Rasa Ardys-Juška,  Editor

Perspectives

Cleaning the basement was never one of my favorite tasks. Instead, I rummage through the countless boxes and shout up to my husband that it’s going to be tough, but eventually doable. He knows full well that these boxes store beautiful story books, historical reference guides, art books, and many other items of literature handed down to us from relatives and friends. He also knows that I sit on an old kitchen chair and read, rather than organize the mess.

Some of my favorites are those bought for pennies at Lithuanian parish sales. These are volumes that date back to the late 1800s. They were printed either here in the United States or in Germany or Poland during the prohibition of book printing the Czarist regime had decreed. As I read the stories, I can imagine the times and lives of my relatives.

Writers in exile were prolific. They produced encyclopedias and reference books, educational and entertaining books for children, dramatic and romantic novels, and historical essays that captured the truth of those horror-filled days.

As I was growing up, I took all of this for granted. It wasn’t until my cousin explained how profound an impression we, as exiles, made upon her thoughts and viewpoints during our first visit to Lithuania in 1983. She said that when she talked to my husband and me for the first time, she realized that the thought of Lithuanians living free and independent, yet with the Lithuanian spirit, could be possible. She felt renewed in the hope that a generation of Lithuanians could make the dream of independent Lithuania a reality. And they did.

The dusty books contain a lifetime – many lifetimes – of rich Lithuanian heritage that can be felt with one’s heart and soul as each word is read. When they are spoken aloud, they produce a melody that connects and unites each generation of Lithuanians. The melody transcends the evils that were inflicted upon them and restores the mystical essence of the country we love.

Cleaning the basement entails putting aside the books I’ve already read and setting aside the ones which look really promising. Oh yes, I also have to find a more comfortable chair.