{"id":758,"date":"2022-03-27T14:34:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-27T14:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hojnotes.com\/?p=758"},"modified":"2022-03-27T14:53:40","modified_gmt":"2022-03-27T14:53:40","slug":"guns-n-russians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hojnotes.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/27\/guns-n-russians\/","title":{"rendered":"Guns &#8216;n Russians"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>250,000 Ukrainian refugees<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two of my students in 6th period physics speak Russian. &nbsp; Sasha is a tall, full-figured loudmouth who dies her red hair maroon and runs food at the Mexican restaurant under new management (better now, but Cheryl still withholds approval: margaritas so-so, salsa no-go) within walking distance of our house. &nbsp; Maxym sits behind Sasha.&nbsp; He\u2019s a dark, lanky stick in a rush to learn so he can deal cards and socialize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One day, Max informed a skeptical class, \u201cI can dance,\u201d and proved it by grabbing Sasha by the elbows and \u2014 chin raised, stiff back \u2014 stepped her through the Viennese waltz.&nbsp; The dance disallows lifts, but Max tried anyway.&nbsp; He was charming enough, while failing, to get away with the claim \u201cSasha\u2019s too big,\u201d by quickly reframing Sasha-earthbound due to his musculature, \u201cI\u2019m weak, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To prove his point, he attempted to lift a slight, wiry kid, Henry, who is roughly half-Sasha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Max approached Henry from behind and, to my surprise, Henry, the class smart-ass fascinated by magnets and free energy, was agreeable.&nbsp; Henry calls me sir (due to a summer stint in military school), yet his respectful ways haven\u2019t kept him from an upcoming appointment with the judge in juvenile court.&nbsp; Last month he loaded a few friends into his Jeep Cherokee, left campus at lunch, and shot at pedestrians in my neighborhood with something called a splatter gun.&nbsp; I had seen the grainy picture of Henry\u2019s car \u2014 at publication, the Jeep\u2019s owner was unidentified \u2014 in the police blotter section of the free local that lands on my doorstep once a week.&nbsp; The article detailed the harm that splatter guns can pose.&nbsp; Eye danger and deep bruising.&nbsp; Max looped his arms under Henry\u2019s, bent him back, and drug him by the heels until he yelped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Max and Sasha speak fluid Russian though neither has an accent.&nbsp; Max uses the f-word and Sasha scolds before letting fly herself, suggesting, out of respect to me, \u201cLet\u2019s swear in Russian.\u201d&nbsp; Max says in Ukraine that students aren\u2019t allowed to curse but teachers are.&nbsp; Sasha and Max practice Russian curses on each other giggling at the other\u2019s pronunciation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sasha is first-generation who only recently claimed, \u201cI\u2019m not Russian.&nbsp; My parents are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Max speaks Ukrainian too, the language similar, yet distinct to Russian, like French to Portugese.&nbsp; He still has family in Ukraine.&nbsp; Five years ago Max came to the US with his father.&nbsp; He has not mentioned a mother.&nbsp; Max\u2019s seat has been empty the last two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>500,000 refugees<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About the time Max disappeared from 6th period, Aleksander entered 5th period.&nbsp; Aleks is new to Milton, new to my study hall roster.&nbsp; Strong Russian accent, he keeps his head down, loud music on his ear buds.&nbsp; My study hall is twenty-five minutes, precedes a twenty-five minute lunch.&nbsp; Seniors, a dozen or so, twenty-four listed on my roster, but half have scattered, finding better places to be.&nbsp; It\u2019s quiet, a treasured sanctuary in my day.&nbsp; Sometimes too quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When I hear tinny, grating sounds, I motion to the oblivious offender, moving my index finger in a circle (an anachronism, dating to my iPod days, and yet instantly understood) to lower the volume.&nbsp; On Aleksander\u2019s first day, as students filed out for lunch, a student volunteer entered to escort him to the cafeteria, presumably to sit with him.&nbsp; The volunteer was drop-dead gorgeous.&nbsp; Aleksander, reluctant to move, uncoiled like a snake in the shade.&nbsp; He turned to the rear of class where two girls sat with their brown paper bags, removed his ear bud and said, \u201cIs ok if I stay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few, the independent, the lonely, the shy, the nerd, the goth, the goth nerd, the book nerd or rare band kid who finds the band room alternative too loud, forego the cafeteria for my room.&nbsp; I eat my lunch at my desk.&nbsp; I never see Aleks eat and am afraid to ask if he packs.&nbsp; His black jeans hang loose on his slight frame.&nbsp; His Vans are black and new and every day wears the same blue and red plaid shirt buttoned to the collar, skin as absent of pigment as you\u2019d expect of someone from \u201cabout 500 kilometers south of Moscow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>1 million refugees<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Donbas region is south of Moscow.&nbsp; I don\u2019t know what city Aleks is from, I\u2019m concerned with overstepping, but he\u2019s nineteen, more mature than his American peers, and has refugee status.&nbsp; Donetsk is a city within the Russian controlled Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.