Anton Daragan

Anton Daragan is an accidental friend.  While I had seen him as a student in the Volgograd State Pedagogical University Character for Kids classes, I did not really know the kid!  Then the Russians came to Coppell and needed some housing.  Tony, being the only male student, naturally ended up in my all male household.  My sons JR and Phillip, and I quickly wedged Tony into our busy and sometimes chaotic lives and he became part of the family.  Not as much a guest as just a third son, Tony got very little special treatment.  If he ever got a prepared meal on our house, it was at a time convenient for us; usually late.  And my sons did not cut Tony any slack calling him “Tony the Russian” and occasionally by the loving nickname, “Commie”.  They are all still friends today and communicate often on My Space and Face Book.  

I did not think Tony was that special to me until he left.  Suddenly my full time kid (JR and Phillip spend half the time with their mom) was gone and the house seemed a bit lonely.  I was used to finding Tony attached to his laptop whenever I would get home from work.  I missed the little time we had on those evenings to chat about life, politics, and sometimes Russian/American relations.  Sure, he is a kid and related much more to JR and Phillip, but through our three month together he had become part of my life.

This is the second time I have been back to Volgograd since Tony stayed with my family.  Tony had invited me to his home last in October but it did not work out.  This trip we planned ahead and I was able to go to Kalach on the Don, Tony’s small hometown this weekend. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalach-na-Donu

Tony’s university group mate, Character for Kids participant, and Coppell resident this past summer, Valeria “Lera” Cherednikova, Tony, and I  took off by mini-bus Saturday morning.  We arrived in an hour and a half to a town of about 30,000 and as different from Volgograd as Weatherford is to Dallas…except there is no Starbucks in Kalach like in Weatherford!  Tony’s mother and father greeted us with a traditional Russian feast that is still keeping me full two days later.  Along with his sister, nephew, grandmother, and an in-law, we ate till we could not move, took a walk (and for them, a smoke break) and came back to eat more.  Then we repeated that several more times.  I am still full!

Tony’s father gave us a tour of the area including a significant monument, “Meeting of the Armies” at the Don River Bridge.  We came home, ate AGAIN, and then took a walk through town.  Tony, Lera, and I spent about an hour sitting in the town park discussing life.  We then took a cab to the local hang out where I had another latte’ and we enjoyed some loud Russian pop music till the wee hours of 10:30 pm.  Bedtime was a welcome event after all that eating and we made it back to Volgograd in the morning by 11 am.

This visit to Kalach allowed me to see the quiet and simple part of a more rural Russia.  And it re-enforced my perspective that these Russians can come across pretty tough on the outside but once you become personal, they are beautiful and hospitable people.  Tony’s parents treated me like a king…what a wonderful weekend!  What they may never understand is the joy and insight Tony has brought to my life.  And it all started with Character for Kids….

Peace!

Rick Ellis