Saturday Night

Look out of that window. 

Wait, I hear there is no window. 

If only you could fly through walls 

this Saturday morning to freedom…

Will there be a tomorrow? 

The Judges have been blindfolded, 

and some are blind already. 

Saturday night is alright for fighting.

If only you could find a path 

to make your way to freedom, 

steal a little sunlight, 

who knows how far you could go?

They will not let you outside. 

They will not let you come home. 

You do not fit their profile. 

It is almost like you do not exist.

You cannot see the clouds 

or listen to the music you like. 

When you dream on this Saturday 

night, will you dream of freedom?

There is no window. 

There is no night sky in your cell. 

The outside can’t look in.

It’s a miscarriage of justice.

Outside there are voices fighting for you. 
Saturday night is alright for fighting.

*

Echoes

I live in a forest 
where echoes  

plunge into my ears, 

where they sing  

a song wrapped in a 

riddle. My skin crawls 

into a sea of emotions, 

where I drown under 

restless waves so 

far from pleasure.

*
The Same Stories

I tend to repeat 

the same stories 

over and over  

without thinking  

it is a recycled

story. Sometimes 

I embellish a bit 

because memory 

fails me or the stories 

have gone stale. 

Either way I 

am often stopped 

before I get to 

the middle of  

the story. I heard 

that before I am 

told or my family 

and friends finish 

my story with a 

smile or annoyance. 

I need more stories 

or remember stories 

I have not told before. 

With new people I 

meet, I can get away 

with my repeated 

stories but only 

for a little while.

Learning through movement and stories

Student of Andijan State Institute of Foreign Languages

Abdullajonova Rayhona Arabjon qizi

Abdullajonovarayhona874@gmail.com

+998886630603

Scientific Supervisor: Isamutdinova Durdona

Annotation.The article explores the benefits of learning through movement and stories in the educational process. It sheds light on how physical activity and narrative elements promote children’s learning, both on a cognitive, social and emotional level. Movement stories combine the learning of content with active participation, which promotes the holistic development of the children.

Annotation.Der Artikel untersucht die Vorteile des Lernens durch Bewegung und Geschichten im Bildungsprozess. Er beleuchtet, wie körperliche Aktivität und narrative Elemente das Lernen von Kindern fördern, sowohl auf kognitiver als auch auf sozialer und emotionaler Ebene. Bewegungsgeschichten verbinden das Erlernen von Inhalten mit aktiver Teilnahme, wodurch eine ganzheitliche Entwicklung der Kinder gefördert wird.

Schlüsselwörter.Bewegungsgeschichten, Lernen durch Bewegung, kognitive Entwicklung, soziale Fähigkeiten, motorische Förderung, Erzählmethoden, frühkindliche Bildung

Keywords. Movement stories, learning through movement, cognitive development, social skills, motor development, storytelling methods, early childhood education

In modern pedagogy, the combination of movement and stories is increasingly coming to the fore. It is known that children not only expand their knowledge through physical activity and stories, but also improve their physical and social skills. Especially in early childhood, this method can support learning in a playful and motivating way. The article aims to show how movement and stories can be effectively integrated into the learning process to foster deep, long-term understanding while supporting emotional and social development.

1. The theoretical foundations of learning by action. For children, the importance of action is enormous. Firstly, movement is an important part of not only the development of muscles, but also many mental and emotional processes, i.e. the development of thinking, memory, concentration, language, etc. For younger children, physical activity also helps activate their brain’s neural networks, which in turn enhances children’s ability to learn. The part of the brain related to movement, especially the motor cortex, is improved by children performing their physical movements, and this has a direct impact on their learning process. Research shows that physical activity helps a child achieve more success in any educational process.

Exercise makes it easier for children to absorb new information, as new neural connections are formed in the child’s mind during the movement. For example, children can develop their skills through dance, sports, or simple exercise. On the other hand, movements also develop a child’s important social competencies, as children often participate in physical activities together, which develops their social skills, interactions, and teamwork skills. Children’s physical movements also develop their spatial perception. Physical activities, such as running, jumping, going around a cliff, expand children’s spatial imaginations. Children learn to perceive the spatial environment, for example, concepts such as high and low, front and back, are more clearly formed. At the same time, physical movements develop a child’s sense of the body and his ability to self-control.

2. Learning through storytelling. Learning through stories is an effective way for kids to broaden their horizons. Stories not only develop children’s language, but also help their mental development. Through storytelling, children learn logical thinking, analyze events, and identify connections between them. Each story is a new experience and opportunity to learn for a child. Stories increase children’s vocabulary as they learn new words, phrases and grammar rules.

