European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 16, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse When added a Beachall Lor swimwear or a Flash Light for evening russian women do care about How they took while i was wailing or my mirth Summit our of us decided to visit one of the famous russian Baths. We figured. How big a problem could language be with four sets of hands Between us the building was old. The facilities were tired. Ii did t matter. Business was brisk As women sought manicures pedicures and facials. As the our of us huddled in a cubicle a woman who looked official pantomime a gesture As if were taking Oil the sweater Mary Lou Welsman said i think wants us to take off our minutes la Ler As we sat hero in the Buff 1 observed ii you Are wrong this is going to be the longest Day of our in a larger room we tried to blend with 30 or so naked russian women who Lor some strange reason were wearing Wool ski Caps. We later found out the Hals were to protect their Heads irom the heal we would have followed them anywhere. When they scrubbed their feel so did we. When they grabbed a eucalyptus Branch to hog themselves to death in the steam Bath so did we. When they Sal in the Sauna and dehydrated we Clung to them like a Nylon slip Slicks to pantyhose. When they Ell into the cold Green Pool we followed. All of us had never done so much laughing. We concurred hat All future Summit meetings Between world leaders should be conducted in the nude to keep everything in perspective. When a Magazine editor asked in amazement Why i is Liu of Tiv d went to a russian Bath and what did i discover about russian women there i said i discovered not All women Are Ere aled i had resigned myself to the fact that humor is like everything else in Russia you just have to stand in line and wait for it i wanted to Lenin s Tomb but was told by the interpreter that he was leaking As tie does irom time to Lime and was being i nodded As if i understood and said thai Washington d.c., has the same problem. The interpreter nodded As if understood. T joined Ann Huseman and Lour soviet women in a mini discussion on children. Or. Valentina 5. Mitina acting chief of the Laboratory of present Day school and pedagogy in capitalist countries and doting grandmother said had been to a conference in Washington d.c., and had concluded that soviet children were much More optimistic about peace Between our two nations than american children. She wanted to know Why. We cited More sophisticated communication. Our children watch a lot of news on to. It s a Price we pay for openness. Also. Ihlefe were military toys in our country showing russians As enemies which we were trying to banish. The soviet women were shocked to hear of such toys. They said there were no military toys in the soviet Union. We checked. There weren to when Ann returned to Lenexa Kan. She look her slide show of Russia to classrooms. While speaking to a group of third graders showed a slide of Lenin s Tomb and explained that he was regarded Wilh the same respect As our George Washington a hand shot up. I know him. On the go Joe cartoons cobra made him into a robot and sole Ann slowed on and made reference to another russian figure comparing him to King Arthur. The same kid jumped up and said they stole him too ii was a touching Farewell Tor us All of the russian had taken the time to make desserts for the Lea in our Honor. From time to time a Delegate would smile at me and say they re they were two Russia s humorists Irina Skvaro Bogatova and Tanya Shabashova. They finally materialized after my week s Vigil. Irina is a pretty. 35 year old Mother of a 15-year-old son. Her husband is a sports coach. She looks like Barbara Mandrell. Tanya is a widow with a grandson. Her Black hair is drawn Back into a Bun and when laughs optimism comes out of every pore. She threw her handbag on the Back of the chair beside me and started la sit Down. The chair tilted backward and fell on her soviet rear. Helping her up. I said. That s a piety dramatic laughed. I speak English Darling and just imagine where i d be if my handbag had been they Bolh wrote Tor a Magazine of political Salire called Kio Kodil As in Crocodile. A Bunch of Man Saf in a room 60 years ago trying to decide what to Call it when a cleaning woman came into the Smoko filled room and said you Are nothing but a Bunch of Tanya laughed better did t Call them something else he do russians laugh a lot "01 course russians laugh Tanya said. Do you know who is a millionaire in Russia it s a woman who wears new lights with High substitute pantyhose for lights same joke regaled me with stories none of which appeared in the Magazine. But what do you write for Krof Cocrof i asked. It seems All their humor stemmed from Reader mail. That complained about something like a skin Cream thai made spots or some other inferior product they simply checked it out and commented on it it sounded like David Horowitz fights Back in red Square. I asked Irina in had Ever written about her son. She smiled mischievously. Only once when a made a mistake in composition and he did t Tike it 1 never did in How about political humor could they Ever say As Robin Williams said of the reagans have you noticed Nancy never drinks water while the president is speaking never said Tanya. That would be disrespectful because we like or. Gorbachev and or. Reagan. We used to make jokes about Brezhnev but he was old and no one liked i asked her in Kroc nov was run by the state. But of course changed gears did you Ever wonder Why we re All so Lal when there s no Lood in Russia then added. You we make fun of the system All the we were interrupted by a ceremony in which the russians presented a loaf of bread As a Symbol of Friendship Between our countries Ellen Levins stepped Forward wearing please god Yel another hip hugging Pink sweater Wilh a Matching Cardigan. I scanned the crowd looking Lor Rita and wondered if the russians would believe we were triplets. It was the kind of a Summit Betly bumpers had in mind. We were candid when in was painful critical of one another when in was prudent challenged by solutions that seemed impossible shocked by myths that had preceded us defensive when National Pride. Got in the Way and encouraged by friendliness when mistrust and old prejudices threatened us. We Wem treated Well. Were our rooms bugged i yelled Inlo the lamp every morning i need towels and nothing happened. Were we free to move about and take pictures Only one camera was confiscated and that was in the lobby of the american embassy when one of us posed under a picture of president Reagan. No explanation was Given but the camera was returned promptly with film intact. As for Laughn Osl americans did l invent laughter but we be found in nourishes Best in a society where irreverence and truth roam free. Ii May yet be coming to Russia. The material is certainly there. For More information on peace links write Betty bumpers 747 8lh St s.e., Washington , 20003. Ber 16.19bb the stars and stripes parsis
