The Romanian Sniffling Sneezing Coughing Aching Stuffy Head Fever So-You-Can-Rest Medicine

Whew, mercy! On Saturday I got hit by a powerful head cold, which completely knocked me off my feet. Luckily, The Woman was around to give me some TLC and I feel a lot better now. Although she stuck to more modern treatments, my illness reminded me of a very Romanian cure that I used a few years ago. First, you need some good homemade … Continue reading The Romanian Sniffling Sneezing Coughing Aching Stuffy Head Fever So-You-Can-Rest Medicine

The Script

The other day, in talking with The Woman’s parents, they began to lecture me on how things were in the Communist days. Out of respect, I listened attentively and said nothing in disagreement. But the truth is that I’ve heard every word before (sometimes almost identically) from many other people, many times before. I’ve referred to this as the “narrative” before but in my own … Continue reading The Script

PCR

Sooner or later in Romania, someone is going to mention the concept of PCR (pay-chay-ray). But what is it? And what do those initials stand for? Actually they can stand for a lot of things, including Partidul Communist Roman or the Communist Party of Romania (of which I am the sole remaining official member). In the current sense however, what PCR stands for is Pile, … Continue reading PCR