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| Friday, February 22, 2002 Kostelic first woman to win four medals in Games Associated Press PARK CITY, Utah -- Janica Kostelic won her record fourth Alpine medal of the Salt Lake City Games in Friday's giant slalom, joining Jean-Claude Killy and Toni Sailer as the only skiers with three golds at one Olympics. The 20-year-old Croat, who already had gold medals in the slalom and the combined event and a silver in the super giant slalom, was not considered among the favorites in the giant slalom. But she blew away the rest of the field by an amazing 1.32 seconds in a race often decided by hundredths of seconds. Kostelic finished the two runs in 2 minutes, 30.01 seconds. Sweden's Anja Paerson won silver in 2:31.33, adding to the bronze she won in Wednesday's slalom. World champion Sonja Nef of Switzerland was third. Kostelic is the only Croatian to win a Winter Olympics medal, but that distinction may not last long. Her older brother, Ivica, is a favorite -- along with Bode Miller -- in the men's slalom on Saturday. The Kostelic siblings are coached by their father, Ante, and the entire family made huge sacrifices for skiing. Since their embattled homeland has only two small ski resorts, they traveled around Europe to compete in junior races -- often sleeping in tents or in the car, living on salami and pickle sandwiches. In the Croatian capital of Zagreb, screams of joy came out from downtown apartments and shots were fired in the air as Kostelic won. "It's unbelievable! She's amazing, I'm so proud of her," said Zagreb resident Nevena Morandic, wiping away tears of joy. "She's the best thing our country has." Kostelic, who missed the first half of the World Cup season while recovering from three offseason operations on her left knee, ranks only 30th in the giant slalom on the World Cup circuit this season. She has never placed higher than fourth in a World Cup giant slalom. After finishing, Kostelic kissed a small Croatian flag and then got a high-five and a big hug from Paerson. The sharply sloping course and tight turns forced the skiers to fling their bodies from side to side as they raced down the course on a balmy day with temperatures in the mid-40s. Kostelic became the only skier to win four Alpine medals at an Olympics. Five men and five women, including Kostelic, have won three Alpine medals at an Olympics. There were only three Alpine events until 1988, when the Super G debuted and the combined event was reintroduced after a 40-year hiatus. Kostelic won a medal in every event in which she competed. She did not participate in the downhill. The top U.S. skier in Friday's race was Kristina Koznick, who finished 17th. The U.S. women were shut out of Alpine medals here for the first time since the 1988 Calgary Games. The only top-10 finish in Alpine by a U.S. woman was Lindsey Kildow's sixth place in the combined event. (E) Janica wins her 4th medal! Sports Marko Puljic February 22, 2002 Y By Alan Baldwin PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) - Croatia's Janica Kostelic hurtled to giant slalom gold to become the first Alpine skier to win four Olympic medals at a single Games. The 20-year-old was also the first woman to win three Alpine golds at one Games and only the third skier to achieve the feat after France's Jean-Claude Killy in 1968 and Austrian Toni Sailer in 1956. Kostelic won by a breathtaking margin, a hefty 1.32 seconds ahead of Sweden's Anja Paerson and 1.66 clear of Swiss bronze medallist Sonja Nef. Yet Kostelic had seemed a long shot before Friday's start, never before having finished on the podium in giant slalom. She had won the combined and slalom golds and taken a silver in super-G but even she thought the giant slalom likely to be one race too far. Instead, her opening run from a 19th start position blasted away any doubts and her second was every bit as crushing on a piste set by Paerson's father Anders. Her final time was two minutes 30.01 seconds. "I don't know what's going on. I'm totally surprised," Kostelic said after the first run. There was disappointment for Austrian Alexandra Meissnitzer, a former world champion and silver medallist from Nagano four years ago, who failed to match the pace and fell back from second to fourth. Spain's Maria Jose Rienda Contreras had been third, hoping to become her country's first Alpine medallist since Blanca Fernandez-Ochoa in 1992, but she faded to sixth. SWEDISH HOPES Kostelic's achievement came with a curious qualifier, in that she was the first Alpine skier to win four Olympic medals at a Games rather than four medals. Liechtenstein's Hanni Wenzel, in 1980, and Germany's Rosi Mittermaier, in 1976, also took four medals. But the combined, adding the downhill times to the