A LETTER TO A FEMALE UKRANIAN-AMERICAN FRIEND

March 3, 2010

Guten Morgen, _______. I have no milk or sugar for my coffee this morning, but no real problems either. I'll take black coffee any day.
To tell you the truth, Oksana, if it weren't so cold: I'd probably be in Russia teaching English, learning Russian, and promoting my poetry. Russia historically has censored philosophical and political writing, but allowed poetry to flourish as an alternative. In Russia, there are plenty of poets who earn a good living.
But I must say the Germans have the coolest flag in the world, and have emerged as a positive force in the modern world. As a kid, I once bought an expensive German chess clock and I was so proud of it, but it stopped working in less than a year. To me that says that no rule is absolute(the Germans as a rule are excellent at engineering and manufacturing.)

your droog friend,

Sean