Dear CCI Friends,
Hello from St. Petersburg where it is Orthodox Christmas night, Monday, January 7th. This morning when I awakened about 8 am, the sight out my window was a blanket of snow over everything … all was covered in pristine white … from Moika Canal and 19th century buildings all the way down to St. Isaacs’ gold dome: there were no people to be seen anywhere (the first time ever for my eyes). Few automobiles and no trucks or city buses were seen out of my windows. St. Petersburg appeared frozen in time… silent, like in the centuries past. It has been the quietest beginning of a day I’ve ever experienced in Russia.
In the afternoon traffic picked up a bit. Going outside my door, from the flat next to me, a Russian man of about 50 years rushed off wishing me Happy Christmas and mentioned he was on his way to St. Nicholas’ Church services. Later there was more foot traffic going in the direction of the church. What a wonderfully pensive day to enjoy the snow and the quiet … and to ponder.
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Late in the day, an amazing article arrived on my computer. I call your attention to it, since it is the most rational writing I’ve experienced that deals with the challenges we Americans face today. I urge you to take sufficient time to absorb it seriously. I scanned it first, then realized I’d not digested it sufficiently; whereupon, I went back and read it aloud to myself to really get the essence of it. I’ve not seen any other article quite so specific, so truthful, so focused on where we Americans are at this particular time in our history. I urge you to digest this piece … whether you are Democrat or Republican, whether you abhor Trump or think he is good for our country.