HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

ADORATION

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

LIBERAL COLLEGE MEDIA and THE CONDEMNATION OF HUNGARY - OPINION by MAGYAR-AMERICAN

The last few months have been hard on me physically.  No - not Covid.  I'm vaccinated and have taken a booster. I also took the seasonal flu vaccine which had four types of virus in it.

It's that a few months ago I accepted a part time job that was offered to me out of the blue.  Seriously, I got a phone call to show up at a place where I've been volunteering one afternoon a week and that day I started as a paid worker. (Since then the job has been typified by the director who hired me as "a favor" and this person also tried to get me to get paid for four days a week and continue working for free on the fifth.) 

Perhaps no one was honest with me about how hard it would be on me physically because one afternoon a week I showed myself to be energetic and get things done and no one thought that doing so five afternoons a week would leave me aching and exhausted.  But everyone, including me myself, told me that I would get used to it in a couple weeks. At this point it's between me and God, but I strive every work day to complete all tasks but have grown a bit resentful that others are not concerned that I do so much of the work.  

Then came the news that for one month only I would be paid much more and for full time work and that for the holiday season two more part timers would be added. One is sweet but takes no initiative and does not put herself out. That means that she is supposedly trying to prove herself and doesn't mind that I do most of the work - the gambit being that she only does what she is told so she can drive the manager crazy with having to direct her constantly. The other is high energy and capable of much more than I am physically but has also managed to be too take charge for the tastes of the manager.  Yesterday the manager told me that they would not be keeping either of these workers after the holidays. Did I say "I want to quit?"  I did not. And every day there seems to be some problem that could be avoided with better communication - in particular instructions.

I have barely had time for myself and worse, barely enough time for my dog, who is now occasionally lifting her leg in the house and is no doubt suffering with anxiety, even though she does have a doggie door!

So while I've been able to save some money, the price I've paid physically may not be worth it.  As I lay awake with pains, I wonder what's next for me.

I want to quit or be fired or laid off or whatever, knowing I will not be able to collect unemployment.  Will I be one more American saying Take This Job and Shove It?

What does this have to do with LIBERAL COLLEGE MEDIA and the CONDEMNATION OF HUNGARY?  Well, I'll tell you.  Exhausted physically, but stressed mentally and emotionally, I have needed sleep and been unable to sleep, my thoughts winding up inside my head with worries about my future and the future.  And so what do I do?  I put on the radio.

I had not listened to the local college programing in recent months, and you know that many college stations carry National Public Radio.  Some colleges also broadcast their own programming on campus.  College - where young minds may be influenced for life.

I wish I had taken note of the station, time, name of the program, and the host/broadcaster, as I would then report these to you, but I listened to some programs that were so anti-White people I actually felt alarmed. Hungary as a country, deemed "conservative" compared to ? American College Campus, was pointed out as going backward, not in the direction of progress or progressiveness.  I don't suppose many college students care to learn about Hungary - the culture - the history - the people. There was also some pro-Palestinian and anti-Jewish programing in which it was said that the Palestinian people were aligning with Black Lives Matter!  Is this even true? 

I fear that these broadcasters know their agenda well but don't care to learn about European history or culture in general or in particular.  I myself consider Hungary (and some other countries) to be more "conservative" than America in general, however, I also know that in Europe people have reminders of the wars that decimated populations wherever they go. Many Europeans do not have the assumed standard of living American's have, the variety of foods, the ownership of personal transportation, or the size of dwelling or apartment.  I wish some of these broadcasters could travel and try living in a European country because they might just come back feeling their privileges. They might understand also the allegiance European-Americans feel to the people of their heritage.

C 2022 Magyar American - BlogSpot

All Rights Reserved including Internet and International Rights

HUNGARIAN CANADIAN CULTURAL CLUB - SANTA LOOKS LIKE SANTA!

HCCC ORG 

Wow!  The have a chandelier that looks like the crown of Saint Stephen and Santa Claus looks like Santa Claus...

Excerpt:   From autumn to spring during the Ball Season, the Cultural Centre and the Hungarian partner associations organize balls and entertainment on various Saturday nights, where children and adults of the Greater Toronto audience can have fun, have an ample Hungarian dinner, and dance to live Hungarian music.

In addition, other cultural events (such as Literature Day, Hungarian Day), clubs (Cooking Club, Film Club, Pensioners Club) and performances/lectures (such as Semmelweis Memorial Day) are organized in the Hungarian House in such a manner as to provide an audience, of the widest possible interests, with entertaining and valuable programs.

FEED THE BIRDS

 

GYORGY E. SZONYI - BEAUTIFUL ZEMPLEN VIDEO SERIES IS OUTSTANDING!

What Mr. Szonyi has to say about his video series:

Zemplen is a region in the North-Eastern corner of Hungary.  One of the most picturesque parts of the country, characterized by gentle small range hills and lovely valleys, historical towns, medieval churches, Renaissance castles, early modern colleges - witnesses of vital periods of Hungarian history.  This four part video commemorates a long weekend trip beautified by the superb Fall colors of late October, 2018.  I hope my viewers will share my enthusiasm for that region and might even be inspired to plan a visit there.

***

Friends, as I sometimes do, I found this series searching on YouTube.  It was posted in 2021 and it's outstanding. The photography, voice-over, the pacing, the editing, the sound - music, all of it was outstanding. I highly recommend that you begin with the above video and then watch all four on Zemplen. 

Fuzer Castle, which I most often have seen photos of as a ruin, has been rehabed including the interiors.

As this man (and perhaps his wife) traveled from town to town, I recall using maps and realizing how close these settlements are. And he is right about the historical nature of the region, which was effected by partition so that some of it is now in Slovakia.  I look forward to other videos and more travel.  Enjoy these!

SAYS WHO?

 

THANKSGIVING

 So much to be thankful for....

Annyira hálásnak kell lenni

MORNING

 

ARE YOU A HUNGARIAN AMERICAN WHO HAS BEEN DEALING WITH STEREOTYPES?

 

I would like to hear from you?  What have you dealt with?  Was it funny? Were you offended?

Send me a message in COMMENTS!

THANK YOU!

HOUSE OF HUNGARY IN SAN DIEGO REOPENED

SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA HOUSE OF HUNGARY  One of the International Cottages in Balboa Park, San Diego, and first built in 1936 for an exposition, the house is open again and traditionally celebrates Christmas and other holidays. Hungarians of San Diego maintained a presence and contributed so the cottage could continue. (Read the history and the Hungarians who have been instrumental are named there.)

The house maintains a small library of books in Hungarian language.

ST EMERIC FEAST DAY

If you have a Hungarian ancestor named Americus,

 he may actually have been named after Saint Emeric, 

rather than the United States of America.