slalom, did not count as a full Olympic event in those days and the medal awarded was an International Ski Federation (FIS) world championship one. Kostelic was fastest by a hefty 0.49 after the first run and she was again fastest in the second leg with a lightning time of 1:14.01. Paerson was second quickest in 1:14.46 to move up from fourth place and claim her second medal of the Games after securing a bronze in the slalom. Watched by the Swedish royal family, she had wanted her country's first gold of the Olympics but Kostelic, despite lingering pain after repeated surgery on her knee last year, was just too strong. Kostelic's best in giant slalom also came in Park City in 1999 when she finished fourth. Nef, who crashed out of Wednesday's slalom and almost fell in the first leg, saved Swiss pride with the team's first Alpine medal of the Games. Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. 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| Janici i trece zlato !!! JANICA Kostelic osvojila je zlatnu medalju u veleslalomu i time postala najuspješnijom skijašicom u povijesti Olimpijskih igara. Tri zlatne i jedna srebrna medalja - NEVJEROJATNO!!! Nakon zlata u alpskoj kombinaciji i slalomu, te srebra u superveleslalomu, 20-godišnja Zagrepcanka deklasirala je svjetsku klasu i u veleslalomu sa ukupnim vremenom 2:30.01 minuta. U disciplini u kojoj nikad nije bila medu prve tri, Janica je srebrnu Švedanku Anja Paerson ostavila za 1.32 sekundi, a svjetsku prvakinju i najvecu favoritkinju broncanu Švicarku Sonju Nef cak 1.66 sekundi. Ovo je zaista nestvarno, što reci nakon ovakvog nastupa Janice Kostelic na Olimpijskim igrama u Salt Lake Cityu. Pokazala je da je najbolja, najsvestranija i najpripremljenija skijašica svijeta i ispisala olimpijsku povijest. "Ne znam što se dogada. I ja sam iznenadena. Ne osjecam se kao najbolja skijašica svijeta, pa ja sam još uvijek djevojcica", bila je prva izjava djevojke ispod Sljemena koja je na tako strašan nacin "pokorila" skijaški svijet. Otkad je Zimskih igara samo su dvojica skijaških velikana Austrijanac Tony Sailer (1956) i Francuz Jean Claude Killy (1968) osvojili tri zlata - sada se njima pridružila i Janica Kostelic. Nakon prve vožnje imala je prednost od 49 stotinki ispred drugoplasirane Austrijanke Meissnitzer, te 73 stotinke u odnosu na treceplasiranu Španjolku Contreras i vec tada se naziralo još jedno hrvatsko slavlje. Slicno kao i superveleslalomu, Janica nikad prije u Svjetskom kupu nije bila na postolju u veleslalomu - cetvrta je bila u Park Cityu (1998) i Serre Chevalieru (2000). U drugoj vožnji je ispalo još bolje, Janica je sa 1:14.01 imala najbolje vrijeme i drugog "laufa", a 45 stotinki sekundi iza nje bila je Paerson. Sa tri operacije koljena u zadnjih sedam mjeseci, što je potpuno poremetilo ritam treninga ni priprema, od Janice se objektivno ocekivala samo jedna medalja, povijesna prva "zimska" za Hrvatsku. A iz Salt Lake Citya se vraca sa cetiri medalje, od cega tri najsjajnije... Kakav ce to biti docek u Zagrebu u ponedjeljak. Veliki docek za Olimpijsku pobjednicu organizirat ce se na Trgu Bana Jelacica u Zagrebu u Zagrebu, u ponedjeljak 25. veljace u 11 sati. Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know! |
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| http://www.macon.com/mld/telegraph/2698330.htm Posted on Tue, Feb. 19, 2002 THE BRACIC FILE A long and winding road By Joseph Person Telegraph Staff Writer MILLEDGEVILLE - Scanning the men's basketball roster for Georgia College & State University is like unfolding a Georgia road map. The hometowns are all within a half-day's drive from Milledgeville - Decatur, Austell, Tifton, Lithonia. Even the out-of-state players can get to campus on a tank, maybe two of gas, filling up in St. Petersburg and Pensacola and heading north. And then there's Ivan Bracic, who needs a passport and a good deal on an airline ticket if he wants to go home for summer break. GC&SU coach Terry Sellers has not had to cut too wide a recruiting path to put the Bobcats on the Division II map. Generally, Sellers lures players from Georgia or his native Alabama, although one of the school's most decorated players was Julius Joseph, a starting forward from 1997-2000 who came to Milledgeville by way of London, England. Still, the question begs asking: What were the chain of events that led Bracic from his native Croatia to this sleepy college town? "It's a really long story," Bracic said. Hey, this is Milledgeville: No one's in too big a hurry. Sheltered by youth Bracic (pronounced BRA-chick) grew up outside of Split, a Croatian port city on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea opposite Italy. He began studying English in fourth grade, which is about the time the air sirens started sounding in