Page 43 - 1926 February - To Dragma

206 TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

RUSSIA—PAST AND PRESENT

As I S I T here with the loveliest Christmas gifts spread out
l>efore me, my heart tingling with the joy of Christmas
and my thoughts continually returning to the party I attended
last night, it is hard to let my imagination travel across the ocean
and across most of Europe to that country where I was spending
Christmas three years ago. Yet when I told Merva Hennings
that I had been asked to write something for To DRAG MA, she
said: " I hope you will tell us something about Russia!"

And after all, as my mother and sisters still live there, it
happens that at one time or another of each day my thoughts
stray f r o m New York or Chicago, as the case may be, cross
the ocean, traverse most of Europe while I f r o w n mentally at
the red tape of crossing the various borders, so deeply impressed
upon me: France, Germany, now the Polish corridor getting i n
the way, Lithuania, Latvia and finally a day and a night to Mos-
cow—the heart of that "strange." "weird," "fascinating" coun-
try, where I grew up and which, with its intrigue, romance, super-
stition and endless delays is terribly upsetting to my acquired
American way of living—and earning my living!

* **

For history is being made there rapidly and my eyes just
seem to pop out recording things when I am there—

1914—the sway the war brought to all hearts! As a school-
girl visiting a friend in Finland during the summer vacation,
brought up on wild and adventurous stories my brother was for-
ever reading—it seemed to me we were all being called upon to
do great things, forget our trifling grievances and view the tre-
mendous events taking place.

1917—Reading about the French revolution, it had seemed a
privilege to live in such epoch-making times, now here was a
revolution, a family of six children finding refuge in my moth-
er's apartment while their house was being burned nearby; f o r
three days the entrance to our house blocked, searching parties
appearing and disappearing, and finally it was over—and on
getting out we could view the ruins and the new-horn freedom.

Then getting through school and—due to my knowledge of
English—holding down two jobs during the summer in organi-