His father was Saint Stephen,

 and he was to follow him onto the throne of Hungary,

 but he was killed while hunting wild boar.  

The boar got him and he was about thirty years old at the time.

Another version of the name Emeric is Henry.

POISED

 

ALL SAINTS DAY and ALL SOULS DAY COMING UP : HUNGARIAN TRADITIONS

HUNGARY TODAY - ALL SAINTS AND ALL SOULS DAY HUNGARIAN TRADITIONS 

According to this article, Halloween is considered a foreign holiday in Hungary.  This may be because of the Christian traditions of All Saints (November 1st) and then All Souls (November 2nd).  Rather than Memorial Day in the United States for grave visiting and cleaning, Hungarians go to the cemetery on one or both of these days, not only cleaning the graves but leaving flowers, lighting candles, and sometimes cakes. Alternatively, a stay at home family might light one candle for each person who has died in the family.

This interesting article has some regional traditions given.

Excerpt:  On the night between All Saints' Day and the Day of the Dead, it is said that the mass is held by the dead in the churches.  On the Day of the Dead, the poor and beggars were entertained and got a feast from the wealthy,  In the Gyimes Valley, they said, "We cook for the day of the dead, we bake loaves, we give them to the dead."  There are places were food is also put on the graves, such as in Topolya, but they also give food to beggars...

INTROSPECTIVE

 

THE PUMPKIN in HUNGARIAN FOOD CULTURE ; ARE YOU PUMPKIN HAPPY? TOK

 THE CULTURE TRIP on HUNGARIAN PHRASES including PUMPKIN

Excerpt: Tök (tewk)

Meaning : Very (literally 'pumpkin'

In addition to the wide variety of pumpkins grown on Hungarian soil, the local language is also flush with the tasty squash. Often used to mean 'very' the phrase is an endearing intensifier to add emphasis to your sentences.  You can be tok bolddog (pumpkin happy), tok szomoru (pumpkin sad) or things can be tok jo rossz (pumpkin good - bad).  After all, why limit pumpkins to your dinner plate?

HARVEST

 

THE YELLOW ROSE OF FRIENDSHIP

 

A THRIFT STORE FIND : A HUNGARIAN BEER MUG WITH THE IMAGE OF A CATHEDRAL ON IT?

I was in a thrift store and a man got into the line to pay who was just delighted because he found TWO items that were Hungarian.  One was a book.  The other was one of those ceramic beer mugs - a big one - that had the image of a Catholic cathedral in Hungary on it.  This was missing a top.  We laughed about this.  The idea that a tourist would visit a Catholic church and buy a beer mug there.

I tend to think of Hungary as a WINE COUNTRY but certainly there are beer drinkers there, just as there are in the United States. Is it the German influence?  

OBSERVER

 

A SCULPTURE MUSEUM THAT REQUIRES YOU TO LOOK THROUGH A MICROSCOPE : WONDERFUL PLACES IN HUNGARY #10

ATLAS OBSCURA : MICRO WONDER MUSEUM 

You may have a friend that likes to collect tiny things, like for a doll house, but this museum requires you see through a microscope.  What is in the eye of a needle?  On a pin head? A short drive from central Budapest, this is a one room display of the work of a Ukrainian artist named Mykola Syadristy.  (You'd have to go to Kiev to see another museum dedicated to his work.)

Click on the label Wonderful-Hungary to get to the entire series on this theme.

THE COFFEE HOUSE THAT IS PRESERVING LIVES - MOVING PAST COVID WHEN THE CRISIS IS NOT OVER

After hunkering down for over a year, limited to daily walks with my dog and masked-up rushes through the market for food, in June, when the local library opened with limited hours, I took it as a sign that the world was reopening like a flower and this was the budding.

I decided to venture out and specifically, to start going to a coffee house that was always open. I was in need of conversation and connection because it seems so many friends have disconnected.  Always, as in that the owner had never closed it, never reduced hours.  He had always had outdoor dining tables which was a plus.  (And it turns out that he and his key employees are all anti-vaxxers and have not taken any Covid-19 vaccine.)  Were they wearing masks?  By the time I got there, this didn't seemed to be enforced.

Most of the other restaurants in the area did not have outdoor dining, and it took a special ordinance for this to be quickly permitted.  As a matter of survival these restaurants took to putting dining areas on quickly built platforms that extended out onto the street and also somewhat protected diners from car traffic. They were shaded with umbrellas or tarp-like clothes for shade. Though not always attractive, there was talk of permanence as through much of the year outdoor dining is comfortable.

There was so much talk about which restaurants would survive and now the talk is about which restaurants have survived, usually with the help of a government grant or two. If you ask how business is they will usually say slow.  They seem to be running on a small crew of employees and I imagine that waiters are not getting the tips they are used to.

There is another coffee house not far from the one I've been favoring which, just before the shut downs, had refurbished the interior and exterior.  The people who go there are considered to be better than the people who go to the one I favor. I've been told this repeatedly.  The place is more expensive and generally not as tolerant about people who are hanging out. It's bright and airy and has some nice art but it also has the "parklet" area for sitting outside.

The other day I took my dog with me and sat on a bench across from this coffee house as I had already spent most of my money on a not so great $5. lunch at a Mexican place, because they have a back area that is shaded and where my dog was welcome to sit under the table. A waitress from this coffee house actually came across the street and asked me why I was not sitting at their parklet! I said I was fine in the shade with my dog on the city bench and actually didn't have any money to buy coffee there.  She assured me it was OK, I could sit there as long as I liked.  Then I realized that the place wanted people sitting around so it looks like they are busy! (It's the oldest marketing strategy there is!) I may consider doing that at some point, as I combine my very small budget for dining out with buying groceries for cooking in and my need to get out of the house already. But after the bench I did proceed to the coffee house I favored.  

One of the reasons I favor it is that they buy the beans and roast them, making them the freshest roast in town.  (Most places buy already roasted beans and those can sit for months or even years.) That said, I actually don't know much about coffee.  I don't especially like caffeine and it's effects on me. I do know that I don't want to drink coffee that actually has flavored oils or additives to it for flavor. The other reason I favor this coffee house is that the owner is only going to be paid in blessings for this but he is allowing several people who are living in vehicles to pretty much make it their home.

I now know the stories of some of these people.  They are people who were living their lives, working and paying their way (i.e. a permit to breath) when one day something bad happened that ruined their lives and they are triumphant in daily survival since.  Despite all the talk about help for the disabled or help for the homeless, there are far too many people in need of that help and so some people decide that the van life may be difficult but its an independent life and better than going to a crowded possibly diseased shelter. Sleeping alone in a vehicle may take some strategy to avoid being harassed by locals including the police, but one also avoids people they do not need in their lives. People they would meet in shelters.

