Oh, Vlad.

Have you ever met Leo Tolstoy’s great-great grandson? I have! He was at the Muncie Public Library this weekend. His name is Vladimir Tolstoy. He is the director of Yasnaya Poliana, the Tolstoy Museum and Estate, which is a two-hour train ride south of Moscow. He spoke English but he had an interpreter and a scholarly sidekick named Galina who both contributed to the program. I didn’t know much about Tolstoy, so it was very informative.

Here are some fun facts that I learned:
8 of the 13 Tolstoy children survived into adulthood, and their descendents live all over the world. There are over 100 Tolstoy descendents in Sweden alone. There are also many in Brazil, North America, Italy, and, of course, Russia. Vladimir’s ancestors relocated to the US, then to Serbia, before he returned to the family home, where his youngest children were born.

Emerson, Thoreau, and many other American writers influenced Tolstoy. He was a great admirer of American literature and America in general.

By the end of his life, Tolstoy was such a big deal that what we would now call paparazzi were camped out at his home non-stop. There is a video of elderly Tolstoy walking from the house to the outhouse and back. Even his friends would write down every word he said for posterity. When Tolstoy complained about this, one friend (a doctor) actually learned to write with a tiny pencil concealed in his pocket. He would even note when Tolstoy coughed or sneezed. So all the people I know who are always wishing writers got more attention should maybe reconsider.

He signed books. I didn’t really have anything mind-blowing to say to him, so I didn’t say anything. I always think people who ramble random stuff in that situation are dumb, so I just keep my mouth shut. But he was nice despite my close-lippedness, and invited me to visit Yasnaya Poliana. I said “I probably will!” as I walked away. What? Probably I won’t. It’s not in the immediate vacay plans, anyway.

Here is some more intrepid camera phone journalism:

Vlad & Co.


Vlad signing books.


Vlad’s signature on my book.

Politics!

Do you read this in order to know what's going on in my life? Two weeks ago was Spring Break, which was not a break. Then I got back and spent last week in bed with tonsilitis, much like a toddler. So life has been great! Today Chelsea Clinton came to campus with Sean Astin, star of Rudy and Lord of the Rings. I guess he is there to draw out the nerds and sports fans? Anyway, I was walking back from a meeting and I stopped. For a while a could not see a thing and I took this picture:














It's all very exciting because Indiana has not been relevant in a presidential primary since 1968. Then she came over to hear a question from someone on my side of the stage so I got to actually see her and not just hear a disembodied voice.














Then I got smart and walked up the stairs even more and was able to take this picture:














This was a major nostalgia event for me because Chelsea is my age and I remember watching her Dad's inauguration at school and wondering what it would be like to be her. It's cool to be first daughter, but people were very mean about her hair, teeth, etc. I also remember reading a news article where Stanford students described her reading the news in a campus computer lab when the whole Lewinsky thing broke, and being thankful that I wasn't her. But all that aside, she's had an interesting life. Someone asked a question about Zimbabwe and she said "My mother and I visited Zimbabwe over ten years ago..." Not many of us can say that, can we? She spoke very well about her mother's plans and policies.

A note: I know that Sean Astin did not play Frodo, but I don't know who he did play, which is why I've labeled him "Frodo."