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Mulberry Street

The first book written by Dr. Seuss was “What did you see on Mulberry Street?” It is the story of a young boy who was asked by his father what he had seen on Mulberry Street that day. The only thing the boy could recall was a horse and wagon – remember this was written in the 1940’s when there were still such things on American streets. However, in the boys imagination the horse and wagon gradually turned into a circus wagon filled with all sorts of fantastic creatures.

Any day along Strada I. L. Caragialie we can see the horse and wagons, they are called carutsas. We also see a circus of all sorts of interesting things. The street was named in honor of a Romanian playwright and it is the street along which our Gazda’s live. It is an avenue where all the homes front right along the street. There is space only for the house front, a door way and a garage door, but behind the gate there is a surprisingly large but narrow yard and home. Most gates are shut so what lies behind remains a mystery, but some are open revealing well maintained courtyards with roses, peonies and such.

Because all the homes front along the street it gives the impression of a channel through which sail not only the horses with their wagons and the previously mentioned cows, but also cars, buses, bicycles and pedestrians. It’s just less than a mile from our hosts house to the center of town and the school where we have our language lessons, so we walk the channel a couple of times a day. And every trip there is something unusual to see. Perhaps it’s a carusta loaded three haystacks high with freshly cut grass and on top of the grass are two riders and a dog all being pulled by a single grey horse, or it might be homeowners washing down the front of their houses with the garden hose, or it might be the parade of a marriage ceremony complete with four piece band. There is always something fantastic – to us anyway – happening along Caragialie Street.

The cemetery in town is also an interesting place. We’ve told our language teacher that we hang out there and she believes we’re crazy. Truth is, the cemetery is a short walk from the house and our Gazda’s family plot is there. Each plot measures about ten feet by 8 feet, most of which is dirt. Every plot is tended by the living relations and it’s almost a competition as to which caregiver has the most flowers or the most interesting combination of flowers growing in the plots. Nancy and I walk over to the cemetery to water the begonias planted their by Betty.

Added to the strange beauty of headstones and annuals and perennials is the backdrop of distant mountains, rising up from the level valley. I’ve taken pictures, though, as you can see, I’m still unable to download to the blogsite. I’ll send some along via email.

We’ve still not been told where our final destination is yet. It’s all very secretive, but we should know more in a couple of weeks, then we go visit our site. There is a rumor concerning one situation that has a hot tub and a refurbished apartment waiting. We’ve put our name on that list, although the only real requirement we have is not for a hot tub, but for hot water.