The man I'll call Burt was beat up by some gang member type Neo Nazi's a few years ago.  As they bashed and broke the teeth out of his mouth and cracked ribs that punctured a lung, which could have killed him, they taunted him a Nigger Lover.  Burt, who is White, did have a Black girlfriend at the time.  They were renting a house together. I'm not sure what happened to the relationship or when, but his injuries were enough to take him out of the workplace long enough that he lost the house rental and has not rented since. His social security income (not disability) is just enough that he is not qualified for food stamps.  He maintains his vehicle, a storage unit, his food.  He smokes but doesn't use alcohol or drugs. He has occasional work in the music business because he was a recording professional. He's been a vegetarian since childhood and is most often seen eating yogurt or grilled cheese, but very little.  If you offer to buy him a coffee or anything else he will say, "No, I'm alright."  Burt spends substantial time at an outdoor table in front of the coffee house and communicating with texts on his cell phone.

The man I'll call Blaine, had a injury as well. His stomach bears the scars of a horrific fall he experienced while working as a carpenter that took him out of the workplace.  Blaine says that the owner of the coffee house let him sit in the corner for months to heal.  Then hired him part time.  As if in pain, Blaine seems to walk around the block quite a bit.

The man I'll call Reggie was, with his sister, caring for sick and dying parents.  When both parents died, and I've heard a version of this story so often, they both eventually became homeless.  Basically what happens is that the parent(s) want to die at home but debt is racked up and once they die the home has to be sold to pay that debt back or the parent's retirement income is what's been paying the rent. The children are unpaid care givers but they are not financially taken care of.  

Traditionally children did take the responsibility of caring for aging or sick parents but today, sadly, it is better to let the insurance or the government send over some stranger and pay them while the children work rather than sacrifice.  There are also people who would rather exploit illegal or less educated people, especially Hispanic women, by having them as unpaid caregivers in their houses.  These people do not want to sell their houses and downsize to go live in a retirement community - not even an exclusive one. Why?  Because they want the value of their homes to escalate, supposedly as an inheritance for their children.

Reggie's sister's episode into homelessness was brief because at the time she did qualify for some program.  Reggie, however, bought a recreation vehicle and proceeded to live in it.  Then came the cancer diagnosis.  He's chosen to not take radiation or chemotherapy and has been in stage four seemingly for years.  Reggie was spending almost all his days at the coffee house until a club he belongs to reopened.  While he's wasting away, and has bouts of pain - and has a doctor prescribing pain killers - his biggest worry seems to be keeping the vehicle running, repaired, and legal.

If you are wondering about women in the same situation, well, there are one or two who are coming by there, but perhaps they are being welcomed into friend's homes more often or have found somewhere else to be.

I have a theory that women are more often helped - especially if they have children. If you call the information lines for the city or county for any reason, such as garbage pick up, you will hear a recording first that asks you if you are a woman with children who are homeless.

If a woman is an unmarried women the sad truth of it is that they are often in tremendous danger of rape and other violent crimes if they go into street homelessness. So soon enough they will choose or be chosen to be the girlfriend of someone who will take them in. There is not enough help for women who are unmarried and childless, who may have been self supporting and independent for years but who may have lost a job and be facing age or sex discrimination or who do not want to have a sexual relationship with someone as a condition of housing.

Most often a woman will be asked Where Is Your Family?

This is going to be a controversial statement but that is not an appropriate question to ask most people, especially not if they are White people.  

In Los Angeles County one person in five has no one to call upon in any crisis. I have not seen the stats on race applied to his, but my guess is that these are mostly White people.  The reason is that about half the population is of Hispanic, usually Catholic and Mexican, people who are first or second generation Americans and there is a cultural difference in attitude about family. These people are sticking together, but sometimes there are ten or twelve people sleeping on floors in a one bedroom apartment. Is this legal? Sometimes it is the smart thing to do to save money because the banks will loan money to several adults who are working in order to purchase a house.

I lived in a small one bedroom that was by city policy legal for up to 10 people, though I think the other 9 would have to have been stacked up because it would have been barely comfortable for two people. Basically the idea is that if everyone is working, then they won't be home enough to be made crazy by the small space and the tripping over other people as they cook, use the toilet, and sleep.  Maybe you can do this with your family but strangers?

The landlords have many ways to prevent this from happening. They may have a lease that says an additional amount of money - say $500 - for each person living there must be paid.  Or they may rent month to month as if the place were a motel for eternity, rather than as a trial period, and have a provision that you may only have a guest over for 10 days a year - things like that.  Therefore, whenever you hear of a huge family all living in a small place and sleeping on floors, you usually assume it's a landlord who is taking cash or there is something illegal going on.

For White Americans, education, careers, and a willingness to move to whatever city holds promise for prosperity has been the reality although this basically splits the family up and makes it more difficult to have relationships. Most people have jobs not careers though, and the costs of living in Southern California are increasingly ridiculous, so it is in other parts of the country too.  

As a friend of mine who comes from Guatemala says, "In my country all these people would be begging on the street." It is true and the Grace of America is that we take care of our own. Sadly, the situation has become one in which Capitalism is depending on the Government and the Government is depending on the Tax Payer, which is the People, not Big Business.  When a company such as Walmart has events to teach employees how to get EBT or Section 8 apartments, you know they have no intent to pay a livable wage.  You get your discounted merchandise and your taxes help support the employees.

C 2021 Magyar-American BlogSpot

PEONIES

 

MILK

 

JOURNALISTIC PRINCIPALS versus OPINION : I QUIT DAILY MAIL UK

Never have I lived in times in which there is so much divisiveness and controversy, so much conspiracy theory, such bending of JOURNALISTIC PRINICIPLES in favor of OPINION, and so many strangers who are angry and willing to tell you how it is.

I try to take my dog with me whenever possible and to include her especially in trips to parks and beaches. This is supposed to be relaxing time, however, I find there is nowhere I can go where even acknowledging another person's presence or chit chatting doesn't run the risk of being subject to a pontification, a diatribe, a lecture.  

That was the case when recently I started taking my dog to the marina late afternoon to watch the chartered fishing boats come in and watch the gulls, pelicans, and occasional sea lion waiting to take part of whatever guts where thrown overboard for them.  I saw a man and his wife with a picnic basket sitting near me.  They were having wine and sandwiches.  The man offered me some wine, which I declined.  Then he started bragging about what deals he had gotten knowing just how to shop.  The wine, he said, was worth four times what he paid for it.  A few minutes later, as his wife sat with a frozen smile on her face he began to tell me the latest conspiracy theories he was sure about regarding Covid. I guessed that she probably has held her tongue for so long she could bite it off.

