Mamma's Back!

See, so the thing is, I was in the States for 2 months, and I honestly didn't feel that I had much to write about.  I wrote about mom jeans (which I still love, and am wearing as I write this!).

Then I leave the States, and within 24 hours of being in a new place, I have something to write about!  Amazing!

So, we're in Latvia now.  We used to live here.  In fact, this is where my husband and I met- last night as we walked into Old Town to meet some friends we realized it's just a little romantic returning here because of that.   We're here to visit now for just three weeks.  We're soaking in all that is Latvia in the summer time- for now enjoying what the city has to offer- the beer gardens, the people watching, and more, and soon taking in what the country has to offer as well- the peace, the quiet, the lush green nature, fields of flowers, and late light nights.

So as I was saying, I have a story to tell.  Yesterday evening we headed out to the tram stop across the street to catch a tram to take into the city center.  As we're standing at the tram stop we notice that across the street at the other tram stop three bums/drunks are having a bit of an issue.  One of the guys, a pretty big guy, has been hit over the head by someone, and is down on the ground behind the bench that is part of the tram stop. The other two guys, both fairly skinny guys, are trying to move him, get him up, etc, but having no luck.  The whole situation is the kind that you can't tear your eyes away from because, well, you just can't.  I'm thinking, will the guy on the ground be ok?  How injured is he?  Will the other two be strong enough to lift him, or will they give up and go off to find a drink before the figure it out?

Then out of nowhere, across the street comes this little grandma. She's like 5ft tall, has her handbag over her shoulder, and she's pissed.  She comes hollering across the street to where the bums are, and starts yelling at them to stop causing such a scene, to get up off the ground, to move on- out of her neighborhood or at least off her street.

When was the last time you saw a tiny little grandma go off on someone like that?

I turned to my husband and said, "She's seen too much shit in her life, to be afraid of some bums!"  This lady was a little old Latvian trooper.  She's survived invasions, deportations, occupations, revolutions, and has lived to see a return to the "good years"- which recently have been wrought with a global financial crisis that has hit Latvia HARD.  So basically, she's been to hell and back, and she isn't afraid of some bums!

It was amazing to watch.  First she just yelled at all these guys, and they sort of yelled back that they were trying to get the situation handled.  Then, when things weren't moving along as she liked it, she went right ahead and put her handbag down on the bench, went around the back, and tried to pull this giant mass of a man off the ground herself.  He was easily twice as big as her!  That didn't work either, so finally she got on her phone.  I'm sure she was starting to ring up some form of authority, when finally the other two bums got the guy off the ground.

His head injury was obvious to us from across the street.  He'd either been hit over the head, or had hit his head when falling- he had a big wound on his forehead and was bleeding.  When all three bums managed to get seated on the bench, the little grandma decided she'd had enough of the whole situation and left.  She didn't wait for a tram, and I didn't see exactly where she went. I'm not sure if she had come upon this situation  as she was walking down the street, or if she came out of her home to handle it.  In any case, she got it handled, and moved on.

I don't know if little old ladies in other big cities all have balls like that, or if she is just a product of her environment, but whichever it is, she was certainly a piece of work (in a good way).  Watching that whole situation brought my husband and I right back- made us really realize where we were.  We certainly don't see that kind of thing happen in small town Michigan, nor did we see it in Angola (I'm pretty sure drunks would just be ignored there- or, we were just too far removed from local life to see that kind of thing).  Who knows.  In any case, welcome back to Latvia.  It's lovely to be back. :)