Candid Conversation - Moon Over Sasova - Dr. Christopher Shaffer Discusses His Adventures In Slovakia In The 90's

  

In 2016 I had the pleasure of doing a Candid Conversation with Dr. Chris Shaffer. We talked about students exercising the mind and the body at Troy University. I will link to the article later in this one. He’s joining me again for an interview about his book Moon Over Sasova.

Moon Over Sasova One American’s Experience Teaching in Post-Cold War Slovakia is Dr. Christopher Shaffer’s account of his time in Sasova a suburb of Banska Bystrica just after Slovakia became an independent nation. The book describes his adventures while in country at that time. Dr. Shaffer thanks for coming back to do another Candid Conversation.

Dr. Shaffer: Thanks for having me Cliff. I am always happy to talk about my experiences in Slovakia.

Cliff T.: This is going to be an interesting conversation, tell me what made you decide to go to a nation that was on the brink of something big like becoming independent?

Dr. Shaffer: Really, when you think about it, the big thing occurred in late 1989 with the Velvet Revolution. The Soviets agreed—after massive peaceful demonstrations—to pull out of what was then Czechoslovakia. I went to Prague in the summer of 1991 while on a study abroad experience in Mannheim Germany, offered by Auburn University where I got my BA. I immediately fell in love with the city, and not only the gothic and baroque architecture, which is amazing, but with the kindness of the people and the optimism in the streets. Vaclav Havel, the playwright/dissident, who had been advocating for freedom from the USSR since the 1970s was on his way to becoming president. Everywhere there were signs saying Havel na Hrad, meaning Havel to the Castle, which is where the president was housed. I was only there for a weekend visit, and decided to return for a few more days after my studies ended. After that trip I was hooked and wanted to come back for a more immersive experience. While there, I saw a sign on a telephone pole advertising for Americans to come teach English. I called the number when I got back, and was shocked to discover that the group, Education for Democracy was connected to the University of South Alabama.

Cliff T.: I have to admit I probably would not ever do something like that given the risk of violence that may occur but, here you are you go to Slovakia just after the country goes independent and your going with the idea to teach. What were going to teach, did you actually do that or did the trip turn into something totally different?

Dr. Shaffer: If there had been anything scary, it would have probably been the 1989 Velvet Revolution. At the time, no one knew what would happen and were waiting to see what the Soviets would do. Remember, things didn’t turn out so well in the Prague Spring of 1968. However, 1989 ended without any significant bloodshed, and 1993 ended with none. And everything that was happening was being relayed quite effectively by the American news media. I have always been a news junkie and kept a close eye on things. Czechoslovakia had always been something of a forced marriage that was created after World War I, with Slovakia long being the weaker part of the couple. In the same way that it was bureaucratically created, it was bureaucratically divided. While there were certainly some hard feelings, I always felt it was more akin to sibling rivalry than anything else. And definitely not the Cain and Abel sort.

As far as what I did, the group that sent me was named Education for Democracy. It was started by Major John Hasek and began in Poland. The University of South Alabama in collaboration with the Slovak Education Department then opened a branch in that country. My basic job was to teach English as a second language, and I worked primarily with third year students or older teaching conversational English. Our hidden agenda though, was to be goodwill ambassadors, and introduce people to Americans and Canadians, and demonstrate that we were not boogeymen. Just like our government had inculcated in us a belief that the Soviets and their satellite states were evil, the Soviets had ardently strived to be sure that people under their sphere of influence believed the same things about us.

I don’t think anything turned out differently than I expected. Beyond teaching, I was able to travel a good bit, both in and around Slovakia, which was great. I went to Poland, Germany, The Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, and Slovenia while I was there, so those experiences were all exciting and also educational.

Cliff T.: Just reading through the note on Amazon about the book it sounds like the trip got off to a busy start right away. What was the first thing that caught your attention when you got to Slovakia?

