Soviet-American Rhetoric
Photographed by Leela Corman of Brokelyn.com
I took a place in line behind an elderly man in the meat market section of my residential international food store. Domino is one of the many stores on Kings Highway that highlights the street’s cultural diversity. However, this store served as the principal port of Slavic cuisine, particularly the delicacy of Eastern European meat and the harvest of the Ukrainian breadbasket that is seldom found in American chain supermarkets.
The man in front of me spoke in a raspy voice that both attested to his age with his wrinkly complexion, and to the tainted mustache that was trimmed with decades of tobacco smoke. He wore a Soviet naval cap and a shirt with the American flag, the sort that may have been given out in a raffle during a Fourth of July festival. The woman behind the counter asked him in Russian. “Здравствуйте, что вы пожалаете” (Hello, what would you like?) He answered “Cердельки – две pieces.” (Sausages – two pieces) She complied and probably took no notice of his melting pot rhetoric.
3 comments
I enjoyed your portrayal of the older man, specifically your description of him wearing a “Soviet naval cap and a shirt with an American flag”. These seemingly contradictory articles of clothing create an easily imaginable figure and a familiar persona (especially in that neighborhood).
I agree with Ms. Greenberg in your excellent depiction of the old man. Additionally by intertwining Russian language into your cultural encounter perfectly captures the essence of the scene.
I agree with Elisabeth. You did a tremendous job in showing this contradiction of the two cultures that this man embodies, and the integration of these two cultures in his speech.