his hometown. By sheer luck of the geographic draw, Split escaped unscathed from Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milosevic's attack on Croatia in the early 1990s. But whenever there was fighting up the road in Knin, about 50 miles north of Split, the sirens would go off, and Bracic's elementary school teacher would round up the students and take them to a nearby shelter. "I was too young. I didn't understand what was going on," Bracic said while relaxing at GC&SU's Centennial Center. "My parents were more concerned than I was. But now that I see what was going on, it's frightening. I was lucky I lived in Split and there was not much bombing." When Knin was evacuated, Bracic's two uncles and grandmother came to live with his family. They ended up staying four years and built a three-story house next to Bracic's. He had another, more distant relative who lost his leg in a bombing and was tortured in a Serb prison camp. If Bracic was confused by all the violence, the images on Serb TV didn't help. "They showed Americans and U.N. as terrorists," he recalled. When the fighting subsided in '95, Bracic's relatives returned to Knin and he began his basketball career. Shooting up to his current 6-9 height, Bracic found himself still looking up to some of his teammates. "I was basically a two (shooting) guard because we had 7-footers, we had 6-11 guys," he said. Bracic played for a club team called A.D. Plastik, a local auto parts manufacturer. A couple of his teammates went on to play for Notre Dame and Purdue, while another - Bruno Sundov - is a reserve for the Indiana Pacers. Bracic was good enough to join the professional circuit in Croatia, but smart enough not to. "When I was 18, 19, that's about the time in Croatia you either try to go pro or go league basketball, go to college and start working," he said. "I was always a good student. That's why I didn't want to quit college." After a year at the University of Split, one or two American coaches contacted Bracic. A mutual friend put him in touch with Rhode Island assistant Jim Harrick Jr., who convinced Bracic to sign with the Rams. By the time Bracic was stateside, however, Harrick Jr. had followed his father to Georgia, and Bracic was introducing himself to a new coaching staff that had never heard of him. He spent one unhappy season playing under the since-departed Jerry DeGregorio, averaging only 2.6 points in 23 games. His only ally was assistant coach Jeff Jones, the former Virginia head coach who is now at American University. "I was fortunate to have him on the team because no one else was talking to me," Bracic recalled. "It was just a bad situation. É It was a terrible program. The head coach had his own mindset." Home away from home Halfway through his only season at Rhode Island, Bracic knew he wanted to transfer. He just wasn't sure where. Dalibor Raso, a friend from Croatia, got a hold of Bracic and told him to come visit GC&SU, where Raso was an undergrad at the time. "I had a great time," he said. "It's different when you have someone from your home country that you can talk to in your own language." Bracic also enjoyed meeting the Bobcat players, who were more approachable than his URI teammates had been. And while Bracic had not posted good numbers on the court at Rhode Island, his classroom stats were a different story. "I was very impressed with him," Sellers said. "He had already demonstrated a good academic record. We were excited about that 3.8 (GPA) he brought with him." The truth is, though, that Bracic didn't really fit the blueprint for Sellers' running, pressing style of play. Sellers generally likes big men who can run the floor and finish inside, not ones who want to stand at the 3-point line and hoist 20-footers. But Bracic seemed to find his niche last season, playing in all 25 games, averaging 8.6 points and leading the Bobcats in overall field goal percentage (56.1) and 3-point percentage (54.3). Bracic missed the first two games this season after getting his knee cleaned out and has yet to find his rhythm. His shooting numbers are down, and he's averaging only 6.3 points a game - seventh on the team. Still, the next time Sellers walks into the gym and sees Bracic sulking will be the first time. "He hasn't been able to do quite as well because of (Sellers' style) but he's given it all and tried to fit in. He doesn't complain. He doesn't say we need to slow down," Sellers said. "We've tried to do some things to take advantage of his abilities. He's always had a positive attitude. I wish all our guys had the same attitude as Ivan has." Bracic rooms with another Croatian student, but has also been making friends with the locals. While eating 25-cent chicken wings at The Brick one night last year, Bracic met Lisa and