Y'know, some people say Ivanova's humor is weird, off-base...and I've
always felt it was *right* for her, but putting it into words to explain it
was difficult.

Tonight, the metaphor becomes clearer. Today they released new papers
from the Kennedy assassination. Leaving aside for just a moment the
terribleness of the event...one of the papers released was a letter from
Marina Oswald to some friends. She wrote, of Oswald's growing discontent, in
her broken english, "Lee no like USA. Lee no like Soviet Union. Lee like
moon."

And I just fell off the couch laughing. It's the *perfect* example of
Russian humor, and Ivanova's humor...a shrug, a note of absolute
hopelessness...followed by a punchline.

jms