Third Time Charm.
We’re accustomed to hearing that “the journey” is where it’s at — slap me upside the head about that meme — but can’t the destination also be a big part of that sojourn? So in this installment of our series documenting travels to our paternal homeland, titled The Old Country – Echoes In Time, we attempt to show just that, especially when this time around “The Word” was Three.
It was indeed my third excursion to Galicia [Halychyna]– The Old Country of our paternal Grandparents Anna & John (Ivan), well-documented (I hope) in our previous posts and videos – plus on this occasion I was joined by our two “baby” brother Babiys, Dan and Dave, making us a trio of Babiys on the loose in Lviv. “Leo’s Town” will never be the same — and neither will we as you’ll soon see for yourself.
Of course we needed a Fourth to keep track of us – making sure we got where we were supposed to go – on time [constabulary notwithstanding]; escorting us to see the historical and cultural sites including the iconic landmarks of one of Eastern Europe’s most fabulous cities; piloting us hundreds of kilometers to the birthplaces of our forebears to meet actual living relatives that ultimately led to the discovery of long abandoned and forgotten, emotionally compelling ancestral evidence echoing back in Time nearly two centuries; organizing yet another challenging Pysanka Master Class with Ukrainian National Folk Art Master Halyna Syrotyuk, and much more; all while keeping us well-fed even to the point of coordinating two home-cooked Galician style dinners that brought back memories of Gramma’s kitchen in Croswell. Yum!
Her name is Diana Borysenko and you will see a lot of her in this video simply because as our Guide, translator, driver and facilitator she made everything happen and became in the process one of The Three DB’s. This video, this journey within a journey would not exist without her efforts. So the very least we could do was to take her to see some great jazz.
Okay – showtime! Grab a pillow and a footstool or a Zero Gravity Chair, your favorite mobile device, get immobile in a comfy spot where the Climate is coziest, shelter-in-place, and prepare to be transported to another place in Time for an hour where our destination becomes The Journey.
Please be sure to view our previous videos on the “Pysanka MasterClasses” featuring Pysanka writing sessions led by Master Folk Artist Halyna Syrotyuk and our videos on the sites and sounds of the places we’ve visited in The Old Country that include 2 travelogues documenting our tours of Galicia: “The Old Country – Galicia“ and “The Old Country – A Slideshow“.
Plus you won’t want to miss the Octet of posts on our visits to The Old Country starting with: The Old Country – Ternopil Oblast; then The Old Country – Ivano-Frankivsk; followed by The Old Country – Lviv; from 2018 both The Old Country – In Nomine Patris; and The Old Country – Salt of The Earth; from our 2019 “3 DB” trip to Galicia: “The Old Country — Between The Forceps And The Stone” in which we both expound upon our innate mortality and expand upon even more ancestral links including those with actual living relatives.
And….be sure to read our most recent blog “The Old Country: Our Slavic Roots” in which we discuss how Time turns truth into legend via missing family narratives, plus tales from our 2021 trips to Ukraine titled “The Old Country – Blue Over Gold” – documenting meetings with extended relatives and a lengthy discussion about the ongoing war with Russia. Quite a read.
And if all of this doesn’t whet your whistle for a visit to our ancestral homeland, check out Diana Borysenko‘s website DianaTours-WesternUkraine.com for links to all of the tours, masterclasses, activities, and ancestral heritage services she provides.
Plus you can keep abreast of the ongoing battle for Free Ukraine by watching Diana’s Diary – Ukrainians At War – updated frequently from her posts on social media.
Слава Україні!
Слава Україні
© Kazkar Babiy ™ MMXX.
The rights to all of the content presented here are reserved and copyrighted exclusively by Kazkar Babiy via Ruthenians.net. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.ruthenians.net.