Glenn Abbey, a Milledgeville couple that had "adopted" GC&SU players in the past. A friendship was formed. Bracic goes over to the Abbeys' house for dinners, serves as an older-brother figure to their 11-year-old daughter, Olivia, and is trying to teach everyone his language before they visit Croatia this summer. "We're just very fond of him," Lisa Abbey said. "He's incredibly humble. When you think of your average college student, you think of those that like to party on Thursday nights and (take the attitude), 'If I can just make it.' But he has a certain perseverance that you don't find in the average college student." Sellers also noticed that humility when the team was over to his house for Christmas last year. A couple of the players asked Bracic what some of his favorite Christmas gifts had been as a child. He said his family didn't have the money to exchange presents. "He's just a real humble kid," Sellers said. "It's just refreshing. Most of our kids and some of the other kids that we have that didn't have a lot were amazed that they didn't celebrate Christmas in the traditional, gift-giving way." Bracic misses his parents and his 21-year-old sister, a law student in Croatia. He's only been home two or three times since coming to the U.S. in 1999, and hopes his family can visit soon. "I wish I could bring them here for my graduation or my senior day, but I don't think that's going to be possible," said Bracic, citing financial constraints. "I know how tough it is for them to come over here." Bracic has maintained his high academic standing and will graduate on time this spring. He's talking about approaching Sellers about a graduate assistantship, going back home to find a job or giving the European pro leagues a whirl. Sellers isn't worried about Bracic finding his path. "He's got his head on straight. He's going to be successful," he said. After all, this is someone who left home and traveled halfway around the world to find basketball glory, but discovered something else entirely - peace in a faraway land. "I'm really nostalgic (for Croatia) sometimes," Bracic conceded, "but there are so much more opportunities here." Including opportunities for new friendships. "It's a relationship that, though there are cultural barriers, you can look at a person and see the good," added Abbey. "And Ivan possesses all of that." Contact Person at joeperson@aol.com Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know! |
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| Put Istina Zivot Praise be Jesus! Here are few of my thoughts that you may find inspirational and I will praise God if they have served the purpose of God. Be grateful for everything and praise God for all your pain and suffering. God will then reveal his will to you. Just think of the following thoughts. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift. When the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us. The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've every had. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives. Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love you back! Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart but if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours. It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone. Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile. There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real! Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do. May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy. Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched, and those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives. Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss and ends with a tear. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past, you can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying. You may have sent me names and requests for prayer. If you did I placed them on God's altar. I will pray for you daily. I will not pray so that God will give you an answer you desire. I will pray that God will do in your life His holy will. Sometimes what we selflishly ask for God do do for us may not be His plan for us at all. God will not answer any prayer if the answer of that prayer would not give Him glory. So as I sign off may I say again: "God loves you se dearly. When you su suffer you are so close to him. In fire is gold being perfected. Some days we will have the answer to our troubles, scickness, pain, loneliness, depression, rejection, hate, terorism, etc...etc.... Then and only then when we will see the perfect will of the Father will we be able to sing...Amezing Grace.....I once was blind...but now I see. Have a pleasent day. You are in my prayers. Pray for me so that I may never spoil the work of God. If I say to you: "I love you!" then just think how much your loving God loves you despite all the problems that you have. Just think: "would you be what you are if you have not suffered? Dont let your suffering go in vain. Offer it to God for the salvation of someone in your own family or someone who is in need of salvation. Jesus did that for us sinners on the cross. We can do it for those arround us. No greater love a man has then he who give his life for his neighbor... Peace be with you. Father Sudac Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. |