In addition, stories provide children with social and emotional learning. Children feel connected to the characters in the events, feel with them. This will encourage them to empathize, to understand the feelings of others. Stories, in particular, help children learn complex concepts. For example, abstract concepts such as time, space, cause and effect are more clearly understood by children through the story. Also, the stories help to have a better understanding of the child’s emotions and emotional state. Children learn to empathize with others, show respect for their feelings by listening or reading stories.

Through the story, the child’s ability to imagine himself or herself as another person develops, which encourages them to grow physically and emotionally.

3. Moving Stories: An Integrated Learning Method. Moving stories are a way for children to learn through storytelling combined with action. This method requires active participation of the child and provides not only mental, but also physical development. For example, a child can learn more deeply by performing actions related to a story or event. In this, the child understands the content of the story through physical movements and forms his own opinion.

Action stories help children explore a variety of topics. For example, a child’s teaching method might use a story called “The Tiger and His Encounter with Animals.” In this story, the boy participates in the story as his protagonist and finds other animals through actions. Through the connection of actions with the content of the story, children quickly master the topic and integrate their physical and mental activities. Action stories not only develop children’s motor development, but also their teamwork and collaboration skills. Many action stories require group work, so children learn to work together, to collaborate with others.

4. The benefits of action stories. Cognitive Development: Action stories help a child’s cognitive development immensely. When actions become part of the story, the child not only passively listens to the story, but actively experiences the development of events. This process activates the child’s mind, facilitates the assimilation of new knowledge, and develops logical thinking. Studies show that children retain the information they learn through movements much more robustly.

This creates a comprehensive learning experience, especially for children.

Motor Development: Every great story has a huge impact on children’s motor development.

For example, children learn skills such as jumping, running, dancing, doing physical games through action stories. It not only increases their strength, but also has a positive effect on their physical development. Movements develop not only the baby’s muscles, but also the ability to adapt to changing conditions. At the same time, it improves the child’s own body movement and his interaction with the objects around him.

Social and Emotional Development Action stories are an effective tool for children to develop mutual social connections. During the movements, children help each other, work on each other, which strengthens their social competencies.

Participating in activities together with others teaches a child important emotional and social skills, such as empathy, patience, and respect. Thanks to this method, children learn to empathize with each other, to properly orient relationships with others.

5. Application to the educational process. To effectively incorporate action stories into the educational process, teachers must carefully plan this technique and adapt them to the age of the children. Teachers, when implementing action stories in the classroom or kindergarten, should strive to capture the child’s interest. The addition of action to the story improves students’ ability to self-regulate and increases physical activity. It is imperative that teachers choose actions in accordance with the content of the story and monitor the cognitive, motor, and social development of children through the movements.

Learning methods through action and stories contribute greatly to the overall development of children. Thanks to this method, children not only master information, but also develop their motor, cognitive and social skills. Through action stories, children actively learn, think, and realize their feelings. Also, this method leads to the development of an active and sincere dialogue between the child and the teacher.

Action stories can play an important role in the pedagogical process because they motivate children, helping to make their learning process interesting and effective. Therefore, action stories should be widely used in the education system in the future.

References

1. Koller, M. (2019). Movement and Learning: Theory and Practice of Physical

Education. Beltz.

2. Sielmann, M. (2016). Movement stories in everyday kindergarten life. Cornelsen

Verlag.

3. Richter, J. (2017). Narrative bodies: Movement promotion and language

development in early childhood education. Klett learning training.

4. Müller, A. (2018). Creative movement stories for kindergarten. GRIN Verlag.

5. Hoffmann, U. (2020). Learning through movement and language: An integrative

approach to early childhood. Knight.

6. Becker, P. (2015). Children and Exercise: How Movement Activities Promote

Child Development. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

7. Schmidt, S. (2014). Pedagogical promotion of physical activity in primary school.

Klett Cotta.

THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF WORD DIVISION IN THE STUDIED LANGUAGE

Andijan State Institute of Foreign Languages

4th year student Malika Tursunkho’jayeva  

abdusamadovnamalika@gmail.com

Supervisor: Ismanova Odinakhon

Anmerkung: In diesem Artikel werden die Hauptprinzipien der Klassifizierung von Wortarten in der untersuchten Sprache Deutsch analysiert. Es werden moderne linguistische Ansätze, Methoden zur Identifizierung von Wortarten anhand grammatikalischer und semantischer Merkmale diskutiert und die spezifischen Charakteristika der einzelnen Wortklassen anhand zahlreicher Beispiele aus dem Deutschen beleuchtet. Theoretisches Wissen wird durch praktische Beispiele ergänzt.

