Letter to a Bulgarian Friend from an Australian: ...In Velko Tarnovo I met a very honest, indeed a deeply generous, taxi driver by the name of Alexandrov. When I did not have enough leva to pay my bus fare—I was booking a bus to Istanbul—he took out his wallet and offered to make up the difference. We drove into the country together the next day and he told me the rulers of Bulgaria are corrupt and criminal and I believed him. He painted a grim scenario of how they came by their power. He was a qualified engineer but had had to resort to taxi driving to make a living. He kept bees and took me to meet them, “I have ten thousand working for me.” His little joke. His bees were housed in the gardens (wild and overgrown) of a convent. A lovely peaceful place that he obviously cherished. He turned off the taxi meter while he made the detour to his bees. “This is among friends.” When we stopped at a wayside coffee place along the highway I bought him coffee and a cake and served him. When I arrived at the table he remarked, “So, the new waiter has arrived.” I liked him very much. We became friends of the moment, friends of the road. You asked for my impressions of your country and I know I will think of other things to say the moment I stop writing this letter! There will be something important that I have left out... Alex Miller in the latest Kenyon Review.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 02:55:11 +0000
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