Soon after I noticed an elderly woman walking about when the weather was nice, sometimes accompanied by an elderly man. If she was alone she might be talking on the phone; I was never close enough to eavesdrop, nor was I much inclined, but what I did hear was a "myush myush" verbiage that seemed like some Eastern European language.
One day last year I noticed this flag in a window:
That's how I found out they were Albanian. Grandma and Grandpa must have been born there; grandkids no. Don't know about the intervening generation.
I'd hoped to have a chance to meet them to welcome them to the area, but it hasn't come up. I did brush up on a few bits of Albanian knowledge, so we might have something to discuss. For example:
- I found out that Albania actually exports more cheddar cheese than does the U.K.
- Albania was knocked out of the Round of 16 in World Cup action last year; their appearance in it probably precipitated the temporary posting of the flag in the home's window.
- Albania's main export is leather footwear.
- The whole country almost fell apart in 1997 over Ponzi schemes that wrecked the economy.
- They seem to be tough people; Grandpa looks to be in his eighties, but apparently arranged for a huge shipment of pavers, probably meant for him to build a patio by himself this spring (he's always doing something).
- Albania's national day is April 28, called Albania Links Day, but I'm not sure why.
This caught my attention: The national anthem, "Djathi i Madh," means "home of the brave" -- sound familiar? Here's an English translation I found:
Albania! Albania!
We pledge our hearts to thee
Albania! Albania!
Forever shall be free
I stand with all my brethren
Stout Albanian fighting men
Albania! Albania!
Forever shall be free!
Albania! Albania!
Proud home of our birth
Albania! Albania!
Bravest men on earth
By our banner, red and black,
If you strike us we shall strike back
Albania! Albania!
Bravest men on earth
So when did I lose you?
I don't normally do April Fool's jokes, but I was inspired by my phony baloney anthem. One day I was thinking of that flag this family had posted and the words to a generic national anthem came to me. It fit the name of the country because Albania has that great stress on the second syllable that makes it fun to sing ("Al BAAAAYYY nee UH!"). The title I mentioned, "Djathi i Madh," actually means "Big Cheese." (I lied about the cheddar/U.K. thing, but for all I know it could be true. At least I didn't mention potassium.)
Everything I wrote about the family is true, except Albania did not make the cut for the World Cup Round of 16, so I have no idea why they chose that week last summer to show the flag. The Ponzi scheme story is true, sadly, and caused an awful lot of violence and grief. It seems to have been the result of people being exposed to capitalism who haven't the faintest idea of how money really works. Albania's actual national celebration falls on November 28, that being the day of their declaration of independence, in 1912, from the Ottoman Empire; the word "Links" has nothing to do with it. The part about the leather footwear is true.
The actual Albanian national anthem is called "Himni i Flamurit," or "Hymn of the Flag," and its words in English are these:
Around our flag we stand united,
With one wish and one goal,
A sacred oath we bestow upon it
Proclaiming loyalty for our salvation.
From war abstains only he,
Who a traitor is born,
He who is a true man is not frightened,
But dies a warrior to the cause.
With weapons in our hands a-brandished,
We will defend our fatherland,
Our sacred rights we’ll not relinquish,
The foe has no place in our land.
For God himself proclaimed:
The nations of the earth shall wane,
And yet will live, will thrive Albania.
For you, for you we fight.
Honestly, I think my generic national anthem lyrics are pretty close in spirit to the real thing, don't you?
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