At the beginning of August 2022, my guests in the Radio Bar studio were Jakov Milatović and Milojko Spajić. From that studio, they set off on an expedition to Montenegro, which they quickly conquered. They impressed with their freshness, youth and enthusiasm. I told them to be prudent and tolerant of each other when they take over. Many could not resist her and quickly quarreled.
They replied that it could not happen to them...* * *
Dragan Simović died in Bar at the age of 69. He was at graduation when I was in the first grade of high school. He graduated from the Faculty of Law in Belgrade. Among other things, he was the director of Koral, the vice-president of the Municipality, a member of parliament... He promoted me, a long time ago, to director (!) of the Chess Club Korali Mornar, of which he was the president. Thanks to Hotel and Tourism Company "Korali", Mornar was among the three or four best clubs in the country for several years. Grandmasters paraded through its ranks: Konstantin Ionescu, Dejan Pikula, Branko Tadić, Nikola Sedlak, Milan Draško, Nebojša Nikčević, Danilo Milanović, Miodrag Savić... international masters Blažo Kalezić, Đorđije Kontić, Dušan Lekić, Vladimir Podinić, Slaviša Milanović, Marko Krivokapić and many others…
We often "tickled" each other. I think his was the last one... At one session of the SO Bar, he came up to me and said: "That's how much you've succeeded in life - you've been quoting our councilor nonsense for thirty-odd years!"
We both laughed, although I laughed a little bitterly...
* * *
Once upon a time, not so long ago, the Barani showed respect for the deceased and the funeral procession, which was going from the chapel to the Gvozden Brijeg cemetery, by stopping their vehicles, getting out of them and standing still until the last person in the column had passed.
Now they are about to trample people in the procession. I console myself: "It's not Barani..." Although I can see the Barani license plates.
* * *
We waste money on many unimportant things: two, three, five euros, but nothing can throw us off track like that phone message: "We are informing you that you have reached the amount of your average spending in the previous 3 months." Your account balance is 0.55 EUR without subscription and VAT.
And our first thought is: what thieves, I didn't call anyone...
Of course, we do not search further, because it always turns out that our so-called telecommunications operator, in some magical way, right…
* * *
"Knowledge will never reach the power of ignorance", says David Albahari in the very good short novel "Gec and Mayer".
* * *
The fourth book of "Bar Tales" should be published this spring. Collecting anecdotes and writing new ones gives me great pleasure:
Charge
Starobar's primary school student, Camil, approaching the house, shouts at the top of his voice:
"Mint, oh mint!"
"What is it, devil?"
"My teacher told me to make you happy."
"Oh, thank God. What's this about, son?'
"He told you that you won't have any expenses in September, these same books will do for me!"
Danguba
Once they introduced Ljubo Živković to the intelligent Montenegrin Metropolitan Danilo (Dajković), who was less than a month away from turning 98 years old: "Your Eminence, this young man is Dr. Ljubo Živković, president of the Association of Doctors of Montenegro, but he is better known as a chess player – he is an international master."
Bishop gently hugged the chess player and said: "What are you going to do, my child, every man must have some flaw."
"It won't be, I suppose, Reverend Bishop, that the fact that I play chess is some kind of flaw?" Ljubo regretfully repeats.
“By God, my son, it is. I've always considered every handicap a flaw" - the Bishop concluded calmly.
Thicker wood
Rizzo was doing business around the grill, but he overheard the guest, a prominent activist of the ruling party, praising its leader. When he was bringing kebabs, which no one in Bar made better than him, he asked looking sideways, somewhere towards the Old Town:
"What will you do, rich man, if Milo cares for you?"
"What will I do? "I'm fighting for a bigger tree" – answered the activist philosophically.
A sin
A well-behaved Russian woman, as they say, entered the gallery of journalist Jovanka Ljubenko, as if without a soul. She was accompanied by a man who translated. The lady, you could see right away, came directly from the beach to the gallery, she was still wet and covered only with a scarf over her bathing suit.
"Please, do you have a picture of Uroš Tošković?" – she asked from the door.
A drawing by Uros was hanging in the gallery. The Russian woman was visibly disappointed when she saw him.
"You don't like this work?" – Jovanka asked.
"No, no, the drawing is excellent, but I am a sinner, God will not forgive me for this sin!"
She paused a bit and when she reached her breath, she continued: "You know, I was on the beach below the 'Topolica' hotel." I saw a man who looked like a beggar to me, and here you have to give to a beggar, I dropped five euros in front of him and entered the sea. When I came back, there were my five euros and another fifty on my towel, and the 'beggar' was nowhere to be found. Someone told me that it was the famous painter, Uroš Tošković, so I came to check it out. In our country, my dear, artists, especially painters, are highly respected. And there… Lord, how sinful I am!”
Bonus video:
