Smith Samantha – Journey to the Soviet Union - Смит Саманта - Путешествие в Советский Союз

Actually, the whole thing started when I asked my mother if there was going to be a war. There was always something on television about missiles and nuclear bombs. Once I watched a science show on public television and the scientists said that a nuclear war would wreck the Earth and destroy our atmosphere. Nobody could win a nuclear war. I remembered that I woke up one morning and wondered if this was going to be . the last day of the Earth.

 

I asked my mother who would start a war and why. She showed me a newsmagazine with a story about America and Russia, one that had a picture of the new Russian leader, Youri Andropov, on the cover. We read it together. It seemed that the people in both Russia and America were worried that the other country would start a nuclear war. It all seemed so dumb to me. I had learned about the awful things that had happened during World War II, so I thought that nobody would ever want to have another war. I told Mom that she should write to Mr. Andropov to find out who was causing all the trouble. She said, "Why don't you write to him?" So I did.

 

Boston – Toronto: Little, Brown and Co., 1985. – 128 p.

ISBN 0-316-80175-5

ISBN 0-316-80176-3 (pbk.)

 

When we got home the next day, there were even more reporters because a Soviet T'V crew came all the way from Washington to Manchester. Now the American TV crews wanted to film the Soviet crew talking to me. One photographer even came all the way from Paris.

 

There were hundreds of letters, which Dad was trying to answer. Dad had just finished teaching at the university, but Mom still had a regular workday at the Maine Department of Human Services. I think Dad gave up when the letter pile got to be over a thousand. Johnny Carson invited us to California to be on his TV show. My best friend, Lynn, got permission from her mother to go with me and Mom, which made the trip even more fun. Lynn and I really wanted to see what California would be like. It was a super trip and Johnny Carson was very nice even if he did kiss me. In California, everybody shakes your hand and then kisses you. Dad stayed home to answer the telephone, which rang about every two minutes all day long.

 

After we got back from California, I had to finish the fifth grade and start practice with my softball team. I played catcher or shortstop on the team and that spring we had a great season. When I tried real hard to hit a home run, I could never do it. Then, when I didn’t think much about it—b/am/—I could hit a homer with the bases loaded. It’s hard to relax when everybody is yelling like crazy.

 

We decided to go to Russia in July. We had a lot of planning to do, and Nonnie, my grandmother, and my cousin Tyler came up to help us get ready. They were going to stay at our house and take care of everything including the cats and my Chesapeake Bay retriever, Kim.

Смит Саманта - Путешествие в Советский Союз

Пер. с англ. Предисл. В. Терешковой.— М.: АПН, 1986.— 128 с., ил.

Все началось, собственно говоря, когда я спросила у мамы, будет ли война. По телевидению всегда бывает что-нибудь о ракетах и атомных бомбах. В тот день я смотрела научно-популярную программу, в которой ученые говорили о том, что ядерная война погубит Землю и что никто не сможет выиграть такую войну. Я вспомнила, как проснулась однажды утром и подумала: а что, если это последний день Жизни на Земле?

 

Я спросила маму, кто начнет войну и почему. Она показала мне журнал, в котором рассказывалось об отношениях между США и СССР. На обложке был портрет нового советского руководителя Ю. В. Андропова. Мы прочитали журнал вместе. Оказалось, что люди и в СССР и в США обеспокоены, не начнет ли другая сторона ядерную войну. Все это показалось мне просто бессмысленным. Я уже знала об ужасах, которые принесла вторая мировая война, и подумала, что никто никогда не захочет, чтобы случилось нечто подобное. Я попросила маму написать господину Андропову письмо. Ведь нужно же узнать, почему в мире так неспокойно. А м ам а сказала: «Почему бы тебе самой не написать ему?» Так я и сделала.