. He's a theoretical physicist from Italy specializing in gravity. More importantly, as a flatmate, he's a good guy.

We had heard about the half-price nightly specials at Govinda, the restaurant near our flat run by the Hari Krishnas. We decided to check it out.

The Hari Krishna bakery
next door to the restaurant

Govinda does a nice lunch business.

Every night from 5:30-6:00 p.m.
they offer what's left on the menu
for half price.

You can click on my title
to go to their web page.

The smell of incense
wafts out from the gift shop.

It's a good thing we arrived at 5:25
because every single table filled up quickly.

Diners go up to the counter to pick up their food.
We didn't have to select what to eat.
This was a good thing, because we had no idea
what it was. After we started eating it became clear.

Our plate of food cost $2. That's probably with the Czech Value Added Tax of 20% added in. I ordered strawberry lassi (yogurt drink) and Marcello ordered freshly-squeezed carrot juice which added another $2 each to our meals. We had lentil soup, raita with beets (that's the refreshing pink yogurt salad), sweet tomato chutney (I could taste cinnamon), rice and a tasty amalgamation of broccoli, carrots, potatoes and possibly zucchini to go with the rice. It was good and filling.

You don't have to sit at a table.
These three Hari Krishna ladies enjoyed
the lower tables with floor cushions.

The clay on their noses
is from the Ganges River.
They wear it to signify that
they recognize their bodies as
spiritual temples
not just physical
flesh and blood.

A Hari Krishna lady had confided in me
weeks before in the bakery that the best thing
about these outfits is they hide
every possible figure flaw.

Inside the gift shop and cultural center

When I was a kid, the Hari Krishna movement seemed very threatening. During the 70s, a common fear of American parents was that their young adult children would run off and join the Hari Krishnas or the Moonies, two religious movements considered cults at that time. Anytime you went to an American airport in those days, flyers had to avoid aggressive supporters of a Libertarian guy named Lyndon LaRouche and orange-bedecked Hari Krishnas that would encircle you with what seemed like wild drumming and chanting.

This encounter, so far, hadn't been anything like that. After dinner, Marcello had to head out to English class. I had time to pop into the gift shop and cultural center. Lo and behold, a program was about to begin. Being an empty nester, I didn't have to be somewhere at a certain time. I could be spontaneous and stay! And having no fear at this age in life that I would "run off and join the Hari Krishnas" staying to learn more about their life seemed more interesting than threatening.

Every Wednesday night, after the restaurant closes at 6 p.m., the Hari Krishnas hold a congregational chant. Tonight was going to be even more informative, because a young man who graduated from a Hari Krishna all-male secondary school in India was going to give a slide presentation on the school. I was lucky to sit down next to a very nice young woman named Christine who offered to translate and explain everything to me.

I love singing. It's 100% non-cynical. I have done solitary meditation but this was going to be my first group meditation or chanting. The room was standing room only with approximately 70 people in it wearing a mixture of saris, regular Western casual clothes, and even one suit and tie. Many people came straight from work.

The chant was led by three men. The chant leader played the harmonium, another man and Christine rhythmically clanged finger cymbals, and the young man who would the evening's speaker played a drum that reminded me of a conga drum.

It was beautiful. The entire room focused on the chant and it truly was like a transcendental spiritual vibration could be felt. The number of people, the rhythm, the sounds of the drums, keyboards, and clanging cymbals all added up to a sum greater than it's parts. The leader later told me that doing it together is what helps prevent boredom and mind flicker (what the Buddhists call "monkey mind.")

Before the program began

I wish I had taken a picture of the young man who shared his slides that night. He emanated a deep spiritual nature. It's not easily described. I just know it when I feel it. He was 20 years old. Hari Krishnas from all over the world send their children to this school with a Krishna curriculum. It didn't occur to my skeptical Western mind until the next day to ask if the school was accredited by an outside agency, but I did ask where the girl's school was (1 km away), how many teachers and students were native to India and how many weren't.

The speaker's English was "native" because so many Americans and Aussies attend the school. He said the boys were raised with austerity and taught to be celibate until age 25. If they reach 25 without breaking their celibacy, they have a good chance of making it as a good "householder." He said "you only have to look out in society to see what happens when the boy doesn't keep this celibacy. He will never keep it and he will likely be part of regular society's 50% divorce rate."

I had asked Christine why there were so many men there that night and she told me the Hari Krishna movement is about 2/3 male. She has no idea why. We giggled about the odds.

The young man didn't have pictures of the girl's school. He said it was not as austere as the boy's school since girls are more tenderhearted and needed to be raised with more opulence (who can disagree with that???).

When he asked who in the audience would like to send their children to his school, about 5-10 people raised their hand. I didn't feel an ounce of proselytizing that night. The people in the audience seemed like regular people.

Christine, a gifted translator,
and poised young Czech woman.

Thank you, Christine, for sharing
your faith with me!

I Could Have Danced All Night

For a jazz lover, the Prague Jazz scene is wonderfully vibrant. I could go hear live jazz in a different spot for probably three weeks straight. Last week though was something special: the 50th anniversary of Traditional Jazz Studio, a Prague jazz band playing FANTASTIC music.