Schlüsselwörter: Wortarten, grammatisches Merkmal, semantisches Merkmal, deutsche Sprache, linguistische Analyse

Annatation:This article analyzes the basic principles of part-of-speech assignment in the learned language – German. Modern linguistic approaches as well as methods for determining parts of speech on the basis of grammatical and semantic features are covered. The specific characteristics of each part of speech are illustrated by numerous examples from German. Theoretical findings are supplemented with practical examples.

Keywords: parts of speech, grammatical features, semantic features, German language, linguistic analysis

The language system is distinguished by its complex structure and rules. Parts of speech are classified according to the grammatical and semantic features of the words in the language. In the process of learning a language, it is important to divide words into the correct categories, to use them correctly and to master grammar perfectly.

German, although structurally similar to English and other Germanic languages, has its specific phonetic, morphological and syntactic features. Parts of speech are distinguished in German on the basis of strict grammatical criteria.

Basic principles of the division of parts of speech

1. Separation based on grammatical symbols

In German, each word group has certain grammatical symbols: gender, number, possessive, tense, cite, condition, and so on. For example:

Ism (the noun): jins (the, the, the), ko’plik (-en, -e, -er) shakllari mavjud. Misol: the table (stol), the flowers (gullar)

Verb (das Verb): changes according to the person and tense. Example: gehen (go), ging (go), ist gegangen (go)

2. Semantic character separation

The meaning of the word is also important in determining its category. For example:Names: refers to the name of an object or person. (Auto, Lehrer)

Verbs: Express an action or situation. (Laufen, Schlafen)

3. Classification based on syntactic functions

The role of words in a sentence can also help determine their category:

Noun: usually comes as an object or object of a sentence.

Verb: forms the predicative core of a sentence. Basic vocabulary and their features in the German language.

Practical Examples

 1. Ismlar: The city is big. (Shahar katta.)

2. Fe’llar: Ich lerne Deutsch. (Men nemis tilini o‘rganayapman.)

3. Sifatlar: This is an interesting book. (Bu qiziqarli kitob.)

4. Ravishlar: He runs fast. (U tez yuguradi.)

5. Template:Wir fahren mit dem Bus. (Biz autobusda ketayapmiz.)

Basic information about parts of speech (Wortarten)

1. What are parts of speech? Speech categories are a system of classifying words of a language based on their morphological form, syntactic role and semantic meaning. Each phrase has its own unique grammatical features. It is also determined by the function of words in a sentence.

2. Main Separation Criteria

3. Basic Vocabulary in German. Variable (flexiberbare Wortarten):

1st noun (Ism) – the dog, the book 2nd verb (Fe’l) – to read, to sleep

3. Adjective (Sifat) – beautiful, clever 4. Pronoun (Olmosh) – I, my, this

5. Numerals (Son so’zlari) – one, two, hundred

O’zgarmas (non-inflectible parts of speech):

6. Adverb (Ravish) – today, there, fast. 7. Preposition (Predlog) – on, under, because

8. Conjunction (Bog’lovchi) – and, because, although. 9. Particles (Yordamchi so’zlar) – yes, yes, wait

4. Features in German Vocabulary Recognition

A. Morphological features

Ismlar: Artikl va jinsga ega (the table, the lamp, the book).

Verbs: Have tense, person, and number variation (ich gehe, du gehst).

Adjectives: Changes when it comes with fixed articles and nouns (ein schöner Tag).

B. Syntactic features

Nouns: In a sentence, it is usually possessive or complementary.

Verbs: Always serve as the center of a sentence, a predicate.

Adjectives: Used as a descriptor or sentence fragment (Das Auto ist schnell.).

C. Semantic Properties

Names: Refers to a thing, person, or concept.

Verbs: Signifies an action, situation, or process.

Adjectives: Signifies the quality, signs of things.

5. Special Events

A. Ismlanish (noun)

A verb or adjective is used like nouns and starts with a capital letter.

Examples: das Essen (eating, eating), der Alte (seniors)

B. Declination of Adjectives. It varies depending on the specified and unspecified article.

Misollar: the beautiful tree, a beautiful tree

C. Arrival of the verb in auxiliary forms

Modal verbs and perfect tenses are used with auxiliary verbs:

I have to learn. He worked.

6. Principles applied in the comparison of parts of speech

7. Examples from German

8. Literature Used

Duden editors: Duden – Die Grammatik, Dudenverlag, 2021.