&nbsp; Google maps it 1000 km south of Moscow, or about 600 miles.&nbsp; Closer than Atlanta to Cleveland, 15 hours by car, perhaps longer due to closed borders.&nbsp; And tank traffic.&nbsp; And indiscriminate shelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After three days of spare communication, Aleksander raised his head from the crook of his elbow and spoke, initiating conversation for the first time, \u201cThe guitar, is yours?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The guitar cost me $400, a short-lived experiment of a nephew.&nbsp; It has a nice sound.&nbsp; It hangs behind my desk in a corner between the Pink Floyd and Kiss posters and a futuristic painting of a kaleidoscopic earth suspended beneath a guitar-wielding fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWould you like to play?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He mumbled, looked at the floor.&nbsp; I removed it from the hook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His face lifted as he stood, \u201cI play.  A little.\u201d&nbsp; At the lab table nearest my desk, he hunched over the guitar with intent.&nbsp; I told him it needed tuning, but he didn\u2019t acknowledge.&nbsp; I returned to my computer screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I braced myself, wondering what I had done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hojnotes.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/27\/heaven-in-study-hall\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"752\">Click here for a post on my prior experience with study hall guitar practice<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>2 million refugees<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I bit into my sandwich, swiss on sweetbread, and listened to Aleksander, my new Russian student in study hall, play the strings with a fine delicousy.&nbsp; He warmed up awhile before a faint melody wafted through the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>So, so you think you can tell<\/p><p>Heaven from hell?<\/p><p>Blue skies from pain?<\/p><p>Can you tell a green field<\/p><p>From a cold steel rail?<\/p><p>A smile from a veil?<\/p><p>Do you think you can tell?<\/p><cite>Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd, 1975<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSounds good,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Head bowed, he let the guitar rest in his lap, hands flat on its body.&nbsp; \u201cThe guitar.&nbsp; It helps with my emotions.&nbsp; Especially now, with everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bell rang.&nbsp; He passed me the guitar.&nbsp; I hung it back on the wall behind my desk, \u201cHelp yourself,\u201d I said, \u201canytime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next day, Aleks took his seat and didn\u2019t look at me.&nbsp; I stood, gestured over my shoulder. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPlease,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aleksander practiced a Metallica riff.&nbsp; \u201cI prefer electric.&nbsp; Guitar is my passion.&nbsp; I like aggressive.&nbsp; Metalcore.&nbsp; In Russia, metal not so popular.&nbsp; My father introduced me to rock.&nbsp; His favorite band is Pink Floyd.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI saw Metallica in Atlanta a few years ago, before COVID.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aleks said, \u201cYes, they come to Moscow in 2019.&nbsp; I missed them.&nbsp; My sister still in Russia, she likes Green Day, music from the 90s.&nbsp; She has boyfriend, a ring,\u201d he held up the back of his hand,&nbsp; \u201cbut she\u2019s not married, she\u2019s \u2014 hmm, the word \u2014 how do you say?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEngaged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI take guitar class here at Milton.&nbsp; I don\u2019t like guitars in band room.&nbsp; I like yours.&nbsp; The strings are, hmm, I\u2019m not fighting to play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBetter action,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes, I used to practice three, four hours a day.&nbsp; Now I have no guitar.&nbsp; We have no money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>3 million refugees<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDo you know Joel?\u201d  Joel played guitar in my study hall a year ago.  I&#8217;d seen him recently in the hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aleks shook his head, \u201cI have no friends.&nbsp; I am new.\u201d&nbsp; He played something I didn\u2019t recognize.&nbsp; \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult.&nbsp; I work on arpeggio.\u201d&nbsp; He pronounced the name of his favorite Russian musician, a collection of raspy, gurgled syllables I recognized no part of, then showed me his phone, a Russian rapper, Ivan Aleksandrovich Alekseyev, who goes by his stage name, \u201cNoizeMC.&nbsp; Very famous in my country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Per Wikipedia, NoizeMC performed in Lviv in 2014, a large Ukrainian city farthest west, near the border with Poland, about 500 miles from Krakow.&nbsp; He played with a Ukrainian flag on stage and dedicated his set to all the victims of information warfare.&nbsp; He is a classically trained guitarist and wrote a song called <em>Lenin Has Risen<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat age group does he appeal to?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAll ages.&nbsp; His music and lyrics are very important to Russians.&nbsp; Political messages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russia has sent tanks and missiles across the border toward Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, other eastern Ukrainian cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>4 million refugees<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next day Aleks sat and initiated eye contact.