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| http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org/progresp/volume6/v6n05_body.html http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org/progresp/volume6/v6n05_body.html#global NEED TO FATHOM THE DEPTHS If you have listened and followed the comments of Bosnian Croat leaders in recent months, you would not have come to such an uninformed conclusion that Bosnian Croat "policies may indicate movement toward integration with Croatia...." This, coupled with your citation of multiple and dubious Yugo sources, makes me doubt seriously that you fathom the depth of how the Serbs almost succeeded in carving out a Greater Serbia. [See "New Balkan Policy Needed," April 2001, "Keys to Stability in the Balkans," November 1999] Your proposal for amnesty to Milosevic in exchange for a financial bailout of Yugo is both morally and ethically repugnant. This points out the complete lack of accountability you attribute to the Serbian people for the multiple wars they began. Bury it under the rug and it will go away. Those weren't thousands of mannequins throwing roses at Serb tank columns on the way to Vukovar in November 1991. Until the Serbian people can come to grips with the facts, nothing will change. Throwing money at them and letting off the criminals in their government, both past and current, does nothing but justify their means. The following quote is an accurate description of how the Serbs view their current situation: "The main thing we are interested in," said Dejan Milojevic, a town official in Aleksinac, south of Belgrade, "is how to cash in on all the misery we've been through. We are willing to admit guilt in Kosovo if that will bring in money." [New York Times, Feb. 11, 2002 "The Trial of Milosevic Will Peel Layers of Balkan Guilt, Too."] Kostunica and company say one thing to sound good to the West and do something completely different for domestic political consumption. The current political and cultural situation for Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BH) is as bad as it was, or even worse, than during the war. True, there is no more military activity. However, there has been practically no Croat repatriation. There were about 800,000 Croats in Bosnia before the war, most of which lived outside of Herzegovina. Now, barely 300,000 are left. With their democratically elected representatives summarily dismissed, their cultural rights repressed, and grievances ignored both by the Sarajevo government and the Office of the High Representative, what other choices are there but to try to do things on their own? Unlike the Republika Srpska, they are the first to tell you that they cannot survive on their own. They are the first to tell you that they want to be a constitutive nation, co-equal with the other two groups, just like the BH Constitutional Court ruled in the not too distant past. Talk is cheap. Unless the rights of the largest minority in BH, the Croats, are adequately addressed with the representatives who are supported by the majority of the BH Croats, not some lackeys appointed by the High Rep, there will be no resolution to the political morass that is BH. Your recommendation that any status changes in BH (or Yugo) must be achieved through the consent of all parties within the state sounds like a prescription for disaster. This proposal is much like the way the beginnings of the war in Slovenia, Croatia, and BH was handled by the likes of Carrington, Owen, and the rest of the spineless mealy mouths who talked about peace but were satisfied with the status quo as long as it didn't spill out of ex-Yugoslavia proper. The clamoring for minority rights must include those rights of Croats in BH, the largest minority in BH. Without seriously addressing those rights, BH is doomed to either permanent protectorate status or failure. - Tom Kuzmanovic <tkuzmanovic@hinshawlaw.com> (Editor's Note: For the most recent FPIF analysis of Bosnia-Herzegovina, see Robert Belloni, "Bosnia-Herzegovina Conflict Profile," at http://www.selfdetermine.org/conflicts/bosnia.html .) Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know! |