My opinion on Covid is that if a person is under doctor's care for a ongoing medical condition, they must trust their doctor's advice on this.  If you are treating for cancer, for instance, you probably have an immune system working overtime. However,  people must also respect the society they live in and not be careless about possibly infecting others. Most of the big mouths I meet who are unvaccinated and spinning theories ARE NOT WEARING MASKS. The other issue is the carelessness about allowing other people to afford your medical care - if you have the money to afford excellent medical care and aren't afraid about going broke when you end up fighting for your life in intensive care, well, that's different than sending a $300.000 bill to the tax payers, isn't it?  Unfortunately many of the careless I have met, spinning every conspiracy theory about Covid are on governmental medical insurance such as Medi-Cal. Think about that.

The story that has wiped Covid off the front pages is the evacuation of Afghanistan since the Taliban so quickly took over.  Unfortunately one of the sites I've been reading several times a day regarding Covid, Daily Mail UK, has headlines that are SO CLEARLY BIASED AGAINST OUR PRESIDENT BIDEN such as claiming he was in a fetal position when he was not, that I am trying to avoid ever reading the publication's site again.  It is one of the most read publications on earth - perhaps the second most popular - and therefor powerful, and I find it DISGUSTING first of all that the editors and proofreaders there FAIL TO HONOR OUR PRESIDENT by putting the word PRESIDENT in front of his name. How dare they carry on the INSULTING TRUMPISM of calling him Sleepy Joe.

Biden is aging and he long ago overcame stuttering.  Two of our greatest Presidents hid their disabilities.  President John F. Kennedy hid a serious chronic pain condition and other ailments he had to treat for.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt hid that he was a Polio victim who could not walk.  These two have been an inspiration to so many people who find they are are disabled.

Secondly, no President makes decisions without input from advisors, including military and intelligence, and when a situation rapidly devolves like this one has, that information can change moment by moment.  Also media such as Daily Mail UK is highly dependent on an audience that likes to see the "cheese cake", such as various Kardashians holding cell phone cameras down towards their private parts while they hold their pants out, for readership; it's close to pornography. A great number of articles must reference other publications that printed first. Most of all, it features opinionated personalities and their hyperbole, people whose careers depend on their egos and finding fault and tearing apart, but who rarely have the solution to any problem and have no way to carry out their ideas anyway.

The problem may simply be that the British and Great Britain is really not that interesting and must go outside itself and to America to find something to write about and publish.  The country may have once dominated the world, but it is a small country, that fits into our state of Georgia, and what if all the news was about what was happening in Georgia? Further, my experience is that is a snobby and self-satisfied nation too.  (Many of us have had the experience of British ex pats coming to America but never giving up their snobbery and self satisfaction enough to ever be Americans.)  Perhaps through it's Opinion Personalities the British wish to hold onto power?

Of course I believe in being able to express opinions.  What has changed is the respect for the other guy.  I recently was sitting outside a coffee house when three opinionated men all started SHOUTING at each other.  I asked them to lower their voices and calm down.  It was competitive.  WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE STATESMANSHIP of DEBATE in which people take turns so that they can HEAR EACH OTHER? 

When you publish your rants in what is an INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION such as Daily Mail Uk, that's just not honest debate. 

I lived through four years of TRUMP, and after his ongoing assault on media by declaring everything and anything that did not AGREE with him to be "Fake News" I can deal with the GENTLEMANSHIP of PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN.  DO NOT FORGET THAT the United States has been in Afghanistan through four presidencies. 

And while the United States is criticized for trying to keep to the deadline, despite terrorist attacks and threats and much uncertainty,  DO NOT FORGET THAT SO MANY OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE ALREADY LEFT.  Once more The United States of America and it's citizens will bear the cost, the brunt, the lives.

C 2021  Magyar- American BlogSpot

FROM THE FIELDS

 

GENEALOGY QUESTION : HOW DO YOU FIND OUT WHAT VILLAGE YOUR HUNGARIAN ANCESTORS CAME FROM WHEN EVERTHING JUST SAYS "HUNGARY" ?

This question was posed to me by someone, a third generation Hungarian American, who I met through a rare interaction that began through e-mail. The person started her genealogy but hit into the brick wall of not finding documents that might state the village.  She checked death certificates and census records.

What I find is that usually a brick wall is about not knowing what all resources there are and checking all of them.

Therefore I think a thorough search of ship manifests /immigration is usually a good step for anyone who came over on a ship, and since their destination was New Jersey, I suggest New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. If many people with the same names may come up - save them all.  Knowing when someone was married or for how long - say from Census or other information can help you narrow your search - since on the ship manifest it will say they are married or single.  You might also find recognizable family groups.

The ship manifests will often report the answer to Where Did You Leave?  and Where Are You Going?  Where did you leave is not always the place they were born or even lived for years.  It could be a relatives, a friends, or even a place near the docks where they went to work first to pay for the ticket. However, my experience is that most often it is a home village or not far from it. Think about what you would do if you were going to go to another country? Maybe you would give up your house and move in and visit with relatives before leaving. This is where the address of WHERE THEY ARE GOING and the Census might match up. Because you may recognize the address from prior knowledge or because of the census.  

So if you KNOW where they lived soon after immigration, and the ship record matches up - - and it says they left, say, Szeged there you go!

Another possibility is the World War I Draft Registration. Sometimes World War II Draft Registration or Enlistment or Military Records.  Addresses given can be cross checked with census.

Funeral Home Records /Cemetery Burial Records/ and Death Certificates usually lean on each other but sometimes one of these will have more information than another.  (I'm no longer surprised that so many children seemed to have never known their mother's maiden name!)

Church records - Catholic Archive records of marriages, baptismal, and other sacraments are sometimes helpful to the cause but are good to have in any case.  So don't just depend on Civil Records also called Vital records.  Say your immigrant got married soon after immigration here in America - names of parents could be on that record.

So once you have the names of parents, you can use FamilySearch to go into Hungarian church records looking for couples with those names.  Again, we are looking for a match up such as birth dates and with common names there are going to be many possibilities.  

Try this research first.

Some areas of Hungary are far more challenging or sometimes impossible than others because of records that are missing.  Also what would be county or city archives may have information that is special to their collection and not duplicated.

The HUNGARIAN NATIONAL ARCHIVES is adding more information all the time and I believe has more than FamilySearch or Ancestry at this point and intends to keep adding.  You may need to ask a relative to translate or hire someone to do that.

NATIONAL ARVCHIVES HUNGARY ENGLISH

C 2021 Magyar American BlogSpot

Genealogy Block #1

THE PULI DOG - A HUNGARIAN FOLK TALE

I love this series. 