Helbig, Gerhard; Buscha, Joachim: Deutsche Grammatik, Langenscheidt, 2016.

Durrell, Martin: Hammer’s German Grammar and Usage, Routledge, 2017.

Zifonun, Gisela: Parts of Speech – an Introduction, Gunter Narr Verlag, 1997.

9. Important Notes. In German, an article, gender, declination and conjugation are important for each word category.

The function of words in context is always clarifying.

When learning new words, you should always learn their vocabulary and how they are used in a sentence.

 In conclusion, the division into word categories plays an important role in understanding the logical and structural order in the language. Parts of speech in German are clearly distinguished based on grammatical, semantic and syntactic notation. Adherence to these principles in the study of a language allows increasing the vocabulary and mastering the grammar perfectly.

                             References

1. Duden. Grammar: Indispensable for proper German. Bibliographic Institute, 2016.

2. Helbig, Gerhard; Buscha, Joachim. Deutsche Grammatik: Ein Handbuch für den Ausländerunterricht. Langenscheidt, 2001.

3. Zifonun, Gisela et al. Grammar of the German Language. de Gruyter, 1997.

4. Eisenberg, Peter. Grundriss der deutschen Grammatik. Metzler, 2004.

5. Engel, Ulrich. German grammar: tasks and solutions. Iudicium Verlag, 2013.

6. Hammer’s German Grammar and Usage. Routledge, 6th edition, London/New York, 2017.

7.Zifonun, Gisela Wortarten – Eine Einführung. Gunter Narr Verlag, Tübingen, 1997.

8.Eisenberg, Peter Grundriss der deutschen Grammatik: Band 1: Das Wort.

J.B. Metzler Verlag, Stuttgart, 2004.

9. Hentschel, Elke; Weydt, Harald Deutsche Wortgrammatik.

de Gruyter Verlag, Berlin/New York, 2002.

10.Polenz, Peter von Deutsche Satzsemantik: Grundbegriffe des Zwischen-den-Zeilen-Lesensde Gruyter Verlag, Berlin, 2008.

11.Gallmann, Peter Inflection and Part-of-Speech Belonging in German.

Max Niemeyer Verlag, Tübingen, 1990.

12. Glück, Helmut (ed.)Metzler Lexikon Sprache.

J.B. Metzler Verlag, Stuttgart/Weimar, 4th edition, 2016.

I LEFT…

I am a sorrowful book, a grief-laden tome,

With yellowed pages, in pain I roam.

Read by some, in silence, alone,

Yet by many—unread, unknown…

I forgave the days,

And many I forgave, step by step.

I lived, wrapping my worth in respect.

A golden chalice—filled to the brim,

Yet, doubting bronze, I spilled not a rim…

Though love turned cruel, drifting away,

Though friends stepped back, pushing astray,

Still, I held myself, come what may—

Grateful, on this path, I did not sway…

Shamsiya Khudoynazarova Turumovna (February 15, 1973) was born in Uzbekistan. Studied at the Faculty of Journalism of Tashkent State University (1992-1998). She took first place in the competition of young republican poets (1999). Four collections of poems have been published in Uzbekistan: “Leaf of the Heart” (1998), “Roads to You” (1998), “The Sky in My Chest” (2007), “Lovely Melodies” (2013). She wrote poetry in more than ten genres. She translated some Russian and Turkish poets into Uzbek, as well as a book by YunusEmro. She lived as a political immigrant with her family for five years in Turkey.

Out of the Gloom

Following a breakfast hardly worthy of the name, Annie sat with her cup of coffee on the porch, swinging listlessly as she watched huge, sculpted flakes of snow blow across her front yard. The wind sang through the black, denuded boughs of her hickory trees. Although the outdoor thermometer showed the temperature to be a bitterly cold 12 degrees Fahrenheit, Annie didn’t feel the chill in the air. She did, however, feel the coldness of isolation and depression and a continuing deep sense of loss closing in on her.

She cast her mind back several weeks, to the two days voluntary absence she’d taken from work. Annie, 60, had worked for half of her life at Mercer Portfolio as an executive secretary. She knew, as did her employer, that she was very good at her job, and her record of attendance had been nearly spotless. She hadn’t requested personal time off from work since her mom died, almost a decade before. The time had been readily granted. Additionally, cards, flowers, prepared food and other expressions of condolence has been forthcoming. All this for the death of a woman with whom Annie had not stayed overnight for more than 40 years.