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| ... koji su stvarali najveci imperij u povijesti covjecanstva (kojega je alkoholik Churchill srusio sa svojom malom grupom pristasa). Men of ability and enthusiasm who find no suitable way to serve their country under the current political system; able youth recruited from the schools and universities; men of wealth with no aim in life; younger sons with high thoughts and great aspirations but without opportunity; rich men whose careers are blighted by some great disappointment. All must be men of ability and character. ... Rhodes envisages a group of the ablest and the best, bound together by common unselfish ideals of service to what seems to him the greatest cause of the world. There is no mention of material rewards. This is to be a kind of religious brotherhood like the Jesuits, "a church for the extension of the British Empire." ... take Constitution of the Jesuits if obtainable and insert 'English Empire' for 'Roman Catholic Religion'. (1875.) ---- Personally I have no political interest worth mentioning, except the maintenance of the Imperial connection, and I look upon the future with alarm. ... I can see no remedy or protection, under the present circumstances, except a powerful body of men---and it would have to be very powerful---determined at all times and under all circumstances to vote and work, regardless of every other circumstance, against the man or party who played fast and loose with the cause of National Unity. You can be sure that for my own part I shall always do that. ... (1904.) -------- Koliko mnogo vise od toga trebaju oni koji se zalazu za golu egzistenciju svoje nacionalne drzave! Rudolf A. Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know! |
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| --------------------------------- >Olympic coverage is now excellent for Janica Kostelic. She is making history >in Alpine skiing. SutrA magazine - New York > >Not so long ago, it was 1976. editorial in the New York Times observed about >Croatian people:" They don't do things often, but when they do, they do it >spectacular way." This is in our character. Just remember Vukovar in >fighting. Remember soccer 1998 and the game against Germany. What about >Goran Ivanisevic in Wimbledon and Janica now? - editorial was right. This is only partly true and typical of the media hype that is often misleading, so caution and wisdom are needed. True, from western media point of view, Croats have done these spectacuar achievements, yet we all know many other Croats that they do not care about, as Croatia is VERY small country by NYC standards ... And let me 'profit' to add: do not forget numerous Croats who are not visible and who do outstanding work worldwide; I will name just a few, yet the list is very looong (and ignored by our ignorant policants; most of them cannot be even called politicians): Father Zlatko Sudac, New York Dr. Marko Turina, Zurich Dr. Nenad Ban (ETH), Zurich Mme Prof. Katarina Livljanic, Sorbonne, Paris Dr. Dubravko Babic, Hewlett Packard, Palo Alto Dr. Neven Matasovic, Huntington Beach Dr. Igor Zoric, Chalmers, Sweden Dr. Ivica Kopriva, Washington D.C. ... I have deliberately chosen these as most of you have never heard about the last six people (the list is, I remind you, MUCH LONGER) and yet they are top leaders, respectively in fields of bio-science, medieval music, quantum optoelectronics, geo-civil engineering, surface science, optically guided misile systems ... ... and I repeat - NY Times is not likely to ever write about the last five (and there are many more) - yet they are TOP in their field. So, the problem is not how HIGH is our upper national ''limit'' or how deep are our talents, but rather HOW to unite all that marvellous know-how and the national talents and wisdom ... and that's where present politicians and ''leaders'' are a total disaster, as Croatian American Times wrote: they even missed completely the Davos economic forum in New York ... If you know of any additional Croats competent in their own field or our people that do any outstanding work in any area, please let me know at your convinience, Thanks in advance, Davor Pavuna Montreux, Switzerland & Rovinj, Croatia http://ipawww.epfl.ch/lpme/LPMESubPages/Pavuna/pav.htm P.S. I am fully aware that there are also many Croats who do many marvellous deeds that will never be of any interest to any 'elite' or to any media, yet that are still in human terms and in Divine Eye simply marvellous and a glorious part of the Grand Divine Plan ... to which you -the readers- belong too ! Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know! |
