That's a very fair question. Sometimes I just like to throw in a random photo to break up all of the text. I couldn't think of a title for the post and remembered the Jerry Garcia Band song with that title (actually written by Bruce Cockburn - in any event, not to be confused with the Leonard Cohen song more familiar to most Russians, "Waiting for the Miracle"). And she did seem to be daydreaming, at least enough so that she didn't notice me taking her picture.
It's interesting to think about what her most cherished wish or miracle might have been, actually... probably some sort of lotto win, allowing her to stop working in this funky (not in the good sense of the word) basement store.
On the other hand, this little produkty store actually had no shortage of customers - it probably also had no shortage of counterfeit or past-expiration-date goods.
Look at them working in the hot sun The pilloried saints and the fallen ones Working and waiting for the night to come And waiting for a miracle
Somewhere out there is a place that's cool Where peace and balance are the rule Working toward a future like some kind of mystic jewel And waiting for a miracle
[Chorus] You rub your palm On the grimy pane In the hope that you can see You stand up proud You pretend you're strong In the hope that you can be Like the ones who've cried Like the ones who've died Trying to set the angel in us free While they're waiting for a miracle
Struggle for a dollar, scuffle for a dime Step out from the past and try to hold the line So how come history takes such a long, long time When you're waiting for a miracle
[Repeat Chorus]
Jerry Garcia Band performed some lines differently, as I recall, for example:
"Working and waiting in the hot sun With all the rich saints and the fallen ones..."
and
"Struggle for a nickel, scuffle for a dime; Forget about your past, leave your worries behind. How come the future has to take such a long, long time, When you're waiting for a, waiting for a miracle?"
Somehow it seems like an appropriate song for a St. Petersburg kassirsha in the summer.
Ahh, I got it. Interesting you mention expiration or sell by dates. In all the time I lived in Ukraine I never recall seeing one of those dates on anything I bought at those small stores. Or at the few big ones either.
3 comments:
This will probably be considered a dumb question, but I'm a new reader of this blog and don't get this. What would constitute her miracle, a customer?
That's a very fair question. Sometimes I just like to throw in a random photo to break up all of the text. I couldn't think of a title for the post and remembered the Jerry Garcia Band song with that title (actually written by Bruce Cockburn - in any event, not to be confused with the Leonard Cohen song more familiar to most Russians, "Waiting for the Miracle"). And she did seem to be daydreaming, at least enough so that she didn't notice me taking her picture.
It's interesting to think about what her most cherished wish or miracle might have been, actually... probably some sort of lotto win, allowing her to stop working in this funky (not in the good sense of the word) basement store.
On the other hand, this little produkty store actually had no shortage of customers - it probably also had no shortage of counterfeit or past-expiration-date goods.
Anyway, the song I was thinking of is quite beautiful as performed by JGB (from this album - you can listen to a sample here) - melancholic but hopeful. The lyrics as originally written (apparently in Nicaragua) are as follows:
Look at them working in the hot sun
The pilloried saints and the fallen ones
Working and waiting for the night to come
And waiting for a miracle
Somewhere out there is a place that's cool
Where peace and balance are the rule
Working toward a future like some kind of mystic jewel
And waiting for a miracle
[Chorus]
You rub your palm
On the grimy pane
In the hope that you can see
You stand up proud
You pretend you're strong
In the hope that you can be
Like the ones who've cried
Like the ones who've died
Trying to set the angel in us free
While they're waiting for a miracle
Struggle for a dollar, scuffle for a dime
Step out from the past and try to hold the line
So how come history takes such a long, long time
When you're waiting for a miracle
[Repeat Chorus]
Jerry Garcia Band performed some lines differently, as I recall, for example:
"Working and waiting in the hot sun
With all the rich saints and the fallen ones..."
and
"Struggle for a nickel, scuffle for a dime;
Forget about your past, leave your worries behind.
How come the future has to take such a long, long time,
When you're waiting for a, waiting for a miracle?"
Somehow it seems like an appropriate song for a St. Petersburg kassirsha in the summer.
Ahh, I got it. Interesting you mention expiration or sell by dates. In all the time I lived in Ukraine I never recall seeing one of those dates on anything I bought at those small stores. Or at the few big ones either.
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