My forthy-fourth (44) wrting to my grandchildren = Moj četrdeset četvrti (44) opis mojim unučadima

                       My forty-fourth (44) writing to my grandchildren.
The question is:
“What were your grandparents like? What were their names and when and where were they born? “My dear grandchildren, your grandfather “Babu” Milan will tell you what I heard from my parents, Petar and Iva Boban. I had, like all of us on both sides, grandparents, on my father’s side and on my mother’s side. I will start first with my mother Iva.

My mother’s father Mijo Boban was born in 1856 and died in 1936. He first married in 1895 when he was 29 years old. I don’t remember his wife’s name. They had no children. She suffered from tuberculosis and died around 1910. Mijo is now a widower. In our village Bobanova Draga was a widow named Kata. Her husband, whose name was Blaž, died in 1911. My mother told me that her mother Kata told her that most of the neighbors were involved so that the two of them, a widow and a widower, could get married. So they got married in 1913. My mother Iva was born on January 6, 1914, died on October 1, 1998. I don’t know exactly what year my grandmother Kata was born, but I know she died in 1935. I haven’t had a chance to see them because I was born later. At that time, there were no cameras that could take pictures and have them as a souvenir, as is done today. That would be the history I know about my grandfather Mijo and grandmother Kata, the parents of my mother Iva.

Here is what I heard from my parents Petar and Iva Boban about my grandfather Gabro, the father of my father Petar and about my grandmother Matija, the mother of my father Petar. My grandfather Gabro was born in 1879, died on New Year’s Eve 1948. He married in 1905 when he was 26 years old. I don’t remember the year my grandmother Matija was born, but I know she died of throat cancer in 1938. That’s what my parents told me. Your grandfather “Babu” Milan was born a year later, in 1939. I haven’t had a chance to see my grandmother Matija, so I can’t say much about it. I remember Grandpa Gabro very well, because I often went to the pasture with him, where we took care of the cattle.

My grandfather Gabro smoked a pipe and the reed of that pipe was a foot long if not more; in my humble memory the reed was perhaps a foot and a half long. I say this because my grandfather Gabro was known in the village for having his saliva leak down the reeds of his pipe. My grandfather Gabro could neither read nor write, but he could tell stories from the past without stopping. I as a boy was always by his side because I knew he would now continue his stories where he left off yesterday. I enjoyed it because I would tell those stories to my colleagues walking two and a half kilometers to school.

As I write this to my grandchildren, I think about whether or not I should tell you one true story that I personally heard at home during a family conversation. At that time all family members lived in the same house and under the same roof, so people lived in the community. My grandfather Gabro was a widower and at the same time in our village Bobanova Draga was a widowed woman whose husband died sometime in 1940. At that time it was customary to wear black for one year. My grandfather Gabro wanted to marry that widow just so he wouldn’t feel alone. The family was against it with the excuse that it could spoil the house mood and balance in the house just as one drop of vinegar can spoil one barrel of the best wine.

Here, my dear grandchildren, your grandfather “Babu” Milan tells you a house story that I personally went through, that I personally heard, that I have been carrying through all my life for decades. These are my memories that have stuck to my soles and wherever I go, the traces of my memories and my Croatianness are left. That is why I am known as a Croat and because of me my descendants are known as descendants of Croatia. And as the Bible teaches us when God created the world, he also created the Croatian people. Thus every nation can say for itself that it is a descendant of the God of Heaven.

Your eternal grandfather “Babu” Milan.

P.S:
For you, to my grandchildren I am attaching a picture of your great-grandfather Peter and great-grandmother Iva. Behind them you can see their house with grapes and tobacco. Tih picture was taken in July 1967. by your grandmother Mamie when she was visiting with your aunt Sophie 23 month old your grandfather “Babu” Millan’s parents.

——————————————————————————————————

                                                       Pitanje je:
“Kakvi  su bili tvoji djed i baka? Kako su se zvali i kada i gdje su rođeni?”Dragi moji unuci vaš djed “Babu” Milan će vama reći šta ja čuo od mojih roditelja, Petra i Ive Boban. Ja sam imao, kao i svi mi sa dvije strane djeda i babu, od očeve strane i od majčine strane. Počet ću najprije s moje majke Ive strane.

