They Knew How to Have a Good Time
The BBC has a charming story on the revival of dancing and other forms of normal enjoyment in Albania. The mayor of Tirana, the capital city, tells a moving story of discovering an item forbidden under Communist rule: a Saxophone.
“Then we heard of a friend who had a saxophone. It was hidden at the bottom of an old trunk belonging to his grandmother,” he said.
“It was like a top secret operation. One of us stood guard outside while the rest went up to the apartment. The trunk was opened and there was a smell of camphor and mothballs.”
“A crinkly wedding dress was taken out. We inched forward and peered down and there, shining and so elegant, was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
“We didn’t touch the saxophone, we certainly didn’t attempt to play it. But that moment will be etched on my mind forever.”
I remember years ago dancing in the very first private restaurant in Tirana, a house with some tables and a boom box that had been smuggled in from Italy. Decadent rock music and dancing had been strictly forbidden under the rule of Enver Hoxha. The professor who was my hostess told me as the music was cranked up and we started to dance, “Oh, if only Comrade Hoxha could see us now!”
Let us hope that soon, very soon, people in Pyongyang will be saying similar things.
This post reminds me that my country has unrepentant admirers of Mr. Hoxha’s regime sitting in the national Parliament.
*sigh*