tell me a story...

pbs, channel 13 here in new york is my favorite televsion station. now i know it is totally uncool to be talking about television these days and the evils in connection, but i do indeed love pbs for its educational and cultural programs. oh! and the delicious british mysteries. a nice cup of tea and a british mystery; i'm undone. ...another cool thing about pbs, probably the coolest, is that it's where i began to learn to read while watching sesame street as a wee one. i remember when my mom went to take my brother to kindergarden, my little sister not yet born, i sat alone and watched sesame street, learning my abc's and piecing together letters and sounds to form words... b + ook ... book! by the time it was my turn to go to kindergarden 'the powers that be' moved me to first grade directly. they said that i had already learned all that they would teach me in kindergarden, that is to begin to read. ...been there done that! but what about the nap time?! i still feel a certain longing for never having the privilege of nap time in kindergarden. i think i'm still trying to fill that void. como se dice 'siesta' en ingles?

whew! just a long (and i hope interesting) way of getting to these two lovely prima princesses. i learned of them last night during a program on pbs (not an advertisement for the station, just giving them their 'props!'). the sister ballerinas immigrated from Cuba and have carved out beautiful illustrious careers in boston and san francisco in their respective premier ballet companies. for me, it is an inspiring historia of the intense work, dedication and courage they have in carving out an interesting and inspiring career. ...the laws are a bit confusing for me as to when and if cuban-americans are able to return to their homeland. can't imagine what it must be like not to be able to go home. m, a friend from bulgaria lived in cuba for 7 years. people in madrid always wondered why she spoke spanish with a cuban accent. back here in the u.s while she was doing post doctorate work, it was amazing to watch the wonder in a cuban person's eyes as they probed her about their homeland. as many details as she could remember please, they wanted to know. if she could be their memory for them, for they were unable to go home again.

... learning to read, sesame street, cuban prima ballerinas ...if you tell me your story, i'll tell you mine...