Life Goes On - 65. Where Have All the Boys Gone – Part I

Dear Reader – Over five years ago I decided to write my first fiction article. What I thought would be a short story just kept growing eventually into three books (150 chapters, over 700,000 words when completed).

The Boy’s Trilogy is winding down – there will be a few more chapters to tie up loose ends. Tomas (Tom) Kowalski and Peter Smith met by chance (or was it planned by Tom?) in the fall of 1955. Sixty-five years later at the age of 81 they are as smitten with each other as they were back in high school.

The character, Peter Smith, is loosely (very loosely) based on myself. Same height, weight and a nerd personality. While my grades were good I was nowhere near being salutatorian of my high school class. The location of Tom and Peter’s fictional suburb south of Cleveland, Pleasant Valley, is in the same area as my home town. Unlike Peter, I did not find Mr. Right in high school. The sexual escapades of Peter, Tom and friends were based 99% on fantasy. An accurate autobiography of myself would not be as interesting as the story of the ‘Boys’.

My travels in Russia and Poland were the inspiration for the second book in the Trilogy, Russia My Home. Since 1997 I have visited Russia ten times (with each visit averaging over 30 days). Twice I have visited Irkutsk in Siberia, once with a Russian friend and once traveling alone. This is the city where Vlad found his former teacher / mentor / lover. From 1992 until recently I lived in Poland most years for a month. There I was based in Wrocław (Vra-swaf). This city was Breslau, Germany prior to World War II, the city that Franz (Vlad’s teacher) escaped to after his interlude with the teenage son of a Nazi official.

You might wonder why a guy who is neither Russian nor Polish visits these countries. I was an accountant by profession – which many would say ‘so boring’. Early in my career I left my job with a large international accounting firm in their New York office and accepted a teaching position at a small two year college and eventually moved on to a large university. After the fall of the Berlin Wall I got involved in management training in Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and Republic of Georgia as well as Sicily. I have made good friends in Poland and Russia and visited frequently after the training programs ended.

I would gladly share more of my adventures with you. You may contact me at tallguyct@hotmail.com Also you may check me out on silverdaddies.com. My name there is also tallguyct – profile number 2255167.

Fact of interest – The boys names – Tom Kowalski and Peter Smith. In Polish kowalski means smith. Apparently both boys are descendants of hunky, hot blacksmiths, Tom’s in Poland and Peter’s in England.

Peter, Tom and later, Vlad, had friendships and adventures with numerous boys and men. In these final chapters the lives of many of these men will be updated.

Vladimir (Vlad) Melnikov & Aiden Hudson

Vlad (Vladek in Russia) was the main character of the second book, Russia My Home. He eventually moved to the USA and settled in Cleveland as a professor of Political Science. In 1966 Aiden Hudson, a graduate of the University of Georgia, moved to Cleveland to continue his education in a PhD program. He met Vlad and the two roommates became lovers and lifetime partners. At their meeting Vlad was 46 and Aiden 24. Over the next 40 years their age difference was not a hindrance as their unyielding love grew.

The last mention of Vlad and Aiden was 1993 when Carson and Kyle rented an apartment in their building. At that time, Vlad was 73 and had retired from his teaching position. The previous year he had visited Russia for the first time since his escape at the end of World War II. He had found his aged father still living in the same apartment of fifty years earlier and reconnected with his brother and his family.

For the next ten years Vlad returned to Russia every year for at least a month. Usually Aiden would accompany him for all or a portion of the visit. In June of 1995 Vlad visited St. Petersburg while in Russia. He picked up a copy of The St Petersburg Times, a twice weekly English language free newspaper, at a super market. There was a listing of meetings such as Rotary Club, Church services in English, lectures in English and a meeting of Wings (a gay organization) to discuss the book Cracks in the Iron Curtain. This intrigued Vlad as he had recently read this book about gay life in the Soviet Union. With some difficulty he found the location of the group. There were about ten men and the discussion leader Alexander (Sasha) Kukharsky. Following the interesting discussion Vlad, Sasha and some of the others visited a coffee house where gays felt comfortable. Vlad learned that Sasha was a gay rights activist in the Soviet Union, a somewhat perilous activity. Sasha invited Vlad to visit the gay beach on the Bay of Finland, about an hour north of the city by the electric (what Russians call commuter trains).