Mom, a cold and unfeeling woman trapped in parenthood, had never wanted to be a mother. Because of her ambivalance, she had treated her only child distantly. Annie’s father died when she was 7 and she could scarcely remember him. She remembered the last time she had visited her mother, 11 years before. She had just flown in.

“Mom, how can I help? Do you want me to do some laundry or shopping or…”

“I don’t want nothin’ from you,” snapped Delores Davis in her hacking, 3-pack-a-day voice. “You don’t come back but ever’ other month and you try to make up for it by doin’ laundry or shoppin’ or whatever. I jus’ want one thing from you,” she said.

“What’s that?” asked Annie tiredly. They went through this same drama every few months. “What could I finally do that would actually make you happy?”

“Don’t come back here no more,” said the old woman with an evil smirk. “That,” asserted Delores, “would make me very happy!”

Annie got a letter from the Edgewood Nursing Home a month later, telling her that Delores had entered their facility as a permanent resident. Annie never again saw her mother alive. She had several times sent a check to the Home to provide some extras for Mom, but the envelopes had been returned unopened. A phone call from that facility almost a year later informed her that Delores Davis had escaped her mortal bonds. Annie had felt numb for a day afterward, but that was all. No other member of her family was living.

Sam, however, was another story. Sam, Annie’s molly cat, had been an integral part of her life from the time she got her from Animal Rescue at 3 months until she finally died at 17 years. Sam was a fast friend and constant companion and Annie had come to rely emotionally on her cat to always be there for her. Conjuring an image of her beloved Sam still brought a tear to her eye. Perhaps most hurtful was that, unlike when her mother had died, others reacted rather coldly when Annie expressed her grief at Sam’s passing.

Her boyfriend, Arch, at her home on the day of Sam’s passing, at first seemed not to know what to say, but then folded her obligingly in his arms and patted her back. But, when she didn’t immediately snap out of it, he seemed not to understand why the loss of a friend whom Annie had known ten times as long as she’d known him should have struck her so hard.

“Annie,” he said with rock-headedness, “how long are you going to mope?” She looked up out of her tissue and blinked. “I mean, it’s only a cat.” Her lips drew into a straight, unhappy line. Arch, she knew, had never liked Sam, not really. What he said next was the worst thing: “If it had been a dog, then I could get it…”

“Then get this,” she told him coldly, and stuffed her snotty tissue into his shirt pocket and said, “Beat it!” He did beat it and, despite fruitlessly calling her daily for the first week, soon stopped trying to make contact.

“Hey, Sam, cute stuff,” cooed Annie, picking the cat up off the porch and cradling her like a baby in her arms. The cat instantly began to loudly purr. “That’s a good girl,” Annie said, and rubbed Sam’s belly. Annie sat down upon the swing, eagerly soaking up the love she she often hadn’t found elsewhere. “Hey,” she asked the cat, “do you want some treats?” Sam’s ears perked up and she squirmed and jumped from Annie’s arms, landing lightly upon the porch floor. She fed Sam her treats, but of course she wanted more. Additional crunchies were not forthcoming, however, for as Annie cautioned Sam, “We girls got to watch our figures, or no one else will.”

“Mr. Helper,” said Annie, speaking on the phone with her boss. “It’s Annie.”

“Annie, are you feeling any better? I was surprised when you took a sick day yesterday. I checked, and you haven’t taken a sick day since you had Covid, nearly 5 years ago.”

“I’m alright, Mr. Helper, thank you. I need to call off today for a different reason.”

Helper’s voice suddenly turned harder. “What reason?” he asked suspiciously.

“Sam…my cat, Sam, died yesterday, and I’m still a little messed up about it.”

Silence.

“Mr. Helper?” asked Annie.

“You mean, you weren’t ill yesterday?” he asked.

“Well, not physically. But, emotionally I was a mess. I owned Sam for…”

He cut her off. “You can have one day, Ms. Davis,” said Helper, using her formal appellation. “You misled the firm yesterday when you called off with what turned out be a lie. One day,” he repeated. He disconnected.

Annie never went back to Mercer Industries.

Claudia, Annie’s best friend from work, called her 5 days into her continued absence from the job. “What’s goin’ on, girl?” asked Claudia. Annie had phoned her friend the day that Sam died and left a message, but until now, she had received no call back. “The rumor mill is working overtime, Annie. Did you really quit?”

“Quit?” repeated Annie. “Not exactly. I’m still grieving, Claudia. I told you, Sam died.”

“Yes,” murmured her friend. “You said that.” After a moment, she asked, “what else is it? Are you sick? Tell me you’re sick, Annie, and I’ll tell that to Helper. Then he can’t fire you.”

