Mama's Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Livin, Svetlana Konnikova [classic fiction .TXT] 📗

proudly in line with so many others. His unusual dark green overlapping leaves formed a pattern against the sky that would have rivaled the most delicate Venetian lace.

I was happy to meet again with my old green friend. I tried to enfold him with my arms as much as I could to feel his intense energy. The tree’s fragrant bark was slick with rainwater. “Salute, my friend! I have returned to see you 230 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

again after a year,” I whispered. He answered me with a shimmering rustle of his twisted, silky, smooth needles. I felt serene near this composed giant. An easy, relaxed mood and confidence returned to me as I received from this tree a new supply of vital energy along with a positive emotional state that had been nearly depleted by all the hard work I had done during the past year. Perhaps I was also influenced by my belief that I should begin every new year of my life here, near my cypress.

The first time I saw a cypress tree I couldn’t understand why I was so attracted to it. I did not realize at the time that it had “called” me to it. Most people enjoy these evergreens as ornamental—a decoration; as an attribute to resorts; or as a material with which to build furniture, boats, or cedar chests. I admire cypress trees for another reason. I realize that pride and a strong spirit emanates from this tree. I believe that the dynamic intensity that propelled me to accomplish my dreams and goals came directly from this cypress. Grandma used to say that trees and emerald green forests are the lungs and eyes of the earth, which supply us with the oxygen that we need to survive.

“Trees are monuments to people who have died,” she would say. “Nature gives these tree-monuments to those who are alive.”

When I walk through a forest, I feel energized and rejuvenated. I never feel lonely around trees, the keepers of our life’s secrets. Every year our itinerary for summer vacation was the same. My first trip here was when I was three years old, and for many years thereafter just the four of us: Mama; Papa; my sister, Laura; and I enjoyed this beautiful resort. After our plane landed at Adler airport, we headed to picturesque Crimea. This prime destination was our favorite spot—a place where friendly cypresses and oleanders swayed in the fresh breeze from the clear turquoise sea and a profusion of golden orange magnolia blooms greeted its visitors. It seems that when people immerse themselves in this special Mediterranean microclimate, they are rejuvenated.

Our cab driver sped along the twisting road through the mountains. The road was difficult and we were nervous, but he seemed to be an attentive driver. One side of the mountains held an open view of the sea. The road, bathed in bright sunshine, was perched high in the air. Beams of light stretched from the sun to the sea where they scattered over the sea’s surface like sugar crystals on a frosted cake. All year I had waited to visit this salubrious place that seemed to pulse with vibrant, vital energy.

Dialogue with the Trees of Strength and Everlasting Life @ 231

This year our parents had promised us a big surprise and I was anxious to see it. After several minutes Mama asked our driver to stop and we stepped out of the car.

“Look at the tops of the mountains,” Mama said.

The profile of a woman’s face, formed by the mountains and resembling the Russian Empress, Catherine the Great, was immortalized in stone by the most amazing sculptor in the world—Mother Nature. It was a striking and welcoming gate to our beautiful destination—Crimea.

Crimea is a peninsula between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Its climate is similar to that of northern California with its cool and breezy mornings and evenings. Its copious mountains, tal trees, and subtropical exotic plants created a lavish panorama, and its warm azure seawater was luxurious to bathe in. The northern side of Crimea is a steppe, covered with rich wild grasses and field flowers. The Crimean Mountains stand on the southern side. Crimea is known for its more than 600 curative and preventive health centers, many curative mud deposits, 200 mineral springs, and essential oils. Yalta, the largest city in Crimea, is home to a famous health resort that opened in 1783. Its inhabitants pass on ancient legends of this city’s origins from generation to generation.

In ancient times ships were sent out to discover

foreign shores from the capital of the Byzantine

Empire, Constantinople. The voyage was not easy. The explorers met violent storms on the Black Sea. A thick fog rested on the waves and often obscured the horizon. For many days the explorers drifted aimlessly. When water and food supplies dwindled on the ships, the exhausted sailors lost their will to go on and simply waited to die.

One morning a light, saving breeze began to blow and slowly dissipated the milky shroud of fog. In the bright sunlight the explorers saw green and purple mountains in the distance. Their journey would become easier now that the fog had lifted.

“Yalos! Yalos!” A sailor on watch cried out the Greek word for shore. 232 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

They had found the wonderful Tavrida (Crimea), where there was no snowy winter and the fresh, healing air held the scent of the sea and the aroma of herbs. The low spirits of the tired explorers were lifted. They manned their oars and directed their ship toward the calling shore. On the fertile land, among the natives, they founded a small colony and named it Yalos. From then

on, the city was called Yalta.

Yalta is the main city in Crimea, with a population of about 85,000. The Russian author Anton Chekhov wrote his best novels and