Dr. Shaffer: The cold. I had never experienced anything like it. If we get cold weather like Slovakia had in the deep South, it is a fluke once in a decade event, and it is also short-lived. In Slovakia, extreme cold is a situation that lasts for several months. I also had to learn to walk on snow and ice, which was a challenge. I was completely unprepared for all of this, because while intellectually, I understood what I was getting into, it is impossible to truly understand what something is like until you have experienced it first-hand. If there was a bright side to the frigidity, temperatures were always expressed in Celsius, so I never truly had any idea what the real temperature was. If they had told me what it was in Fahrenheit, I might have never left the apartment!

Cliff T.: As you began your work in Slovakia you also began to engage with the people there and you were finding out that they had a keen interest in what the West was all about. What kinds of interests did people you came into contact with have?

Dr. Shaffer: Universally, the answer would be things that were cultural. On those initial trips to Prague in 1991, I discovered that there was a big interest in the Czech Republic in Dixieland Jazz. I include a picture of a Dixieland Jazz Quartet in the book. I later found out later that jazz had been considered subversive by the communist government. Going back to 1993, my students frequently wanted me to transcribe the lyrics to American songs. I remember one student named Martin, got me to write out the lyrics to REM’s Man on the Moon. I also met other people who were fascinated with the U.S. Civil War. There was also a strong interest in Native American culture.

Talking about history could get interesting. I was having a conversation with one of my classes about World War II and Hiroshima and Nagasaki came up. I had been educated to believe that the U.S. had been in the right to drop the atomic bombs, because of the number of American lives that had been saved. The Slovaks had been educated to believe that the Soviets were about to come to the aid of the Americans and that it was an immoral and unnecessary act that occurred because Truman wanted to send Stalin a message. And, as I got older and learned more, I can’t say that they were completely wrong. However, given their history, I still think it is odd that they thought the Soviets were going to something noble. However, we killed roughly 350,000 people with two bombs, and many of them were innocent. That is a stain on our history that we are stuck with, regardless of whether it was the right military decision or not. I went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in 2017, and the only experience I have ever had that was emotionally on par with that was when I went to Auschwitz in 1993.

Cliff T.: The book, Moon Over Sasova, is it part memoir part retelling of history from your vantage point?

Dr. Shaffer: It is really a memoir and a travel journal. I am not trying to play the role of a historian. I am just letting the reader know what I experienced during that time in my life. For people interested in the history of these places at that time, I think it would be interesting. At the book’s end, I do reflect on the irony that I was in the former Eastern Bloc trying to spread American democratic values, and America seems to be a quart low on those same values today.

Cliff T.: How long did it take you to get this book together and how were you able to maintain accuracy after all this time as you wrote Moon Over Sasova?

Dr. Shaffer: That is an interesting question. I had a photo album that did a good job of documenting all of the places I had been. I also kept a sporadic journal while I was there that was very useful. I am still good friends with the person I shared an apartment with, Merrill, and we were able to recreate a lot of memories through telephone conversations. Finally, a good friend, Tom Nadar, who I regularly wrote while I was in Slovakia died a few years ago. Quite unexpectedly, when I was about halfway through writing Moon, his brother contacted me. It turned out that Tom had saved all of the letters and his brother wanted to know if I wanted them. Those letters helped me add a couple of stories that I had forgotten about, while also helping round out a few others.

Cliff T.: What kind of message Dr. Shaffer, do you want people who read Moon Over Sasova to get, what is the take away from this book?

Dr. Shaffer: The best way to learn about the world is to travel—at least once Covid ends or is under control. Getting out and meeting people and exploring the world will completely change your point of view and make you more open to other ideas. It can also make you realize that there are a lot more good people in the world than bad.

Cliff T.: So is it true that you drank everything put in front of you? Oh my there must have been some good and horrible libations LOL.

