Nea Fane – Un Biet Român Pripășit în America / A Hapless Romanian Stuck in The US

In October of ’22, at a restaurant in Bucharest, it was our High School reunion, with the majority of the guys actually attending, and the out-of-towners connecting via Zoom. I had been part of some other get-togethers in the past, so there was no news from this guy, but one newcomer was a lady from Canada who was just located and invited to the reunion, which she enthusiastically joined.

And of course, the questions: Where are you?, What are you doing?, Married, kids? …all of the usual. But one of the Lady’s answers took everybody by surprise: “I am not defined by my children,” she said. “I am defined by me, I am my own person.” There was a moment of confused silence, and then the chatting continued unabated.

One month later, discussing this with Cosmin, he agreed with her point of view, while I was totally opposed. We continued our friendly banter, each of us standing his ground, while laughing pretty loudly.

On his way out, following a typical Romanian goodbye – the kind where you stay in front of the house for 15 minutes continuing the discussion, and another 5 minutes while he is in the car – he stuck his head out of the window and said, pointing his long finger at me:

“Be your own person”

And, laughing hard he added:

“And grow a pair, for God’s sake!”

And off he went, his laugh fading into the distance.

Those were our last words together on the night of November 27, 2022.