My thirty-six (36) writing to my grandchildren = Moj trideset šesti (36) opis mojim unucima

                 My thirty-sixth (36) writing to my grandchildren.
The title is:
“What’s your favorite story about traveling with your family?”

My dear grandchildren, your grandfather “Babu” Milan will now describe to you one – and I would say only of such a nature – family trip that happened for Christmas and New Year in Paris in 1985.

My mother Iva, Vićeka Boban, expressed a strong desire to come to America to visit her daughter Kata, son Milan and Rafael and their children, and her grandchildren. Then and at that time there was a communist Yugoslavia against which your grandfather “Babu” Milan fought by all legal means. It  bothered communist Yugoslavia a lot that they didn’t want to give my mother the necessary papers to come to America. With this Yugoslav decision, my mother was so saddened that she, through a friend of her son Jerko, received the necessary papers, a four-week visa to be able to come to Paris. My mother told me this on December 8 and asked me to come to Paris with the whole family, six children, my wife Annie and me.

We hastily prepared all the necessary paperwork, from the school where the children went we were given three weeks leave for the children, so on December 17, 1985, full of joy we set out from Austin for Paris. Our trip was: Austin, Houston, London, Paris. In London we had to wait all night and leave for Paris tomorrow at 8am. We all eight spent the night together in the waiting room. When we woke up in the morning, we noticed that our son Mile junior of 7 years and 7 months was not with us. As soon as we noticed this we were in a panic. We searched everywhere and even informed the police and the airline company, because we already had to board the plane for the trip to Paris. It’s been 8 hours and we finally find our son Mile Jr. where he sleeps peacefully in a circle of a large Chinese family. When we woke him up, we asked him why he was sleeping with someone else’s family, when Mile replied: Mom, I went to the toilet  and when I came back I saw a large family sleeping on the floor. As I was sleepy and tired, I didn’t look well but went down to the floor and fell asleep with them. When we got on the plane it was 8 and a half hours, half an hour late.

We are now in Paris, in the apartment of my wife Annie’s parents. My mother Iva, my sister Jakica, my nephew Mile, nicknamed Mišo and my niece Ljilja came with the Orient / Express train Zagreb / Paris at 10:15 am on December 20th. For this occasion, I rented 5 rooms in a luxury hotel for all of us on the third floor. We had a chance to talk a lot. My mother told me many stories I had not known before. In our numerous conversations, I expressed a burning desire for my mother to come with us on January 9, 1986, to America. She finally agreed, and I, on my part and with my past acquaintances with the Paris police authorities, managed to extend my mother’s Yugoslav visa to six (6) months. So my mother came to America with us and was there until the beginning of June 1986. She had the opportunity to go to San Francisco and be there with her son Rafael and daughter Kata and their children.

With all the curiosity of this family trip of mine, it was great and delightful  for  my family  to meet for the first time the parents of my wife Annie, Pierre and Genvieve Robert, their children and all their other relatives. Since there were many of us, we rented a restaurant for Christmas and New Year. During the day we walked in the streets of Paris. I showed my mother, sister, nephew, niece and my children many things and places where I went. I took them to a very famous restaurant “Auberge de la Bonne Franquette” where my wife Annie and I had a reception for our wedding on July 31, 1965. I am putting a picture of the wedding.

When we introduced ourselves and said that we had a reception there 20 years ago for our wedding, they were cheerfully surprised. They offered us both drinks and food and gave us a large mural of that restaurant that we still have in our living room. I am putting a picture of

And finally it was time to leave for America on January 9, 1986. Thank God we had no difficulty and happily came home to Austin, Texas. Two or three weeks later my brother Rafo came from San Francisco to take our mother and go to San Francisco with her. My mother was there until the end of April. I went to take her the first week of May. For that weekend at my brother Rafe’s house we roasted a pig on a spit. I am putting a picture. From left: John Shosho, my brother Rafo, my mother Iva, Vićeka and our friend Jerko Boban.

I was then building 10 CROATIA APARTMENTS in Austin. My mother was curious to see my construction work, so I took her with me a couple of times to watch the American-style wood houses being made. She was pleasantly surprised and began to kiss my hands, saying that she did not know that her son was such a good builder, as well as her father Mijo and her father-in-law Gabro, the father of my father Peter, therefore my paternal grandfather.

My dear grandchildren, this is my favorite writing of a family trip for Christmas and New Year 1985.

Your eternal grandfather “Babu” Mile Boban.

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                                             Hrvatski

                    Moj trideset šesti (36) opis mojim unucima.
Naslov je:
“Koja je vaša omiljena priča o putovanju s obitelji?”

Dragi moji unuci vaš djed “Babu” Milan će vam sada opisati jedno – i rekao bih jedino takove prirode – obiteljsko putovanje koje se je dogodilo za Božić i Novu Godinu u Parizu 1985.

Moja majka Iva, Vićeka Boban je izrazila vruću želju da bi željela doći u Ameriku posjetiti svoju kćer Katu, sina Milana i Rafaela i njuhovu djecu, i (her) svoju unučad. Tada i u to vrijeme je bila komunistička Jugoslavija protiv koje se je svim legalnim sredstvima borio vaš djed “Babu ” Milan. To je komunističkoj Jugoslaviji uveliko smetalo da nisu htjeli mojoj majki dati potrebne papire da dođe u Ameriku. S tom jugoslavenskom odlukom moja majka je bilo toliko ucviljena da je ona preko prijatelja njezina sina Jerke dobila potrebne papire, vizu četiri tjedna da može doći u Pariz. Moja majka je meni to javila 8 prosinca i mene zamolila da dođem u Pariz sa cijelom obitelji, šestero djece, moja supruga Annie i ja.