Dr. Shaffer: You may have heard the phrase “to drink like a European.” Europeans in the West have nothing on those in the East. There was a lot of beer and wine, but there were also local/regional types of boozes such as Becherovka, a liqueur made from 20 different herbs and was supposed to cure most if not all illness, and Slivovice, which was sort of like gin on steroids and tasted like shooting a pine tree, needles, bark and all. Whenever I would be out at a bar, people wanted to buy the American shots, and it was easy to get in trouble very quickly. There also weren’t any raised eyebrows about drinking at work. When I went to give the dictation for my students’ final exam, the school’s director first had me drink a shot of cognac and vodka. I’m sure the students were thrilled to have the “Slurring Southerner” read that dictation to them. I did make a point of reading it slowly and as many times as they wanted.

Cliff T: What was the big take away for you, besides seeing another country and culture. What was the a ha moment or thing you got by going to Slovaka?

Dr. Shaffer: Ultimately, I liked the culture, and much of the way the people there looked at life. I think that I am essentially stuck being American. It is the culture I was raised in. I like “stuff” and I tend to be work obsessed. However, I was fascinated with how little I needed to be incredibly happy. I had a spartan apartment, and our sub-zero balcony served as our refrigerator/freezer for the first three months I was there. Work was not the priority for the Slovaks. They worked and worked hard, but family and friends, experiencing life and nature, whether it was through hikes in the mountains, or making merry in bars and restaurants was more important to them. At the end of your life would you rather have experienced those things, or met deadlines for Corporate America. It’s an interesting question.

Cliff T.: It sounds like you had a lot of fun, learned a great deal about people and probably yourself and the world around you.

Dr. Shaffer: I did. It is an experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything. And, I liked it so much, I went back and did it again three years later.

Cliff T: Thank you so much for sharing the book and the back story to it. Where can people get the book and what forms does the book come in?

Dr. Shaffer: The easiest way to get a copy of Moon over Sasova is on Amazon. It is available in both print format as well as Kindle.

Cliff T.: Thanks again for doing a Candid Conversation Dr. Shaffer.

Dr. Shaffer: Thanks for having me. I like that I am now something of a regular on Candid Conversations. Now, I have to come up with something else interesting to do so that you can have me back!

Dr. Christopher Shaffer is the Dean of Library Services at Troy University. He is former history teacher and in the 90’s he went to Slovakia to teach. He wrote to us from Enterprise AL. Dr Shaffer was interviewed here on Candid Conversations in April 2016. The article: Excercise + Study = Healthy Mind Healthy Body: A Candid Conversation With Dr. Chris Shaffer, Troy University is still up for reading.

The book Moon over Sasova: One American’s Experience Teaching in Post-Cold War Slovakia was published on November 10, 2021 and can be found on Amazon.com.

Candid Comment - Disco Duck! - Do You Remember It

  

Back in 1976 I was 13, wow that is long ago hard to believe I am one year from 60!  Anyway during that year a disc jockey named Rick Dees released a song called Disco Duck.  It was quite the song and can still be on the air today.  It did reach number one here in Canada and in the U.S.  The rest of the planet highest 3.  The song's last known rank 175 on the hot 100 by Billboard.  

Disco appeared to have gone the way of the dinosaur in the 80's but, it is still around.  In fact you can hear disco played on radio.  Disco Duck was essentially a parody of disco and was inspired by a song in the 60's called The Duck and yes apparently there was a dance associated with that song.  

Disco actually got it's start back in the 60's boomed in the 70's and kind of took a back seat to other forms of music in the 80's but has come back into the mix since the 90's.  There are radio stations that a formatted to play disco and you can find it on platforms like Digitally Imported.  

I actually enjoy listening to disco and other dance music.  There are a wide variety of genres to dive into.  My ultimate go to in dance is Drum N Bass.  House,  progressive, Ambient and a few others are all in my music podcast list and yes I do listen to DI.FM.  

I grew up with top 40 and dance my brother was into rock, still is and I got a good dose of that genre but, ummm while I like some rock it's really not my thing.  Sure I know the bands Led Zepplin, ZZ Top, AC/DC and Supertramp they are great bands and the music stands the test of time.  However for me dance and top 40, mostly dance today are my choices.  Though I do not mind diving into my classics playlist on Spotify, most of that list is 80s.  