EXCERPT: The Hungarian Folktales stem from original folktale collections, every episode has its special authentic ornamentation.  The makers used the decorative art of a certain countryside region at each episode.  The trio of folk art, folk music and folk tales are masterfully combined in the episodes. which have unique imagery, sometimes spicy folk humor in the dialogues.  Thanks to the natural presentation of the storytellers, and the music of the Kalaka band, the view can experience something unique and special.

SPORTS MUSEUM DEDICATED TO HUNGARIAN ATHLETES

Here's the link: MAGYARNAPOL - SPORTS MUSEUM

GREAT FLOODS IN HUNGARY

DAILY NEWS HUNGARY - HISTORY OF FLOODING 

A good article that includes photos and videos, paintings and sketches, beginning with 1878 and the Great Flood of Szeged. 

HEVIZ : SWIM IN WORLDS SECOND? LARGEST MAGICAL THERMAL LAKE : WONDERFUL PLACES IN HUNGARY #9

Since the Stone Age people have been enjoying the health benefits of Lake Heviz. As the world's second largest thermal lake, though sometimes it is called the largest,*** you can swim in the waters any time of year. The water is a fairly consistent 28-32 Celsius which is in the mid 80's in Fahrenheit temperature measurement.  This lake is associated with Lake Balaton and is located on the Western end and about five miles from Keszthely. A large refurbished wellness building fronts the lake.

This lake may not be Balaton, but it's huge, covering 511,286 square feet (47,000 square meters.) To give you an idea, an American football field is 57,600 square feet. The water is said to have both hot and cold in the flow and is so strong that the water in the lake can be completely renewed in just 72 hours.

But since all thermal springs and wells usually contain minerals that are thought to be good for what ails you, why would this lake be considered so special?

Because of the fairly even temperature certain bacterias and algae's grow in it and the temperature makes for a suitable habitat for other organisms and plants. One of these plants is the water lilies.

The lake is dotted with these flowers which I know in Asian cultures are symbols of very long life - even eternity.  They are red water lillys.

Among the many sites I read, this one is most interesting: NATIONAL and HISTORICAL SYMBOLS ; HEVIZ which also has an account of the Roman's using the lake.

EXCERPT : the red water-lilly in the lower part of the coast-of-arms ...is the most widely known symbol of Heviz. The red water lily was planted in the water of Lake Hevis in 1898 by Sandor Lovassy, professor of the Agricultural Academy at Keszthely. These water -lilies, native to Bengal, have since then become the lake's favorite sight, bearing a near-symbolic significance.

Image is from WikiArt public domain.  Red water lilly native of Southern India.

*** Perhaps it's difficult to know just how much water a lake has it in, with seasonal fluctuations, climate change, and the mystery of lakes ebbing and flowing from unseen thermal volcanic sources. 

Click on the label Wonderful-Hungary to get to the entire series on this theme.

MY BELOVED SENIOR DOG HAS ANOTHER SEIZURE

It was about 60 days ago that she had her first. This time I realized what was happening, put her in her dog bed and carried the whole thing outside.  And I counted how long it lasted.  About half a minute.  She peed a lot and pooed a little.  Her legs were wobbly when it ended but she was soon walking in circles.  I threw all the things peed and pooed on into the washing machine, and then I gave her a very quick shower with some suds.  I towel dried her and sprayed on her skin conditioner.  I combed her and rubbed her.  I cut some hair around her eyes and mouth. I took her back outside and set her on the grass.  She continued to walk, perhaps not in a circle, but clearly not seeing. When I held her in my arms, she whimpered a little and seemed to fight me. Right now she is sleeping under my bed, which is good.  I have to leave.  I can't get out of it.  

SALATA

 

ZSA ZSA GABOR's ASHES GO TO BUDAPEST

THE GUARDIAN : ZSA ZSA GABOR's ASHES TAKEN TO BUDAPEST FOR BURIAL 

Good picture....

EXCERPT: Gabor's ashes were laid to rest in a prominent cemetery in the capital city alongside other famous Hungarian actors, writers and pets, in a ceremony where a gypsy band played and her favourite yellow and pink roses were on display.

Born Sari Gabor into a wealthy Hungarian family, she was named Miss Hungary in the 1930's.  As the second world war approached, she and her sisters headed for the United States, leaving behind her first husband, Burhan Belge, a Turkish diplomat.

Her last husband, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, to whom she was married from 1986 until her death aged 99 in 2016, said that in her will she expressed a wish to end up in Hungary.

HUNGARIANESS IS WHAT?

 

What is HUNGARIANESS?

I recently went out to a coffee house and got to talking to strangers who were discussing ethnicity and race, and the recent issues that make it a too sensitive subject to discuss.  Several people excused what it was they were about to say by mentioning that they were NOT going to be "politically correct."  There was a Jewish American person and a Native American person there and then me, a representative of Hungarianess - or at least Hungarian-Americaness.  I thought about all the stereotypes I've presented here at MAGYAR AMERICAN BLOGSPOT.  Certainly some of these are silly and some are possibly trouble.  I mentioned how we Hungarians are supposed to be extra hairy people.

Perhaps what was most upsetting is that these people were NOT INTERESTED in the subject.  Perhaps being a Magyar-American is just too European for them.  The Native American person went on with a fractured history lesson of the Hungarians and a Irish-American blurted the whole story about us coming from Attila the Hun...  They drummed me out and went on discussing Black Lives Matter - which, by the way, they were all disgusted with.

Well, a coffee house may be the last bastion of free expression and they are allowed to think as they think.  What spawned this conversation was that the Jewish American walked outside a convenience store where he had purchased a cold soft drink when a Black man who he described as possibly a teenager bashed his face for no good reason with his fists.  He fractured this man's nose, split his lip, and gave him a concussion and a day spent in an emergency room.  Security cameras may have captured the assaults but the police were not interested and gave no home of finding or prosecuting the offender.  He wondered if it was an anti-Semetic attack or simply because he looks White.

What do most Americans who have no Hungarian heritage think of Hungary and Hungarians?

Not much.  That it's a conservative nation that hates gay people...?  That Hungarians are not tolerant about immigrants?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

C 2021 Magyar-American BlogSpot

THE UNITED STATES SLOWLY WAKES UP BUT IT'S WITH CREAKING BONES and AN ACHING BACK

This morning I walked a bill to the post office.  It took 45 minutes.  After having a bad experience with bill paying on line, I decided to go back to the old fashioned way of doing things, checks and snail mail.  All the street postal boxes have been removed, they say due to mail theft, and mail clipped to the box outside is sometimes clipped for two or three days....

The IRS is backed up.  I'm not looking for a tax return but I know some people who are...

