OUR “23 AUGUST” SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY

The date of August 23rd will always be a special date and a memory for me — and for Marieta. For a few reasons. I’ll explain.

In Romania, it’s still known as “Liberation Day,” though the transition of power during the summer of 1944 from a fascist dictatorship allied with Nazi Germany into a repressive Communist East Bloc nation was anything but “liberating.”

Today, Romanian television (we have a satellite dish) was showing a documentary on 23 August/Liberation Day this morning. The TV is located in mom’s bedroom — she’s 94 and in the later stages of Alzheimer’s. Oddly enough, very old memories from the distant past tend to stay with those inflicted with gradual mental decline. We noticed mom watching the TV and listening to the Romanian-language narration. Even though she no longer speaks and barely shows reactions to any conversation or TV programs, this memory seemed to trigger a faint spark of awareness.

If you’ve ever been around an Alzheimer’s patient, then you will understand how *special* this little moment was. Seeing the face that went blank years ago with most of who she was erased suddenly coming to life, if only for a few minutes …. was joyous. She was an 11-year-old girl growing up in central Bucharest when the Soviet Army “liberated” Romania from Nazi occupation, so she obviously retains some memory of that day. Presumably, shattering dates in our lives are memories we do not forget.

When Marieta and I were dating back during the summer of 1990 (which seems like yesterday–was that really 36 years ago?), she lived in a Sector 2 of the city across Buluvardul Bararabia from the national stadium. The name of the stadium was — “23 August.” Just another coincidence? It has since been torn down, rebuilt, and renamed. But it will always be 23 August to us.

One afternoon, Marieta and I went to the much-anticipated Dinamo-Steaua soccer game at 23 August Stadium. That was the Security Forces team which played against the Army team. It was a bitter rivalry. A riot broke out. SEE MORE PHOTOS HERE

I snapped this photo outside the stadium before the game. With Marieta is Ion, our mutual friend. Ion is the person who first introduced me to Marieta. Had it not been for Ion, we never would have met. True story.

We’ve now been married for 35 years. Our anniversary date is March 5th. But we also celebrate a second special anniversary date — which is (you guessed it) — 23 AUGUST.

See my photo essay of my time in Bucharest 1989-1990 — CLICK HERE