What I am saying here is while Rock has firmly etched it's place in history and is current and relevant so to is dance and disco.  Disco Duck was a silly song that really does not represent the genre, it was funny but the body of work that disco encompasses goes beyond a song with a quacking duck and a goofy DJ.  Songs like the Hustle, Le Freak, Knock on Wood and others are classics that also stand the test of time.  So I say turn on the beat and dance!  Disco still lives.     

The main sources for this article: Wikipedia and Billboard.

Candid Conversation - Ron Hammond - Live Your Humanity - How to Reconnect With Basic Human Values to Live a Life of Meaning and Connection

These days being human seems to be quite a challenge, the pandemic has really shaken up our world to the point where humanity is really being tested and core values are also being pushed to limits. But what if your moral or value compass has gone out of whack or is actually turned off or muted. That does seem to be the case with the kinds of political and other discourse going on right now.

Being human and tapping into your humanity is actually a thing and when you turn it off or mute it things just do not seem to go as you may want to have them go. Ron Hammond has just published a book on the subject, titled Live Your Humanity - How to Reconnect With Basic Human Values to Live a Life of Meaning and Connection. He’s joining in for a Candid Conversations interview to give us a peek between the covers. Ron thank you for taking time out to tell us more about the book.

Ron H.: Hi, Cliff. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me.

Cliff T.: Just looking at the title of the book is interesting, and a bit daunting. The title gives the impression that this book really goes deep into the question of what makes us humane. Was that the idea here to, go into some depth and look if you will for nuggets of truth?

Ron H.: The idea behind the book is to explore and activate the human values that each of us already have. I like to say that we come off of the factory floor with these values, and sometimes everyday life and the stressors that we face can get in the way of our ability to maintain and nurture these values. Values such as integrity, kindness, compassion and love can go dormant, and when we let this happen, it has a negative impact on our connections with one another. There are ten chapters in the book, and each chapter is devoted to a specific human value. I detail how I was able to activate each value for myself drawing on relatable real life experiences that were reminders of each value’s importance.

Cliff T.: What is it meant to have a connected life in terms of humanity and living in a manner that is humane?

Ron H.: I think about this in terms of those everyday interactions that each of us have as we go about our normal days. We have opportunities every day to connect with other people, but it can be easy to sleep walk our way through those opportunities without paying attention. Saying hello to someone when you pass them by on the sidewalk, making some extra effort to chat with the person that is ringing your groceries or striking up a conversation with a stranger as you’re standing in a line are great ways to connect and are the gateway to developing long lasting and meaningful connections in your life. When you pay attention to how good doing these things feels to you, it makes you want to keep going. The same thing applies to our long term relationships and friendships. At the end of the day, each of us really wants to be heard, and when you make that extra effort to listen and to see someone as they are, you create an abundance of connection and meaning in your life.

Cliff T.: I was curious as I read the press release about the fact that we have to nurture human values or they will go dormant. Do you address that in the book and how is it addressed?

Ron H.: I do address this in the book. At the end of each chapter, I share five easy suggestions with the reader on how they can activate and nurture each value for themselves. These are the same suggestions that I used for myself and the results have been fantastic.

Cliff T.: Ron, is Live Your Humanity meant to be a guide to help people begin or reactivate the nurturing skill needed to be connected with ones own humanity?

Ron H.: I believe so. I wrote this book because I took notice of how I had let my own human values go dormant. At the time, life felt unfulfilling and mundane and my connections with others was lacking. So, I set out to proactively change that, and in the book, I’m sharing with the reader how I was able to do that for myself. The book offers a blueprint to follow, and I encourage the reader to adjust as they see fit for their own circumstances.

Cliff T.: I also noticed that you had a career in Corporate Finance. Was there something that led to the change in direction from this career to what you are doing now? And is what you did in that job an influencing factor for the change and the book?