I'm encountering a good number of people who have not taken any vaccination and say they will not.  Some of them are suspicious of the government and/or Big Pharma, but in any case, they are relying on other people to create Herd Immunity.  I pray the new variant doesn't kill them off.

My library reopened but only part of each weekday and not at all on weekends.  They used to provide about 18 Internet computers at that location, which could be used two hours a day.  While closed those were pulled out.  There are new computers but only six of them which can be used one hour a day.  There is hardly anyone in there, way more staff than is necessary.  I suspect that with ebooks and other on line services that can be achieved from home there is not so much borrowing of actual books anymore.  I suspect the library system will dwindle away. 

Slowly the country wakes up, but it's not been a good sleep.  

FIREWORKS - NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO IT

Last year was hell for my dog up till and especially on the evening of July 4th, so I'm not looking forwards to it.  She felt panicky and her body language was that she couldn't get close enough to me for protection, but there was nowhere else to go because the entire neighborhood erupted.  This year, because of her fairly recent seizure, I'm truly afraid that the noise will trigger another. So far she has not had another seizure but it was a dramatic when she had it and I thought I would lose her.  It almost seemed a miracle that within a couple hours she returned to her status before the seizure.  It reminded me of a reboot of a computer. 

Another aspect of the holiday is the state of American Patriotism.

Yes, you can criticize the country and still be patriotic.  Hopefully your observation that things need to be improved comes with some ideas on how to create that change in a positive way.

However, I and many of my friends feel that absolutely everything has become overly political, especially when certain celebrities use their fame to fan the flames, so to speak.  You see, I want entertainment to be relaxing or at least take my attention away from the present for a little while. Whatever the entertainer - be that an actor, musician, sportsperson, whatever - thinks or feels - they are welcome to express on their own time but entire politically correct programs, whole teams held hostage, and so on, is just not right.  And I'm now turning off the program when it turns out it's going to be one more event with some sort of intent to indoctrinate.

UPDATE:  My dog shook and I held her and stroked her for a long time.  Finally, we went to bed and... we woke up to a puddle of pee... 

CHERRIES and VIOLETS PLUS the BEE

 

THE VALLEY OF THE BEAUTIFUL WOMAN in EGER REGION : WONDERFUL PLACES IN HUNGARY #8

One does wonder how this valley, which is sometimes called THE VALLEY OF THE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN, got it's name, but I suspect it's because there were women out there in the fields, planting, tending, and harvesting grapes. In the Eger region and in view of the Bukk Mountains, this region has amble opportunity to go wine tasting and indulge in thermal spas. However, the history of the name refers to a single beautiful woman.  Who was she?

SZEPASSZONYVOLGY INFO (in Hungarian) Lots of information about Eger

EXCERPT (Translated into English and edited by me)

Opinions about the origin of the name vary. Ferenc Bako's article entitled "Eger Wine Cellars" reads "This name preserves the memory of the ancient religion of the pagan Hungarians.  The Beautiful Women was one of the goddesses of the ancient religion, the figure corresponding to Venus, the goddess of love. Among the agricultural population of Eger, some say that a beautiful woman owned the valley or part of it. Others that a famous woman sold good Eger wine here in her cellar. According to another source, there was a manor villa on the side o the valley, inhabited by a stubborn mistress of a military officer, and she is the origin of the name.

About the wine: The Eger Bull Blood became famous in the 18th century.  It's raw material was provided by goose-footed black grapes, the Turkish gohor, the black Franc and the Cello.

Click on the label Wonderful-Hungary to get to the entire series on this theme.

LETTUCE

 

A TIME LINE OF HUNGARIAN MONARCHS

HUNGARIAN MONARCH HISTORY - STARTING WITH HOUSE OF ARPAD

THUMBS UP FOR THE MAGYAR LIVING VIDEOS and PODCASTS - LIZ SZABO VOS

 

Go to YOUTUBE and put the words "Magyar Living" into the search.  Up will come a channel full of good videos.  This one is a start.  Liz Szabo Vos says that her mom always tried to integrate a bit of Hungarian culture into her upbringing. 

WE LOVE ICE CREAM : HUNGARIAN / HUNGARIAN-AMERICAN STEREOTYPE

 

Of all the silly stereotypes I've heard of, this one is the most harmless, unless it collides with the stereotype that Hungarian women are either skinny and hot or fat and not. You know how stereotypes are - absolutely everyone has to be a certain way. 

So, I presume most if this ice cream is eaten in the summer. 

By the way, it's so enjoyed one can't help but get it caught in one's mustache.

Smile.

What's your favorite flavor?

C 2021 Magyar-American BlogSpot

FIRST CROP TO COME IN ? STRAWBERRIES - EPER

 

FOOD INSECURITY IN THE UNITED STATES ; MY FOOD "GIVE AWAY" VOLUNTEER GIG CONTINUES

A couple days ago I walked my dog over to the location where I volunteer on Friday mornings to process donated food and bag it for a GIVE AWAY. There was someone I wanted to talk to. I had never been by there on a Thursday and as it turns out, twice a month the food arrives the day before. 

I've decided to call our effort a GIVE AWAY because I saw the delivery and the small amount of storage and realized No, it is not actually a FOOD BANK. Though we do have some canned goods we are processing food the day before or the day of a give away and the rest of the time the space is used for other things. Since I was there, I was asked to help out and basically separated all the things that obviously needed to be put in a refrigerator. Though a small amount of meat and many prepared salads are given, these went in, along with yogurt.

The number one thing that is donated is BREAD - various forms such as sour dough, flatbread, rye, cinnamon swirl, French Loafs, Multigrain, and Tortilla.  There is such an abundance of it - and the store is likely taking a tax deduction, so I wonder, if the motivation to donate all that bread - wheat products - is actually the tax deduction.  Could the stores really overstock so consistently?  Sadly, an overabundance of wheat/bread in the diet leads to excessive calories and a fat belly, but I understand that it would all go into a landfill if it were not distributed. I won't judge it but I'd say most of the people who show up for free food are not very fat.

Anyone who is consistently using free food probably does this but if you're new to it, the idea is to get your free things first and then go shopping for what you still need.

Here is what happens when we volunteers meet on Friday morning. We open all the cardboard boxes and separate out the vegetables, fruits, salads, and other items, on long tables, watching for anything that is rotten. Often there will be a whole bag of something that has been donated because one item inside it has gotten mold or gone bad. Other times it seems something has been thrown in because it was left at a cash register somewhere. All the "bad" stuff goes into a container to be turned into compost for a garden.

It seems that once in a while we get cheeses, more often eggs, sometimes a meat product, such as a ready made meat loaf, or something frozen that can be turned into a meal. 