“I already told him why I missed work, Claudia,” said Annie.

“I can tell him you were upset, that you had a serious condition; you know, that you had an STD or something and were ashamed to talk about it.”

“I’m not ashamed, Claudia,” Annie said a little more sharply that she intended. “But I am grieving. If you and Mr. Helper and his bosses can’t cut me some slack after three decades of faithful service, then…” She was losing her temper, something she’d never done before with her friend.

“Do you feel suicidal?” asked Claudia eagerly.

Annie pulled her cell phone away from her face and stared into it. She said, “What?”

“If I could tell them you’re suicidal, then they could refer you Human Resources and get you some help…”

Annie retorted, “I don’t need help. I just need time to grieve.” Did she need professional help? she wondered. A shrink would only laugh at her, she feared.

“Then I could explain that you were raped–a date rape–and you had PTSD.”

Annie took a great breath and let it out. “Claudia,” she said calmly, “I’m not suicidal. But I could use some personal support, from my friends.”

“What about Arch?” asked Claudia.

“Yes,” replied Annie wearily, “what about Arch?”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” asked Claudia next.

“I’ll call you if I need anything, okay?” replied Annie softly.

“Okay, girl.”

“Oh, baby,” said Annie, kneeling by Sam’s side. The cat had just vomited again and lay prostrate in the mess. She pulled her pet from the discharge and took her inside to wipe her off. This was the third time is as many days that Sam had regurgitated. Annie phoned up the vet and made an appointment for that afternoon.

Dr. Patel gently palpitated Sam’s distended abdomen and checked her tongue and eyes and ears. He said something about “jaundice.”

“No parasites,” he murmured, “but we’ll check the stool sample and do an X-ray and an ultrasound.” Sam had known the vet all her life and trusted him. But, when he touched her stomach, she growled crossly. After an hour, the vet met with Annie again and told her that Sam’s liver was at issue.

“It’s hepatic failure, Annie,” said the vet. “It’s almost certainly the result of the ingestion of toxins. We’ve gotten a number of similar cases in the area. Do you use any toxins around your house?”

Annie frowned thoughtfully. “No,” she began but then remembered, “the groundskeeping crew has used a defoliant on my blackberries the last two years. But, I asked them and they said it was pet-friendly and wouldn’t hurt Sam.” When he asked, she told him the brand name. He stared sadly at her. “Do you think they lied to me?” she asked in a tiny voice.

_______

Annie and Sam sat alone on a bench in the consultation room at the vet’s. She sat not in her lap as she usually did, but stretched out on the seat. She gently stroked her side. Dr. Patel had told her that, given Sam’s condition and her age, surgery was not indicated. It would be very expensive and it simply wouldn’t work; Sam would never survive the procedure.

“Pretty girl,” she murmured. The cat rolled onto her back and stuck her paws into the air.

The vet reentered the room.

“How long does Sam have, Dr. Patel?” she asked, feeling the moment was surreal.

The vet stroked the cat; Sam purred. “She could last for six months. Or she could expire tomorrow.”

Expire, thought Annie bleakly. What a cold, lifeless word to describe the death of a friend.

“It’s up to you, of course,” the vet went on, “but the kinder course would be to put Sam to sleep, as soon as possible.”

Annie felt as though a hundred pound weight were on her shoulders. “Is she in any pain?” she asked.

The doctor nodded. “Yes,” he said.

Sam was euthanized 30 minutes later, after Annie had said her goodbyes. She didn’t cry, which she felt was weird, inasmuch as her grief was manifest. She told herself she was still in shock. The vet’s assistant gave Annie a wax imprint of Sam’s paws, plus a bill for $1,500, including $100 for the cremation.

Annie sat alone in her car and wept bitterly.

_______

For the first week, Annie felt as if, when she entered a room, she would find Sam padding across the floor or mischievously shredding the curtains or sharpening her nails in the doorways. Then she’d remember and just sigh. Her friends, all from work, were by this time avoiding her. Claudia had emailed her and told her that at Mercer, Annie was persona non grata and no one dared be seen with her. This explained the mild rebukes she’d gotten from work friends she’d texted to spend some time with. She was dreadfully lonely. The house and yard were home to ghosts.

Doing what she always did when she faced uncertainty, Annie booted up her PC and consulted Dr. Google. She clicked on Grief Over Pets and received a panoply of advice. She read that modern Western society had a rather unforgiving attitude toward those who claimed to be suffering grief over the death of an animal. They called this disenfranchised grief and said that it only added on additional layers of misery to those so afflicted.

