The Chief Editor’s Message: Oh, what fun it is to enjoy all that comes with June!

I am hereby establishing the contact with another title message of mine, which was previously printed in our monthly magazine Czech Dialogue. In addition, in so doing, I am thereby also aiming at a certain alleviation of tension, which has been heavily burdening my brain cells.

Well, after all, it is true. Right at the end of May and at the beginning of this month, two ladies accompanied me on my trip to Sweden, which was a great pleasure. To start with, it was Marina Huzvarova, who might be very well known to the majority of our readers because of her frequent contributions to the contemporary political scene, especially when she had made her rather "shap-cut" observations. My second companion was Martina Fialkova, who had just become my new colleague.

Currently, every year at this time of early spring, a meeting of Czechs and Slovaks living in Sweden has always been taking place in a very pleasant environment of a holidaymaker’s place at Kyrkekvarna, located in Sweden’s middle part of the country. Many Swedes, Poles and everybody who was interested in such gatherings, came to this place at that time as well. Somehow, I eliminated from my mind the 6-hours waiting time in the parking lot of the Baltic Sea port at Sassnitz (Germany) for our pertaining ferry-boat trip to Sweden. Such a delay was caused by a derailment of a train’s wagon while entering the boat’s access rails. Just the same, it wasan impressive experience.

Well, at least sixty participants or more, as they were constantly coming and leaving, took part in this assembly in Sweden. In fact, a double of husbands and wives arrived over there even from distant Oslo, capital of Norway. We will be happy to print their very interesting experiences in one of the upcoming issues of this magazine. All participants of this meeting were in a good mood, and were also interested in both cultural and sportive programs. Some of those present person were starting their home trip on June 1st, enriched with new and happy events and in a great frame of mind. Our Czech group of three women could leave Sweden only on Tuesday, June 3 because of our belated long distance bus departure.This being so, we were then eager to accept with pleasure an invitation of couple, Ruzena and Guy Sanelsson. This nice people took us by car to the south of Sweden, i.e. Malmoe. In the course of such an interesting trip, they both showed us every now and then some attractive sights or monuments. In truth, they dedicated all their available time to us, and not only that ... In my mind, I secretly undertook a commitment that the former and the latter would be a subject of another report of mine.

In this issue, I also want to attract your attention particularly to another previously undertaken visit of ours, i.e. to the town Kosice in the Slovak Republic. While staying there, we were mostly spending our sojourn of three days with Czech countrymen, who are now living there. Did anyone of those people who held an office in government, parliament, &c. ever realize that those Czech citizens who had their residence at the time of "velvet divorce" (i.e. on January 1, 1993) between Czech and Slovak Republics all became foreigners overnight, thanks to the signatures of some big shots? Actually, nobody had talked to them at that time, and all of a sudden, they had to realize that they found themselves in a foreign country. No doubt, they had at all times been very active in their daily lives. In spite of it, all of them accepted us very cordially. Besides,they performed a charming singing concert for us. Furthermore, they accompanied us on the local festive outing to walk on the Legionnaires’ Alley. Moreover, they prepared for us an attractive program relating to the 2003 Traditional Spring Students’ Festivities, called "Majales". In addition to this, they also took care of many additional enjoyable entertainments.

Before long, I will be travelling by plane to the United States of America, i.e. to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the end of June in that town I will be participating in the 2003 North American Conference of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, Inc. ISSN, whose acronym is SVU ( i.e. in Czech "Spolecnost pro vedy a umeni").One of the main themes of this conference relates to the Immigration to North America from Czechlands and Slovakia. On that occasion I will give, among other presenters, my lecture on "The Czech and Slovak Presence in North America as Seen Through the Eyes of Those on the Other Side of the Ocean". Such a treatise of mine was favorably accepted. Of course, I fully realize that this subject might undoubtedly be a rather controversial matter, to say the least.

In any event, I would like to share here with you my experiences based on very warm and happy relations with various friends, many of whom are still speaking their native language, be it in Slovak Kosice, in Swedish Kyrkekvarna or in American Cedar Rapids, IA.It has always been a very pleasant happening for me.It may very well be that, after all, it would not be necessary to emphasize this in such a strict way. In reality, it rather depends on good intentions and openness of all those people, who want to have a small mutual chat with you and thus rewarm their hearts.