Once our tables are laden with all this, we take plastic bags and fill them, trying to keep heavy things on the bottom and be diverse in what we put in each bag. Sometimes it's kind of fun to think of the person who gets the bag and what a surprise it is for them to see what's in it.  I personally try to fill a bag in a way in which a meal makes sense.  If I put in tortilla's I'll try for some refried beans, onions, peppers, eggs in the bag too.

Once in a while we get a truly exotic product, and these are also distributed. In the last couple months we have seen gummy bear vitamins, hot sauces, strange teas, fresh ginger.

We know that a person may not like or use everything in their bag. The idea is that they give these things away to friends and neighbors rather than waste them.

When I first started I was startled to see some volunteers taking away a lot of food for themselves and their families.  I understand that his is typical however.

Finally, after about two hours of work, the bags are taken outside to tables under a tent and a line up forms. Usually within 15 minutes most of the people who are going to take food have shown up and usually within a half hour it is all gone. We typically make over 50 bags and if the line up looks sparse, we may give out more than one bag per person.

Most of the people who show up are on foot, some with grocery carts, some in cars.  When someone drive up in an expensive vehicle I can't help but wonder if they are just taking advantage.

I don't do everything every week. Sometimes I just bag. In the last few weeks I've been taking things to the tables. This week we had so many apples, we gave out whole bags of them to anyone who said they would like them in addition to their grocery bag. We had so much bread, same thing.

At the end of the session, other volunteers take about 10 bags to the closest homeless encampment where people do not wish to leave their tents.  We try to be sensitive to the fact that people in these tents cannot cook when we pack their bags. For some of the volunteers this is their reason why they volunteer.

Finally, on a day like we had where we literally had an entire box of apples and dozens of loaves of bread, these are taken to a local rehab or group home.

I like that nothing is wasted.

I believe that Covid-19 economy has a lot to do with what's happening here with food and "Food Insecurity," not having enough food.

There are still people in the hospital with Covid. Our governor has announced there are going to be $50 stipends given to people who get a vaccination and the rest of us are somehow submitted into a lottery for a million bucks.

Wish me luck!

C 2021 Magyar American BlogSpot

SWANS and GYGNETS

 

MY BELOVED SENIOR DOG HAS A SEIZURE

Seizure 

I worked for many hours and well deserved my rest after a long Thursday. On Friday I got up and made a pot of soup - beef barley and tomato with lots of garlic - to last for a few days. Then I took my dog in her carrier to my volunteer gig, the food bank. When I take her we usually go for a walk after. Just the other day I took her for a couple hours out shopping with me and then we went to a grassy park where she happily sniffed the trees and got excited at the sight of a squirrel.

There's a changes from week to week when it comes to the number of volunteers. Last week the food showed up incredibly late and it was a lot of chaos. Everyone had to stay more hours. Some of the people who are coming for free food are acting demanding about what is in their bag and using their bare hands to give back or sort out what they do not want... We can't have that. However, there is often a language barrier and when I say NO! and point to my gloves some of them still don't get it. Maybe it was the delay with the food delivery that set us back and into this situation that was a bit out of control. This is also because of the layout of the building and parking. We can do the receiving, sorting through (some of what is donated is ready for composting), and bagging indoors but we need to take it out near the street when done. People are both on foot and in cars.

I had been tying my dog up on a shaded patio with water and a sleeping pad near the bagging room but she seemed to worry too much about where I was and would sharp bark at some people. So I was told it would be OK to bring her into the bagging room where I tied her up in the corner.  We all wear face masks and gloves and there is a lot of activity, people darting around, and talking. She seemed agitated and still straining to keep track of me. Then on the way home it was a bit of bumpy ride though she seemed to be asleep in her carrier. The carrier is room enough and has lots of air vents and I don't think she was overheated. Once home I gave her a treat of beef. This may have been my mistake. I detail this because later I learned that a seizure can be triggered by anything from accidently eating poison, being fed chocolate, a change in dog food, too much salt, too much sugar, too much excitement, bright flashing lights, or an assortment of serious internal illnesses.

At home she got into the dog bed I keep for her on my bed. She also has another under the bed. I got on the computer, but about an hour into this, I heard something and turned around to see her in seizure. Urine shot out of her.  Her whole body shook violently. She was foaming at the mouth. Her breathing was bad. A spot of blood came out of her mouth. All this especially scared me.  I grabbed her in my arms and carried her outside. I guess I was thinking she might also poo. I was shocked and frightened.

Something about earthquakes. The small ones are barely felt. It can feel like a heavy loaded truck is rumbling by, shaking the street just a little too long. Or maybe some overhead lamps sway. A big one, however is so dramatic that the floors seem to be rising up and down just to throw you out of bed or bruise you as you crawl to a safe space. The noise is tremendous like a freight train that won't stop passing, your possessions are thrown and twisted, cracks appear in your walls, and within it time slows down.

With this seizure my poor old dog had, time showed down for me as the observer. I have no idea how long it went on. It was probably less than five minutes - maybe one or three, but it felt like forever. I held her, I kept stroking her.  I kept saying, I love you, I'm here. And in my mind I thought, She is in the act of dying.

I was amazed at my acceptance of this notion in that moment.  It was as if I was thinking, "This dog will be waiting for me in heaven, when I get there." Knowing she is old and cannot live forever. But what about my double yolked luck? Am I really ready to be dogless?

Then it was over. When I set her down it appeared her back legs were weak or useless. The legs seemed to hang limp.  Her front paws were a little better.  Her tongue was hanging out of her mouth to one side.  I thought, "She has had a stroke!"

It was now Friday dinner time and I knew the closest vet was closed. There are other vets in the area but also nightmare stories of them overcharging and so on. In the next town there is a vet I have never been to but who a dog lover recommended.

I brought her back into the bedroom and set her down, wobbly, into her bed.  This was a mistake. I left the room for a few moments and she had tried to get up and walk and had fallen off the bed. I took her back outside.

It was a bright and beautiful spring day, very windy, with flower blooms on some of the trees. I set her down on grass and she tried to walk.

The curious thing. She was going for it but she was walking in circles and getting "stuck" say, under a hedge. It seemed like she wanted to go under a hedge and hide. However, she started bumping into things and I realized she was blind. My dog has a cataract in one eye that's fairy bad and in the other eye that's fairly good. I thought, "OK, I'm going to have to put her down. I wondered if she would be able to drink or eat with that tongue hanging out.  I can deal with her blind.  I can deal with her if I have to carry her out.  I can deal with her if she can never leave the house again. But if she cannot eat or drink or urinate or poo, she has a day,

I tied her up with a long soft leash indoors, so that she could not bump into things.  She went under the bed.  Then I heard her walking back and forth under there.  So I got her out and took her back outside, where she still seemed disoriented.