By the time the second week had passed, she thought to seek professional help. Dialing up the HMO in which employees of Mercer were enrolled, she talked to what sounded like an older woman at the HMO and explained her situation, asking if she could have an appointment with a mental  health professional. The woman apparently placed her hand over the telephone receiver and spoke to someone else. When she came back on the line, she said, barely containing her hilarity, “Maybe you should contact an animal psychologist,” and exploded into gales of unpleasant laughter. “I think they got one at the greyhound track,” she added, then cackled some more.

Annie hung up the phone.

Nights were the worst. When Arch wasn’t there, Sam had spent the nights in Annie’s bed, curled on top of the comforter and nestled in her owner’s arm. But, because Arch was now a ghost as well, Annie spent every night. every second, alone. She hated it.

Mercer was an investment brokerage and the employees, including the secretaries, had profitted from the firm’s investment strategies and enjoyed rich supplements to their already generous remuneration. After 30 years, Annie was but 7 years from retirement. And, because she was in good health and excellent financial shape, decided she wouldn’t reenter the work force. Although she had been discharged, the company was still obliged to pay her substantial pension. Annie retired.

Annie sat in the living room, wathing a PSA on television, showing the dire situation of abandoned and neglected animals. It was a fund-raising effort by Animal Rescue, the same group where she’d gotten Sam so long agp. Videos of starving dogs and abused kittens and lame horses flashed across the screen, ripping at her heart. When the commercial ended, Annie turned to her PC and looked up Animal Rescue on the web. She was surprised to learn that the local shelter was still located at the same spot it had been when she got Sam so long ago. Taking up a wrap, she walked to her car and into her salvation.

Annie was shocked to discover that the same ageless woman who had facilitated Sam’s adoption was still working at the shelter, only now she was the director. Her name, she read on her name tag, was Gladys. Next on the string of miracles was that the woman recognized Annie as well when she mentioned the animal she had adopted.

“Sam, yes, I remember,” said Gladys. “In our follow up telephone interview with you, you said you named her Sam. But, she’ll always be Cuddles to me,” she said, recalling the temporary name that the shelter had given her. She expressed condolences when Annie told her that Sam had passed. But, she didn’t press Annie to immediately readopt and Annie was a little surprised.

“It’s important to grieve properly after a friend passes,” Gladys said. “If you adopt too soon, it’s not fair to the memory of your friend and it’s not fair to your new animal.” Gladys went on to recommend a grieving period of 2 to 3 months, at a minimum. “And Cuddles…Sam, has been gone just six weeks.”

Annie smiled with relief; she had half expected a hard sales pitch; perhaps she was too used to the mercenary buyers and sellers of the transactional American culture. “I agree with you, Gladys,” said Annie.

“Then what can I help you with today, Annie?” asked the other woman. “Or did you just want to visit with some of our little friends?”

‘Is…is that allowed?” asked Annie timidly.

“Of course. Look around and visit. They love company.”

So Annie did, strolling around and visiting every animal. They all seemed pathetically eager for attention, for socialization. When she had completed her visit, she asked the question she had when she came.

“Is there anything that I can do?” she asked.

“What did you have in mind?” asked Gladys, all business now.

“Well,” replied Annie. “As a volunteer. I’m recently retired and I have a lot of hours to fill. And I’d like to help, if I can.”

“What sort of work did you do?” asked Gladys.

“I was an executive secretary for a financial firm for thirty years,” replied Annie.

“Well,” said Gladys, we don’t have much call for dictation or typing and the like…” Annie’s shoulders slumped. “…but,” she continued, “If you can muck out cages and give the animals water and food and assist the visiting vets and love the precious creatures, then you got a job.” She smiled warmly.

“Can I start today?” asked Annie.

Annie began working at the shelter 15 hours a week, which soon escalated to 6 hours per day, five days per week. She loved her work, menial as it was. She enjoyed getting her hands dirty and returning home in the evening smelling like cats and dogs. She fell in love with all the animals, though Sam was never far from her mind. By August, Annie felt that the intensity of her grief was at last at an end. She approached Gladys one afternoon.

“I think I’m ready,” she said.

Gladys somehow knew exactly what she meant. “I think you’re ready too,” she said. “Does this mean you’ll be leaving the shelter?” she asked with concern.  Annie was one of her most avid helpers and her sudden absence would surely be felt. Not only a favorite of the shelter’s patrons, board members and workers, but the animals took to her naturally as well. Their love was returned.