Otac moje majke Mijo Boban rođen 1856, umro 1936. On se je prvi put oženio 1895. kad mu je bilo 29 godina. Ne sjećam se imena njegove supruge. Oni nisu imali djece. Ona je bolovala od tuberkuloze i umrla oko 1910. Mijo je sada udovac. U našem selu Bobanova Draga bila je udovica imenom Kata. Njezim muž kojeg je ime bilo Blaž je umro 1911. Moja majka mi pričala da je njoj njezina majka Kata njoj pričala da su najviše susjedi sudjelovali da se njih dvoje, udovica i udovac vjenčaju. Tako su se oni vjenčali 1913. Moja majka Iva se je rodila 6 siječnja 1914., umrla 1 listopada 1998. Ne znam točno koje godine je rođena moja baka Kata, ali znam da je umrla 1935. Ja ih nisam imao priliku vidjeti jer sam rošen kasnije. U to doba nije bilo slikaćih aparata da bi se mogle uzeti slike i imati ih za uspomenu, kao što se to danas radi. To bi bila povijest koju ja znam o mojem djedu Mijo i Babi Kata, roditelji moje majke Ive.

Evo što sam čuo od mojih roditelja Petra i Ive Boban o mojem djedu Gabro, otac mojeg oca Petra i o mojoj babi Matiji, majka mog oca Petra. Moj djed Gabro je rođen 1879., umro uoči Nove Godine 1948. Oženio se je 1905. kada mu je bilo 26 godina. Ja se ne sjećam koje godine se je moja baba Matija rodila, ali znam da je od raka u grlu umrla 1938. godine. Tako su mi pričali moji roditelji. Vaš djed “Babu” Milan je rođen godinu dana kasnije, tj. 1939. Ja nisam imao priliku vidjeti moju babu Matiju, te ne mogu mnogo o tome ništa reći. Vrlo dobro se sjećam djeda Gabre, jer sam sa njim često puta išao na pašnjak goveda čuvati.

Moj djed Gabro je pušio lulu a kamiš te lule je bio dugačak stopu ako ne i više; po mojem skromnom sjećanju kamiš je bio dug možda i stopu i pol. To govorim zato jer je moj djed Gabro bio u selu poznat po tome što bi niz kamiš njegove lule njegova pljuvačka curila. Moj djed Gabro nije znao ni čitati ni pisati, ali je zato znao bez prestanka pričati dogodovštine iz prošlosti. Ja kao dečkić sam uvijek bio uz njega jer sam znao da će on sada nastaviti svojim priče gdje je jučer stao. Ja sam u tome uživao jer bih ja te priče pričao mojim kolegama idući pješke dva i pol kilometra u školu.Dok ovo pišem mojim unucima razmišljam da li bih vam il ne ispričao jednu istinitu priču koju sam osobno u kući čuo za vrijeme obiteljskog razgovora. U to doba svi članovi obitelji su živjeli u istoj kući i pod istim krovom, tako da se je živjelo u zajednici. Moj djed Gabro je bio udovac a u isto vrijeme u našem selu Bobanova Draga bila je jedna žena udovica kojoj je muž umro negdje 1940. Tada je bio običaj nositi crninu za vrijeme jedne godine. Moj djed Gabro je htio oženiti tu udovicu samo i jedino za to da se ne osjeća sam. Kućna čeljad je bila protiv toga s izgovorom da bi ona mogla pokvariti kućno raspoloženje i ravnotežu u kući isto kao što i jedna kap sirćeta  može pokvariti jednu bačvu najboljega vina.

Eto, dragi moji unuci vama vaš djed “Babu” Milan ispriča jednu kućnu priču kroz koju sam osobno prošao, koju sam osobno čuo, koju desetljećima nosam kroz moj izbjeglički život. To su moje uspomene koje su mi se prilijepile za tabane i kuda god hodam tragovi mojih uspomena i mojeg hrvatstva ostavljaju. Zato sam ja poznat kao Hrvat i poradi mene su moji potomci poznati kao potomci Hrvatstva. I kako nas Biblija uči kada je Bog stvarao svijet, stvorio je također i hrvatski narod. Tako svaki narod za sebe može reći da je potomak Boga Nebeskoga.

Vaš vječiti djed “Babu” Milan.

ps:

Za vas, mojim unucima prilažem sliku vašeg pradjeda Petra i prabake Ive. Iza njih se vidi njihova kuća s grožđem i duhanom. Tu je sliku slikala u srpnju 1967. vaša baka Mamie kada je bila u posjeti sa vašom tetom Sophie (tada 23 mjeseca starom) kod vašeg djeda “Babu” Millana roditelja.