Then I got on Google and researched. I learned that walking in circles, hiding, whimpering, and other behaviors were all dog seizure after effects.  Would she come out of it?  Minutes or a day or two is what one site said.

Although it said that dogs who have seizures are sometimes really thirsty or hungry afterwards, I cleaned her up a little, and took her near a water bowl where I lifted some water towards her mouth with my fingers and she licked.  Her tongue went back into her mouth. However she didn't pause to drink from her bowl.  Did she know where she was?  I knew when she last had a little water and urinated and pooed, so I decided not to feed her.

I took her back out and her walking got stronger but she didn't seem to know how to navigate the steps, which she usually does with a bit of a hop.

That she was walking, reprogramming herself, was to me a miracle and a good sign.

The next was that she kept sniffing my leg and seemed to be trying to follow me without circling, using her sense of smell.  I thought, if this is it, I will always be sure to put some of my new perfume on my ankles as a clue for her.

The next excellent sign is that a cat she is jealous of for the attention I give it walked by her and she barked sharply at it.  She barked!

Walking well, hating the cat, I watched as she found and made it through the doggie door into the side yard, went down the steps, and then roamed a bit. But did she find the way back in? Eventually. "I will have to go outside with her in the dark in the middle of the night from now on. I don't want her tangling with a racoon out there!"

Finally, I stayed up until midnight in case anything else happened.  Calls had been made to the closest vet and no one had called back. Then I barely slept.  I'm going through today with maybe five hours of terrible sleep.

It is Saturday and so far my dog has gone out to pee, drunk some water, and eaten a small portion of wet food as well as small bite kibble.  She is sleeping in her bed on my bed contently. She seems to be more keenly watching me but it's as if she didn't have the seizure. Her eyesight is back, as it was. If she makes a good poo then I will feel she is recovered.

Of course I know another seizure could happen at any time, even when we are out somewhere together. 

She is still interested in experiencing life. 

I have to think about all this.

All I can do is try to avoid triggers and hope that this was an isolated incident.

And that is all for now!

How I love her!

C 2021 All Rights Reserved including International and Internet Rights.

DOUBLE YOLK GOOD LUCK

I broke open a large egg and was stunned to see the

Double Yoke.

I instantly knew it was Good Luck

and made a wish.

I also made a double recipe of

peanut butter oatmeal cookies.

 

MY COVID VACCINATION

I'm fully vaccinated against Covid-19 disease. I'm still wearing a mask, except when I walk my dog around the block, and probably will continue to do so in any situation in which I might be exposed to people who are not vaccinated or are sick. Although wearing a mask can be unpleasant, it's worth the caution.

Watching the news on what's happening in INDIA - where there is a frightening double mutant strain and so many people are perishing.  I've been hooked on that news, watching dozens of videos and reading reports, feeling helpless. I am grateful for the stimulus checks provided by the United States of America, because I have been economically impacted and after much sacrificing, I used a couple hundred of it for some new clothes.

I got my vaccination after trying to get an appointment on line and visiting a couple pharmacies hoping there was a cancellation.  A woman told me a medical van was going to be set up nearby on a certain date and I went there. While previously hunting for the Moderna, I took the Johnson and Johnson, the shot that later was suspended because some women got an unusual blood clot  and died.

My vaccination site was sore and a whitish ring appeared around the area - about the size of a dime. The next day the ring was gone but I still feel as if there is a soreness in the area. I had some worry before taking the shot and didn't sleep well the night before and so I'm not sure if my next two days of tiredness were caused by lack of sleep or a side effect. What I was sure of was that I was also experiencing some nausea, even five days later. So I consulted a pharmacist who told me it was normal for the first week. After two weeks I began to feel a sense of relief.

I have two friends who absolutely refuse to get a vaccination against Covid-19, and they are both intelligent women who I want to honor for their choice.  Yet, I have had almost no in person communication with either of them for months, and lately have been feeling that they are part of the problem rather than the solution. They are both in good health. If someone is treating for a serious illness I can understand that they will follow their doctor's orders. Such was the case of a young woman I met when I took my dog for an outing at a grassy park. She was set up to paint and so I noticed and began to speak with her. I was shocked to learn that she was in stage 4 cancer (which usually means near death) because she was so young and looked so healthy.  She wasn't wasting away and was actually cheerful. So her doctor told her no and I understood that. These friends of mine are not taking the vaccination because they do not trust the government or they feel their healthy diet is enough to fight off anything.

I hope they don't have to find out.

If you are a person who will not take or cannot get a vaccination, please continue to follow all the rules such as wearing a mask and correctly, thoroughly washing your hands or spraying  your hands when you use public buses, bathrooms. and facilities, and so on.

It's a bumpy road we are on, but perhaps we can make it through together!

C 2021 Magyar American BlogSpot

All Rights Reserved

THE CROW OBSERVES

 

THEY BATTLE : MAGYAR SHAMANISM #5

Shamans may heal but they can also kill. Therefore, there is a potential for danger in dealing with them. You don't want to get on their bad side.

They may not just control the weather, causing rain or making it stop, they can actually turn themselves into clouds or take on other disguises in the world of nature, for instance becoming a wild animal and acting as if they were possessed by it or possessing it.

You've seen those dramatic Hollywood films with special effects magic, where a man slowly turns into a wolf, hair growing, eyes glowing, teeth extending. Is it through great imagination that the taltos acts as if, or is there an actual transformation? 

This is where the Magyar taltos' very existence becomes mystical.

A taltos does not need to exist in the material world and die. When he or she is ready to leave the earth, he can just disappear, go poof!

Why would he or she kill? A shaman can fight another shaman, say because their tribes are in a serious conflict, and so protect his or her own tribe. He can get into a personal conflict with another taltos as well. He or she can encounter an energy or a being while traveling the World Tree or while walking down the road in Budapest that must be warded off or destroyed as part of that journey. And they aren't going to say, "I warn you, these hands are registered weapons," before they strike.

While all these things may be possible, the taltos' power, ability and reputation are individual. One might be known for one attribute more so than another. Herbal medicine and hands on healing or knowing where the hunting will be good were probably more useful and appreciated. Today your friendly neighborhood taltos would probably at the library - a bookworm as we used to say back in the day of paper - truly wise .

As previously mentioned, the Magyar taltos and the character Don Juan Matus, the Indian said to be a shaman, of Carlos Castaneda's series of books have a lot in common. Castaneda became a controversial author when, after being a best seller, he was accused of creating fictions through library research. But I do wonder, because Don Juan Matus, might have been Mattyosovszky Janos...😉... Or someone else descended from one of the tribes.

I hope you've enjoyed this short series of posts about Magyar Paganism.

C 2021