Krasivaya. It Means Beautiful, But With Strength.

New Orleans Is Unlike Any City In America. Its Cultural Diversity Is Woven Into The Food, The Music, The Architecture - Even The Local Superstitions. It's A Sensory Experience On All Levels And There's A Story Lurking Around Every Corner.

My Art Teacher Had Said That If You Breathed Deeply And Imagined Something, You Could Be There. You Could See It, Feel It. During Our Standoffs With The Nkvd, I Learned To Do That. I Clung To My Rusted Dreams During The Times Of Silence. It Was At Gunpoint That I Fell Into Every Hope And Allowed Myself To Wish From The Deepest Part Of My Heart. Komorov Thought He Was Torturing Us. But We Were Escaping Into A Stillness Within Ourselves. We Found Strength There.

Sometimes Kindness Can Be Delivered In A Clumsy Way.

My Breathing Slowed. I Shaded Her Thick Chestnut Hair Resting In A Smooth Curve Against Her Face, A Large Bruise Blazing Across Her Cheek. I Paused, Looking Over My Shoulder To Make Certain I Was Alone. I Drew Her Eye Makeup, Smudged By Tears. In Her Watery Eyes I Drew The Reflection Of The Commander, Standing In Front Of Her, His Fist Clenched. I Continued To Sketch, Exhaled, And Shook Out My Hands.

You Stand For What Is Right, Lina, Without The Expectation Of Gratitude Or Reward.