Quote of the week
As Czechs this week marked the 40th anniversary of the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of their country, I couldn't help but wonder what my Czech friends think about the recent Russian invasion of Georgia, also a former Soviet satellite. I thought maybe Czechs could offer some insight.
So I asked my student Rudolf, in his mid-thirties and who works for an energy company in Prague.
Have you been watching the stuff on TV, the anniversary, I ask?
No, Rudolf said. Too busy. He's building a new house outside Prague. He's even too busy to watch the Olympics.
What about the Russians invasion of Georgia, I persist.
Rudolf shrugs. Who knows.
We continue with our lesson.
Later that evening over beers at Pavels, I turned to my colleague Tomas, and told him about my conversation with Rudolf.
'I asked him about the anniversary, about Russia and Georgia,' I said. 'And Rudolf, he just said he doesn't watch TV.'
Tomas raised his eyebrows and reflected.
'Hmm ... that may be the wisest thing, after all.'