On Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:28:20 +0200, Christopher Strevens
<christopher.strevens@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Turnip sandwiches, Bovril on toast with margarine, no eggs or tomatoes
queue
up for beef with ration books.
It used to be so after the WWII and also before the SSSR collapse, but for
a long time the soviet system "burned" it's resources to produce deceptive
abundance.
In the 50ies, they said, there was no whitebread and sugar.
But I remember my childhood in the 60-ies in Tartu. The groceries were
quite full of goods.
Later, in the early years in the university (beginning of 70ies, still
Tartu) I was fond of cooking (mostly everything with cheese) and counted
17 different sorts of cheese in the most local by-street shop. But then
things turned sour and the 80ies were quite nasty. NO cheese at all and
milk only 25 minutes after the opening time. I remember - my kids were
small then. 1 or 2 sorts of sausage and meat 1-2 times a week (it was in
the periphery already - near Matsalu State Park and the western coast).
In the 90-ies ration tickets appeared, but the counting was per head
(mouth) and we had 6 children, so we were quite in luxury (also could
trade down our strong alcohol tickets for something else - we had lots of
these :)
And then the Freedom - all the goods and no money . . . :(
Then we used to joke as follows:
The pessimist says it cannot get any worse, the optimist says sure it can!
But I am neither one, perhaps illusionist - producing evanescent digital
images and reading fairy tales to my granddaughter in the evening at the
bedside (the latter may even have more fixity due to child mind's
immanence). And therefore I won't rant. I think it even makes me happy!
Peeter
