NOBLE COW: MUNCHING GRASS LOOKING CURIOUS AND JUST HANGING AROUND
9.
'Sweet ' Memories of World War II
Easter week always reminds Bela J. Bognar of his young life in western Hungary, World War II, and “a cow named Sandy.” Bognar, the father of award-winning filmmaker Steve Bognar, lives in Casstown, in Miami County these days, and he tells a captivating story.
It all happened Easter week in 1945 when Bognar was 13 years old and the war was winding down. His memory is still vivid of the days when Russian soldiers took over the small Hungarian village where he lived with his family.
“This one morning there were lots of strange noises. When the fog cleared we found there were literally thousands of Russian soldiers in the area. They were ransacking homes and looking for German soldiers and arms.”
He remembers crying when he saw that the invaders set fire to his school building, a Catholic school that had, “the largest library in the region.”
His village had about a thousand residents, and he said the women, about half the population, fled to hiding places in the nearby hills as “the Russian soldiers raved, raped and stole.”
German soldiers, who preceded the Russians, had taken cows from several villages and loaded them into railroad cars.
“On the Tuesday after Easter I saw her for the first time,” he said. “She was a beautiful cow attached at the neck by a thick rope to a wagon. When I saw her I knew I must have her. But how?”
“I approached the young Russian (in charge of the cow) and said ‘chen-chen’ and pointed to the cow. Chen-chen was a universal word for changing, or exchanging.”
The Russian soldiers were “obsessed” with wristwatches, and this one called out ‘chasy’. “We all knew that meant a ‘watch.’
Something clicked and Bognar told the young warrior, “Chasy? Da, da, doma,” which means ‘yes, yes, home.’
Bognar ran to his home in the village and pulled an antique watch out of a dresser drawer where it had long been stored. When you wound the watch it would run for 10 minutes, then stop and would need rewinding.
He continued, “I grabbed it, wound it, and ran back. The herd was on its way, but the soldier waited for me. I handed him the watch and he listened to it ticking, and put it in his bag. He had wristwatches on both of his arms. He smiled and pointed to the cow.”
At that point Bognar took the bloody rope off the cow’s neck. “I hugged her and said in Hungarian ‘gyere velem’ or ‘follow me.’ “
“I did not look back. She followed me all the way home to our barn where there was plenty of hay. I hugged her again and whispered, ‘You are mine.’
His parents rushed to the barn to see the prize that young Bela had brought home.
“We named her Sandy because of her beautiful fawn color. She had a calf each year, and continued to provide plenty of milk. When I finally left Hungary in 1956, Sandy was still the pride and joy of the family.”
(By Dale Huffman for Daily News)
'Sweet ' Memories of World War II
Easter week always reminds Bela J. Bognar of his young life in western Hungary, World War II, and “a cow named Sandy.” Bognar, the father of award-winning filmmaker Steve Bognar, lives in Casstown, in Miami County these days, and he tells a captivating story.
It all happened Easter week in 1945 when Bognar was 13 years old and the war was winding down. His memory is still vivid of the days when Russian soldiers took over the small Hungarian village where he lived with his family.
“This one morning there were lots of strange noises. When the fog cleared we found there were literally thousands of Russian soldiers in the area. They were ransacking homes and looking for German soldiers and arms.”
He remembers crying when he saw that the invaders set fire to his school building, a Catholic school that had, “the largest library in the region.”
His village had about a thousand residents, and he said the women, about half the population, fled to hiding places in the nearby hills as “the Russian soldiers raved, raped and stole.”
German soldiers, who preceded the Russians, had taken cows from several villages and loaded them into railroad cars.
“On the Tuesday after Easter I saw her for the first time,” he said. “She was a beautiful cow attached at the neck by a thick rope to a wagon. When I saw her I knew I must have her. But how?”
“I approached the young Russian (in charge of the cow) and said ‘chen-chen’ and pointed to the cow. Chen-chen was a universal word for changing, or exchanging.”
The Russian soldiers were “obsessed” with wristwatches, and this one called out ‘chasy’. “We all knew that meant a ‘watch.’
Something clicked and Bognar told the young warrior, “Chasy? Da, da, doma,” which means ‘yes, yes, home.’
Bognar ran to his home in the village and pulled an antique watch out of a dresser drawer where it had long been stored. When you wound the watch it would run for 10 minutes, then stop and would need rewinding.
He continued, “I grabbed it, wound it, and ran back. The herd was on its way, but the soldier waited for me. I handed him the watch and he listened to it ticking, and put it in his bag. He had wristwatches on both of his arms. He smiled and pointed to the cow.”
At that point Bognar took the bloody rope off the cow’s neck. “I hugged her and said in Hungarian ‘gyere velem’ or ‘follow me.’ “
“I did not look back. She followed me all the way home to our barn where there was plenty of hay. I hugged her again and whispered, ‘You are mine.’
His parents rushed to the barn to see the prize that young Bela had brought home.
“We named her Sandy because of her beautiful fawn color. She had a calf each year, and continued to provide plenty of milk. When I finally left Hungary in 1956, Sandy was still the pride and joy of the family.”
(By Dale Huffman for Daily News)
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The words of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the greatest authority, herein clearly indicate that one becomes pious simply by keeping cows and protecting them. Unfortunately, people have become such rascals that they do not even care about the words of an authority. People generally consider cowherd men lowly members of society, but herein Caitanya Mahaprabhu confirms that they are so pious......Heeding this instruction by the Lord, people should serve cows and calves and in return get ample quantities of milk. There is no loss in serving the cows and calves, but modern human society has become so degraded that instead of giving protection to the cows and serving them, people are killing them. How can they expect peace and prosperity in human society while committing such sinful activities? It is impossible. |