You read that right. This band has been playing together since the 1950s for 50 years! Last week they played and reminisced at the smoke-free Czech National Museum of Music.

Pavel, clarinetist and band leader

Pavel, the band leader, said that back in the 50's, the Communist regime didn't object to their music too much because it was, after all, the music of the "poor American Negro." Doing more instrumental music, rather than vocals, helped avoid official objections.

By the 1960's Pavel said musicians must have dropped in status, in the regime's eyes, as a potential danger to be watched extra carefully. The authorities turned their censorous attention to people in literature instead.

The band playing together full tilt
This was probably
"When the Saints Go Marching In"

Two horn players having a blast (literally)

Fantastic brass and bass

The piano player had great riffs
all through the night

I almost couldn't get a picture of the drummer
he was back there working the skins so hard

Two musicians who obviously enjoy each other
on the bandstand and off.

Here's someone you don't meet everyday: a contented man.
The trumpet player had all three
of his childhood dreams come true.
He became an engineer.
He plays the horn for joy, not as a job.
He played it in America, live.

No one could keep off the dance floor!

These guys have created magic for 50 years. The next day I was so exhilarated from all that dancing I kept singing Rogers and Hammerstein's "I could have danced all night, I could have danced all night." Is there a mailing list? Put me on in it! Wherever these guys are playing, I'm there!

You might enjoy this later post about Pavel's band:

An Evening of Jazz at the Reduta

Two "Capitalist Running Dogs" Visit the Museum of Communism

Lenin and me -
there's something about Communist kitsch
that gives me the giggles

My friend Robin posing with
ideology frozen in a museum
like taxidermy

Soviet President Josef Stalin
and Kurt Gottwald,
the Czechoslovak Communist Premier
Gottwald was known for his drinking and his womanizing
(George Washington he was not)

Hey, isn't a decesive (sic) strike
against American Aggressors
what gets YOU up in the morning?

I practically expected this Communist victory
over Nazi, British, and American aggression
to be needlepointed!

What came first?
Young Pioneers or Camp Fire Girls?

The story of this monstrous ego trip
on Stalin's behalf was fascinating
and I was learning about it for the first time.

What's the difference between this and Mt. Rushmore?
Mt. Rushmore doesn't get dynamited with enthusiasm
when the administration changes.

This picture gives perspective on just how massive
that Stalin statue was going to be.
Communists like to make their art enormous
so the workers see it whether they want to or not.

This poster ACTUALLY SAYS:
No American agent shall get through our village!
Help the National Safety Corps protect your
United Agricultural Cooperative against Western Imperialists.

This one said:
"We know what to do with Bourgeois Imperialists!"

The interrogation room

The Communists finally messed with
that which can not be messed with:
rock and roll!

When they tried to surpress this
rock band, the Velvet Revolution started
with dissidents who signed a Charter
demanding that the Plastic People be allowed to play.

A facsimile of the Berlin Wall

The Museum of Communism was created by two Americans. It would take Americans to start it, because it will be years before Czechs are interested in the subject. They lived Communism and have no need to revisit in a museum.

The Museum has an irreverent tone which is part of it's charm (as witnessed by the title of this post).  One friend, a former Communist himself, hates this about the museum. "They don't capture the heartache and the tragedy and treat these crimes with all too frivolous an attitude." I do think that's a fair criticism.

One of the most shocking things in the museum is news footage from Wenceslas Square before the Communist regime was overthrown. Plainclothes policeman would infiltrate the crowds of people congregating to demand a better government. Then they would tell the uniformed police which ones to beat up. As to be expected, the young men in the crowd got it the worst. But there were many, many more bodies than they could possibly beat there and control was no longer in the government's hands. They couldn't beat them all.

One death is a tragedy,
A Million Deaths is a Statistic.
~Josef Stalin

I wish the nighttime footage from the Velvet Revolution was on display. I think that would interest the Czechs. They could show to their children the history of their admirable regime change. To this day, I remember it all and am inspired by it. I would like to show it to my children when they come to Prague. I would tell them this is the first of many things that I want you to know and respect about these people, the Czechs, that I'm living amongst.

Battle Royal for a Chief of a Czech State of Mind

Have you ever heard of the Kingdom of Wallachia? It's a delightful bit of fun thought up by the locals in one area of the Czech Republic. The imagined kingdom of Wallachia has so captured the imagination of Czechs that it is starting to create some real wealth. So who gets it? That's the question. The NYTimes had an article this week detailing the players.

We had something similar in my home state of Iowa. A couple of brothers who owned a T-shirt shop in a tiny town next to the resort lake of Okoboji, Iowa dreamed up the University of Okoboji. The motto: In God We Trust, All Others Cash. It was an immediate hit.

Ownership was clear, however, and the brothers have had a blast thinking up more and more uses for their University. Click on the title to read about the Czech kingdom of Wallachia. Even George Bush had a passport from there!