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| Story from the Feb. 5, 2002 edition of New York Newsday about Lt. Anthony Jovic, a New York City firefighter and Croatian American who died in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Frank Mustac From: http://www.newsday.com/ny-lijovi0205.story A Kidder Known for His Sharp Mind By Elizabeth Moore Staff Writer February 5, 2002 In those first weeks after Lt. Anthony Jovic disappeared with other members of Engine Co. 279 at the World Trade Center, his wife, Cynthia, concentrated on being strong for his two boys, Matthew, 10, and Peter, 9. So she had a little psychological trick she played on herself to keep going. "I'd say, ‘He's working today. He's going to come home tonight,'” she recalled. "That night it would be, ‘OK, he's working tonight, he's going to come home tomorrow.' Every day I'd tell myself the same thing.” It was because Cynthia Jovic can't imagine morning coffee without her husband of 16 years, a big kidder and hugger-and-kisser who never got through a day without several times telling her and the boys he loved them. The son of a Croatian longshoreman who grew up in Hell's Kitchen, Jovic, 39, impressed all his friends as being smart enough to win the big one on "Jeopardy!” The couple met in Manhattan, when he was working at a butcher shop on Ninth Avenue and she, also a Croatian immigrant and longshoreman's daughter, was working at a deli nearby. When a cousin suggested they all go to an Irish pub in New Hyde Park, Jovic drove to pick her up in Manhattan in the most formal manner, allowing plenty of time to chat first with her mother and father at the house. For her old-fashioned European parents, his wife said, "it was love at first sight.” For the couple, too. They married 2 1/2 years later. Jovic joined the city fire department 12 years ago, about the time the family moved from Elmhurst to Massapequa Park. He was aiming high, and once he made lieutenant was already spending every free day he could find to prepare for the captain's exam, which he would have taken in October. When not working or studying, it was miniature golf, bowling, and lots of swimming with the family in the backyard pool. They were so close, she could finish his sentences for him. "We were the happiest when we were together,” she said. Cynthia Jovic was watching CNN on Sept. 11; she knew it was bad, because her husband was working with the company in Red Hook, Brooklyn, that day. "When that tower came down, his soul went right through me. I knew it then, he just went through me and I knew he was gone,” she said. His burned and mangled shield turned up in the south tower in November, shortly before a memorial service was held, but no remains have been identified. The memory of that moment has become a source of warmth and comfort lately, now that it's no longer possible for her to pretend her husband is coming home tonight, or tomorrow morning, or the next day. Now, Cynthia Jovic knows, he's with her and the kids all the time. "He always told me, ‘Every time they take an ID picture, I try to look nice, because you never know when they might be using it for a memorial.' I'll be honest with you, I think he looks wonderful in the picture that they have of him.” Copyright © 2002, Newsday, Inc. http://www.newsday.com/ny-lijovi0205.story Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know! |
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| As soon as Janica Kostelic won her first gold medal, I seized my opportunity and took on the bragging rights. In my company in New York City, to bring in champagne is strictly prohibited, while delicious cakes are always welcome. I set up the Croatian camp in my private office by bringing in a large apple strudel for my coworkers. After I heard over the Internet Janica speaking Croatian language with a "kajkavski" dialect, I brought to my office a red tablecloth from Zagorje that was designed with little hearts. For Janica's second medal, I brought in 2 dozen krispy kreme donuts. For Janica's third medal it was a cheesecake and I played upon request a CD from Zagorje. It was requested twice! All along I made myself available to any and all questions pertaining to Janica Kostelic and Croatia. After a coworker asked me if Croatia used to be part of Russia, I brought in a map of Croatia and some books on tourism and photography. For Janica's fourth medal I brought in chocolate mousse. The whole week I worked hard by coming to the office early, leaving late and working through my lunch hour to complete all business projects. Still, by Friday 5 p.m. our top boss called me to her office. "First, congratulations on Janica Kostelic tremendous accomplishments! Second, from now on we will keep you much busier with several upcoming projects just for you." Thanks, Janica! Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know! |
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