A Good Guy by Any Other Name
By
Gerry Niskern
Our hearts go out to the Ukrainians as they fight to defend their country. Their heroic resistance is an example to the outside world. Just the idea of the mothers taking the children to safety and having to say goodbye to husbands, lovers, fathers, and brothers is heartbreaking.
Wars are fought on many fronts. One is propaganda taught to citizens about the people of the other country. At one time we learned to “hate” the Japs, Germans and Italians. Later it was the North Koreans and then the North Vietnamese. Now we are supposed to loathe the “Russkies”.
Of course, it is easy to teach kids, and adults too, by de-humanizing people of an opposing country. But the people of the warring country are not who you should despise. It is always their leadership that should receive the scorching hatred for unprovoked wars of aggression. People everywhere only want to live in peace. Just as the Ukrainians wanted to be remain a free democratic society so do the Russian people who do not want this war with their neighbor.
You see, I have known a Russian. A kind, generous and fun loving man. My uncle, Walter Tribelo.
Uncle Walter left Russia in the early 1900’s during a regional war in Georgia. His father put him on a horse with a note pinned to his coat, ”Please help this boy get to the coast.” He was twelve years old.
He made his way to America. He worked in the West Virginia coal mines and married my Aunt Anne, a young widow. He lovingly helped raise her two little girls and was adored by all the cousins in our big family. He entertained everyone at our Christmas celebrations with his resounding Cossack folk dance as another uncle from Italy played the traditional Russian music.
He loved to roam the forest searching for special roots and plants that were known to cure many minor ailments and always had something on hand for you to try. Uncle Walter also was a strong swimmer and couldn’t resist showing off at family picnics down on the banks of the Ohio River by swimming clear across and back while by Aunt Annie paced the bank yelling, “ Don’t try to swim across, you damn fool!” But he always did.
He worked in the coal mine into his sixties until a cave-in caused an electric drill to take out one of his eyes. That Russian man helped me learn about Russian people.