Ron H.: I went through a pretty painful and callous layoff that upended my world and made me question my path going forward. Up to that point, my career had been very successful and rewarding, but I will admit that I had been questioning its continuation and pondered for a long time about writing this book. I believe that there was some kind of divine intervention through that layoff that brought me to where I am now and bringing this book to fruition. I’m eternally grateful for all of it and so happy that I have this opportunity to connect with so many people around the world.

In answer to your question about the job being an influencing factor for the change and book, I would say that my corporate roles, along with some other personal life experiences over the years, were influencing factors for the book. There were times when I was working 60-70 hour workweeks, I was exhausted and irritable, and life felt unfulfilling. I noticed that many of my co-workers were feeling the same way, and I knew in my heart of hearts that things could be better. Unfortunately, it took a stressful layoff to wake me up and make me take action. I credit that event with setting me on the path of adding meaning and connection in my own life and I hope that my ideas will help other people do the same thing for themselves. It also brought me to you and the readers of your blog, which fills me with joy.

Cliff T.: Did writing the book help you reconnect with your humanity?

Ron H.: Absolutely. I mentioned this earlier, but at the end of the day, each of us wants to be recognized for who we are. If we take the time and make the effort to really see one another while shedding any judgment and preconceived ideas that we may have, the door opens for us to experience meaning and connection in our own lives.

Cliff T.: There certainly is a lot of stuff going on in the world the biggest being the pandemic. Would you say that the pandemic is affecting people’s ability to act in a more humane manner?

Ron H.: I do think that the pandemic has added an additional layer of stress that has been tough for everyone to deal with. Our way of life has changed, and since most of us are resistant to change, we see that manifestation in how some people are treating one another today.

Cliff T.: What would you like people to get from the book and what would you say to people who are dealing with pandemic overload?

Ron H.: It’s ironic that we live in a time where we have access to never ending amounts of information at our fingertips through our devices, yet we’re feeling lonelier than ever. The pleasure centers in our brains are activated when we receive an email or text message and also when we are scrolling through our Facebook feeds. I believe that this is one contributing factor to the large amounts of vitriol that separates us, rather than bringing us together. What I hope people get from my book is that those same pleasure centers in our brains can also be activated by actually connecting in real time with other people, and that through those connections with others, we add meaning to our lives.

For those that are dealing with pandemic overload, which is a lot of us, I would suggest to hold on and take a deep breath. We have to be strong. We can’t doubt our resourcefulness as human beings, and now is not the time to submit to our anger and frustration. Instead, let’s turn our energies toward committing to working together to overcome this challenge, just as we have many times before in our history. We’ve witnessed in our past that when we come together, we can overcome almost anything. It takes effort and a willingness to roll up our sleeves and go the extra mile in support of our fellow human beings to make this happen.

Cliff T: The book is being released in a couple of days, you must quite excited to see how it is received. Have you had feedback regarding Live Your Humanity pre release?

Ron H.: I’m very excited about the release of the book and am hopeful that it is well received. I have already received a lot of positive feedback on the book thus far, with comments indicating that the book is timely and offers up useful insights on how we can come together. I’m excited to see what readers think after the full release of the book.

Cliff T.: And where will people be able to get the book?

Ron H.: The print copy will be available in bookstores on Tuesday, January 11, 2022. The electronic and hard copies will be available on Amazon, Kindle, iBooks and Nook, as well.

Cliff T.: Ron thank you so much for speaking with me and my readers about Living Your Humanity. I hope the book flies off the shelves. I do think this is a perfect book for our current time. Once again thanks for doing a Candid Conversation.

Ron H.: Thanks so much, Cliff, for talking with me. It really has been a pleasure!

Ron Hammond a former Corporate Financier has just gotten his book published. Live Your Humanity: Activate Your Innate Human Values for a Meaningful and Connected Life, by Ron Hammond, will be released by Morgan James Publishing on Jan. 11, 2022. Live Your Humanity —9781631955709 —has 178 pages and is being sold as a trade paperback for $16.95.

Ron wrote to us from his home in Denver CO.