\u00a0 A first.\u00a0 I motioned to the guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPlease,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I asked, \u201cWas that Knockin\u2019 on Heaven\u2019s Door?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes, Guns \u2019N Roses.\u201d&nbsp; He played pieces of different songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat was that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHendrix.&nbsp; All Along the Watchtower.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBob Dylan songs,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes, yes, of course,\u201d he said.&nbsp; \u201cDylan greatest songwriter ever.\u201d&nbsp; His tone, straddling the line between dismissal and agreement, reminded me of my colleague, the other physics teacher, Dr. Silvestrov, a phD in physics from the University of Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aleks said, \u201cI started three years ago.&nbsp; Really, I play for two, how do you say?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCommitted,\u201d I said, \u201cYou started three years ago, but the last two, with serious intent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aleks said \u201cYou have old strings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I picked up the package of light-gauge acoustic strings from the top of a filing cabinet underneath where the guitar hangs.&nbsp; A gift last May from a student with California surfer looks who would play at the end of my AP environmental science class.&nbsp; He also gifted me its strap, a cheery flower pattern, neon orange, yellow, and lime green hibiscus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI like the Japanese Yamaha.&nbsp; I don\u2019t own.&nbsp; The Gibson I owned in Russia was Chinese.&nbsp; A struggle to play.&nbsp; The Japanese, better, don\u2019t know how to say.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFeels right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI really want a Gibson, American-made.&nbsp; I can\u2019t afford.&nbsp; Maybe someday I buy Epiphone,\u201d he showed me $800 Gibsons on his phone.&nbsp; \u201cWhich color do you prefer?\u201d Aleks asked me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI like the gold one, like Slash plays.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes, Guns \u2019N Roses came to Moscow in 2019.&nbsp; Missed them too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Mama, put my guns in the ground<\/p><p>I can&#8217;t shoot them anymore<\/p><p>That long black cloud is comin&#8217; down<\/p><p>I feel like I&#8217;m knockin&#8217; on heaven&#8217;s door<\/p><cite>Knockin&#8217; on Heaven&#8217;s Door, Bob Dylan, 1973<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAmericans don\u2019t understand Putin.&nbsp; It is not because of geopolitical conflict.&nbsp; Putin does it to look strong for his people.\u201d&nbsp; He looked at the floor and shook his head, \u201cRussians are brainwashed by him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHappens here too,\u201d I said.&nbsp; \u201cBrainwashing by Trump propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aleksander said, \u201cWhen Trump was elected, I was very young.&nbsp; I don\u2019t know him.&nbsp; We don\u2019t like his support for Putin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2016, Aleks would\u2019ve been about twelve.&nbsp; I took my guitar from him, the bell about to ring.&nbsp; I played what I could of <em>Wish You Were Here<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy father\u2019s all-time favorite song,\u201d Aleksander said, \u201cHe plays it all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After a two week absence, Maxym has returned to physics class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;What have I missed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;A quiz.  But I can excuse you from it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;No, no.  I can take it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I couldn&#8217;t like this kid more.  I asked &#8220;So how is everything?&#8221;  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s fine.&nbsp; It\u2019s good,\u201d he shrugged, trying to dismiss, an edge of stoicism he couldn&#8217;t possibly contain, before adding off-handedly, \u201cI have family living in bomb shelters now, so there&#8217;s that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>250,000 Ukrainian refugees Two of my students in 6th period physics speak Russian. &nbsp; Sasha is a tall, full-figured loudmouth who dies her red hair maroon and runs food at the Mexican restaurant under new management (better now, but Cheryl still withholds approval: margaritas so-so, salsa no-go) within walking distance of our house. &nbsp; Maxym [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hojnotes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hojnotes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hojnotes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hojnotes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hojnotes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=758"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/hojnotes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":764,"href":"https:\/\/hojnotes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758\/revisions\/764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hojnotes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hojnotes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hojnotes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}