BED BUGS

I will never forget the story of the bed bugs. I had read about them and I considered them, as I still consider them today, an expression of filth and backwardness. I had never seen a bed bug before until, in ?81, a neighbor stopped me to let me know that there were bed bugs in the block. I answered embarrassed that I had never seen any, so he was kind enough to bring a dead one on a piece of paper, telling me about the smell of whiskey; that?s not what I think, bed bugs make me think of totally different things! I thanked him, we both got indignant and after a meeting with the administrator and other neighbors, we called the disinfestation services. A new problem appeared, some did not want to let the disinfestation people enter the apartments, it costs and what happens if the walls get stained? Bed bugs are not such a big disaster, after all.  It was only then the real battle began and we hardly got rid of the bed bugs. We used to sleep with the lights on. They would crawl on walls in the dark and from the ceiling, they fell right on you. You had the sensation that nothing could clean you after that and that you were definitely humiliated. I think I reached the abyss of human misery then! (V. M., 127)

Joke. The Erevan radio station. A listener asks us: what would happen if bed bugs could glow in the night? We answer: then Moscow would look like Las Vegas. (C. V., 7)

BICYCLE

If before 1980 it used to be a mostly rural vehicle, in the ?80s the bicycle became a familiar presence on Bucharest streets, which the adults seemed to prefer even better than the children. It was gas scarcity that provoked the bicycle fashion, rather than the Romanians? preference for a healthy sportive life.

The most accessible bicycles were the ?Pegas? sort, made at the Tohan Armory, and the ?mini? type was the most popular one. The design was acceptable, but the price (approximately 1800 lei) was not, considering its quality. It was extremely heavy, very little resistant, but at least it was not too large and could be folded in two, which made transportation by elevator easier. The saddle could be drawn up to the level of an adult, but after several meters? driving, the bar that held it went down, because it was fixed badly, and you had to continue your ride knees close to mouth. I had to remove the bar and introduce a sweep rod instead into the pipe, which made it possible to keep the saddle at the desired height.

The Soviet bicycles, ?Ukraina?, had the same price but were more rarely put on sale; and when they were, big queues were formed in front of the sports shops. It was equally heavy, but of regular size, and remarkable resistance.

The young preferred the racing bicycle ?Sputnik?, which was of Soviet origin too. It had four gears, cost 1950 lei and was the favorite model of the bicycle thieves. (129)