Mi smo na brzinu pripremili sve potrebne papire, od škole gdje su djeca išla smo dobili za djecu tri tjedna dopust, tako da smo 17 prosinca 1985. godine, puni veselja krenuli iz Austina za Pariz. Naš put je bio: Austin, Houston, London, Paris. U Londonu smo morali čekati cijelu noć i sutra u 8 sati ujutro krenuti za Pariz. Mi smo tu u čekaonici svi osam skupa noćili. Kada smo se ujutro probudili, primijetili smo da naš sin Mile junior od 7 godina i 7 mjeseci nije s nama. Čim smo to opazili bili smo u paniki. Tražili smo svukud okolo i čak smo obavijestili redarstvo i avionsku kompaniju, jer se je već trebalo ukrcavati u zrakoplov za put u Pariz. Već prošlo 8 sati i na koncu pronađemo našeg sina Mile juniora gdje mirno spava u krugu jedne broje kineske obitelji. Kad smo ga probudili, pitali smo ga zašto spava sa tuđom obitelji, našto Mile odgovorio: Mama ja sam išao u nužnik pomokriti se i kada sam se vraćao vidio sam na podu spavati brojnu obitelj. Kako sam bio pospan i umoran, nisam dobro gledao nego sam se spustio na pod i zaspao s njima. Kada smo došli u zrakoplov bilo je prošlo 8 i pol sati, pola sata u zakašnjenju.

Sada smo u Parizu, u stanu kod roditelja moje supruge Annie. Moja majka Iva, moja sestra Jakica, moj nećak Mile, nadimak Mišo i moja nećakinja Ljilja su došli s Orient/Express vlakom Zagreb/Pariz u 10:15 ujutro 20 prosinca. Ja sam za tu prigodu za sve nas na trećem katu iznajmio 5 soba u jednom luksuznom Hotelu. Imali smo priliku mnogo pričati. Majka mi je pričala mnoge priče za koje ja nisam prije znao. U našem brojnom razgovoru izrazio sam vruću želju da moja majka s nama pođe 9 siječnja 1986. za Ameriku. Konačno je pristala, a ja s moje strane i sa mojim iz prošlosti poznanstvima sa vlastima pariške policije sam uspio produžiti moje majke jugoslavensku vizu na šest (6) mjeseci. Tako je moja majka s nama došla u Ameriku i bila do početka lipnja 1986. Imala je priliku otići u San Francisco i tu biti sa sinom Rafaelom i kćeri Katom i sa njihovom djecom.

Uz svu zanimljivost ovog mog obiteljskog puta je bila velika zanimljivost i ushićenje susresti se i upoznati po prvi puta roditelje moje supruge Annie, Pierre i Genvieve Robert, njihovu djecu i svu njihovu drugu rodbinu. Pošto nas je bilo mnogo iznajmili smo jedan restaurant za Božić i za Novu Godinu. Preko dana smo se šetali ulicama grada Pariza. Ja sam mojoj majci, sestri, nećaku, nećakinji i mojoj djeci pokazivao mnoge stvari i mjesta gdje sam ja zalazio. Odveo sam ih u jedan vrlo poznati Restaurant “Auberge de la Bonne Franquette” gdje smo moja supruga Annie i ja imali recepciju našeg vjenčanja 31 srpnja 1965. Slika našeg vjenčanja.

Kada smo se predstavili i rekli da smo mi tu imali prije 20 godina recepciju našeg vjenčanja, veselo su se iznenadili. Ponudili su nam i piće i jelo i dali nam veliku zidnu sliku tog restoraunta koju mi još uvijek imamo u našoj dnevnoj sobi.

              

I konačno došlo vrijeme polaska za Ameriku 9 siječnja 1986. Fala Bogu nismo imali nikakvih poteškoća i sretno smo došli kući u Austin, Texas. Dva tri tjedna kasnije moj brat Rafo je došao iz San Francisca uzeti našu majku i sa njom ići u San Francisco. Tu je moja moja majka bila do konca travnja. Ja sam ju otišao uzeti prvi tjedan u svibnju. Za taj week-end kod mojeg brata Rafe smo ispekli odojak na ražnju. Prilažem sliku.

   S lijeva: John Shosho, moj brat Rafo, moja majka Iva/Voćaka i naš prijatelj Jerko Boban, Kukić.

Ja sam tada u Austinu gradio 10 stanova “CROATIA APARTMENTS ”. Moja majka je bila znatiželjna vidjeti moj građevinarski posao, tako da sam ju par puta poveo sa sobom da gleda kako se na američki način od drveta kuće prave. Ugodno se iznenadila i počela moje ruke ljubiti, govoreći da nije znala da je njezin sin tako dobar građevinarac, kao i njezin otac Mijo i njezin svekar Gabro, otac mog oca Petra, dakle moj djed s oćeve strane.

Dragi moji unuci to je moj najdraži opis obiteljskog putovanja Za Božić i Novu Godinu 1985.

Vaš vječiti djed “Babu” Mile Boban.