“You’ll never get rid of me, Gladys,” vowed Annie.

“Who’s the lucky girl, or guy?” asked Gladys.

“I’m adopting Jupiter,” declared Annie with a big smile, referencing a large gray male cat.

Gladys frowned. “Honey, Jupiter is 13 years old.”

“I know.”

“In just a couple of years you may have to go through with him what you did with Sam.” Jupiter was diabetic and needed daily insulin injections, which the shelter’s pro bono vet had trained Annie to give.

“I know all that, Gladys,” said Annie. “But, Jupiter has been here for two years, and if I don’t adopt him, then nobody will. He’s an outcast, sort of like me. I think we belong together, you know?”

The night that Annie adopted Jupiter, she lay asleep with the big gray cat curled into her chest and she dreamed. Of Sam. In the dream, Sam was in her lap on the swing and Annie was stroking her fur. Sam suddenly began purring very loudly. She looked up into Annie’s green eyes and opened her mouth.

“What is it, baby?” asked Annie, bending down. In response, Sam leaned up and bit Annie almost impossibly softly on the nose. Then she was gone.

Annie woke up abruptly, said aloud, “Sam?” But, it was Jupiter who lay nestled up against her. There had, Annie realized, been a changing of the guard and a release from her ever-present malaise. The cat looked up inquiringly into his mistress’s eyes, as if to say, this is all new to me too. “I’m out of the gloom now,” murmured Annie, and fell back into a dreamless sleep.

…

Massimo Sangalli: the swing between fame and life

We are talking about a foreign world where the USA were the absolute protagonists, a world, however, that was only shown in the USA in the magazines dedicated to celebrities: it is the post-dolce vita Rome, which follows the Rome – Dolce Vita, so called, because brilliantly depicted by my mentor Federico Fellini in his famous film of the same name. 

We are in 1995 in Rome. The poets, the writers, the filmmakers, the global stars all frequent the literary café “Caffè Greco” and the night clubs. My friend Prince Egon Von Furstenberg, who introduced me to Joan Crawford in NYC, and I were leaving the famous Jackie O’ nightclub, in homage to Jackie Onassis, with a group of movie stars to continue the night at “Gilda”, another famous nightclub dedicated to Rita Hayworth, owned by my friend Giancarlo Bornigia. Wild dancing with songs by Corona, Cher, Haddaway and a group of fans around their idol took up all our space. The idol was the adolescent star of photo stories, the fascinating Massimo Sangalli, accompanied by Doriana Bianchi, the favorite actress of movie director Marco Ferreri.

I called the director of Gilda, my friend Angelo Ciccio Nizzo, to calm down Sangalli’s fans and to have some space for us to dance too. I met Sangalli and Doriana Bianchi, we started dancing together, but we also started a friendship that never ended. With the great poet Dario Bellezza, a pupil of Pasolini, we were working on a big show, based on the novel by Dario Bellezza: “Turbamento” about Pasolini. I invited Sangalli and the Italian star Sebastiano Somma to act with me. It was a great success for Sangalli in his theatrical debut and then he became internationally famous. Sangalli is currently starring in “Music in the Forest” by Roberto Lippolis with Nastassja Kinski, John Savage, Cassandra Gava, Vincent Spano, soon to be released.

In Lippolis’ film, set in the Second World War, Sangalli plays Zigmund, a Jewish poet. Both female and male beauty in the world of cinema is certainly important, since it is the easiest road to fame, which, however, survives only if you have talent and gradually put aside roles based on the beauty of physical appearance and often superficial, to interpret psychologically complex and profound roles, as in the case of Sangalli. Of course, the world of fashion, especially in Italy and France, opens the doors to perfect bodies and enchanting faces and so Massimo Sangalli has participated in events of the famous fashion designer Anton Giulio Grande. He is the testimonial for “Angel” by Dolce & Gabbana. He has been photographed by Helmut Newton, Louis Vidal, Carlo Bellicampi, Dario Plozzer, working in cinema with prestigious directors such as Tinto Brass, Pupi Avati, George Lucas and others.

Sangalli will soon be in an Italian-Californian film about Pirandello and in an interesting film written by Hollywood authors, based on the transition between the era of communication without the internet and with the internet. Cinema continues to be an important reference for all of us to improve ourselves, but I fear that it will continue to always be based on “fame” which for Hannah Montana by Michael Poryes, instead falls to second place, since life reconquers the first. https://synchchaos.com/?s=Poryes&submit=Search . 

A difficult swing for those who, like Sangalli, face this aspect on a daily basis.