Rasa Ardys-Juška, Editor

Perspectives

Two years ago I took my eldest son to "Lietuva" to introduce him to the country, which meant so much to his parents and grandparents. An open and talkative boy, he went enthusiastically. This year was to be my younger son's turn.

Quiet and contemplative by nature, he had always maintained a laissez faire attitude regarding "Lithuania and things Lithuanian". Yet, he approached this trip with zeal equal to his brother's. We had never been able to read in him how much his heritage meant to him – until now.

Traveling with him throughout Lietuva was easy and calm. We visited many museums, churches, and cultural attractions. Mary Abbott, editor of VYTIS the Knight magazine, had sent us photos of the Frank Zappa memorial (thank you so much!), and we had successfully found the bust. He was intrigued with Lithuanians' fascination with him. This, in turn made him curious about what Lithuanians found to be exciting. But what really affected him was meeting the people, and having to communicate and share experiences with them. Here was his chance to understand the "inside" workings of a people so closely related to him by soul and spirit.

Naturally, he never came out and explained the trip's effect on him. Little things started to surface – actions spoke louder than words. He opened a dialogue via e-mail with a similarly aged boy he had met in Lithuania. He asked when we would return. He started to make a list of what else he would like to do and see in Lietuva. He even started to look up the news from Lietuva. Being a Lithuanian became a solid source of pride and strength.

What comes out of this can hopefully be an ongoing journey. I'm just glad that the memories from this summer will always be an indelible part of his road to manhood.