The following Sunday Vlad met Sasha at Finland Station (the same station where Vladimir Lenin staged a triumphant return to his home country in 1917 which was considered the beginning of the Russian Revolution). An hour later they got off the train and began a forty minute walk to the gay section of the sandy beach. Upon arrival they spread their blankets, got naked and enjoyed the scenery of more than a hundred men of all ages and bodies shapes. At the suggestion of Sasha, Vlad took a walk in the bushes that were in some areas taller than him. The various paths led to secluded areas. At a path that led to a dead end Vlad met an interesting looking man that appeared to be in his forties. The older Vlad, handsome and well built for his age, smiled at the man who smiled back. Touching each other they were soon in an embraced with hard dick pressed against hard dick. Within five minutes each had tasted the cream of the other and went on their way. No words had been spoken. About thirty minutes later the same man appeared and began talking to Sasha. The man had been a student of Sasha, a retired professor of physics. Sasha introduced Igor to Vlad. Igor sat on the blanket and their conversation turned into a lifetime friendship. A week later Aiden arrived to be with Vlad his final two weeks in Russia that visit. Igor invited Vlad and Aiden to his dacha for the weekend. Prior to the Russian Revolution Igor’s great grandparents had owned a retail business. As business owners they were considered capitalists. Their business and apartment in the city were confiscated by the Bolsheviks. They were sent to Siberia for two years of punishment. Upon returning they were forced to live in their dacha in the country north of Leningrad (St Petersburg). The dacha was actually a very large house. Over the years it had been divided among the descendants. Today Igor’s mother owns three rooms and other family members the remainder. Although today (year 2020) those three rooms lack access to running water or indoor plumbing Igor’s mother spends her summers there as she has most of her life. There are large gardens around the dacha planted with flowers, berries, fruit trees and vegetables. On future visits Vlad and Aiden would stay with Igor and his partner of over twenty-five years at their apartment in the city and frequently visit the dacha. While Vlad and Aiden were now in a relationship of thirty years they did occasionally enjoy brief encounters of the best kind with others. Thanks to Igor and his partner Aiden learned to love more than just the taste of delicious Russian food.

The following year at the suggestion Igor Vlad visited the Yamskie Banya (bathhouse). This banya claims to be the oldest bath house in St Petersburg. It had been frequented by Dostoevsky and Lenin. However, Vlad did not visit it for historic reasons. The layout was similar to other bathhouses Vlad had visited with an interesting addition. It had the usual room with lockers, large shower area and hot sauna type room where naked men sat on benches and some swatted each other with birch branches. The special addition was a door at the back of the hot room. It lead to a short hall. In the hall to the left was a door to a dark room about six feet by six feet (2m X 2m). In the pitch black room men would wait for others. There was groping, mutual jerking off and some on their knees sucking. At the end of the short hall leading from the hot room was a door that opened to a stairway that led to the attic of the four story building (the banya was on the third floor). Men naked or just wearing a towel stood on the dimly lit stairs and landings. Brief friendships were made and consummated on the stairs or two men would go hand in hand to the attic for a somewhat private encounter. On Vlad’s first visit while standing on the landing one flight up from the banya he was next to a tall, thin young man probably in his early twenties. Being 75 Vlad did not believe this man would have an interest in him. But, why was he standing so close? Vlad took a step to the right and their arms touched. The young man did not move away. Vlad took his hand. The young man did not resist. Vlad reached with his other hand and caressed his chest. The young man did not protest. Soon he was on his knees worshiping the small young dick. The young man reached down and pulled Vlad to a standing position. He then took Vlad’s hand and led him to the attic. The stranger let Vlad know what he wanted. The ever prepared mature man took a condom and packet of lube out of the small drawstring bag he was carrying. The younger leaned over and Vlad moved in. Following their coupling they returned to the shower room and scrubbed each other in a nonsexual way, the way other men, including straights, did. Following a brief conversation Vlad suggested they go to a nearby coffee house. He learned that the young man was a medical student in St Petersburg from Kazakhstan. When he would return to his home at the completion of his studies in six months he would marry the girl approved by his family. Vlad invited his new friend to visit him at the apartment of Igor. When Vlad learned his friend had studied ballet he invited him to attend performances at the Mariinsky (formerly Kirov) Theater which is considered the foremost ballet theater is Russia. The Bolshoi in Moscow is bigger but not necessarily better – the word bolshi in Russian means ‘big’ (At McDonalds if you want a large milk shake you ask for a bolshi one.) - (Unfortunately the door to the back hall is now locked – no more fun on the stairs and attic.)

(The above adventures at the gay beach and banya are based on escapades I or close friends had in St Petersburg.)

Within six months of Vlad’s return from Russia he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Two years later following numerous treatments he died in the arms of his Aiden.

Aiden continued to live in the apartment in the building he had inherited from Vlad. He continued to teach until his retirement ten years later. The fall following his retirement he visited Russia as he had done about every two years. He and Igor took a two week tour of Siberia. They flew to Irkutsk (one of the largest cities in Siberia with a population of about 500,000) and, visited Lake Baikal. This pristine lake in central Siberia is the largest lake in the world by volume holding 20% of the world’s fresh water being over a mile deep. They continued by train east to Ulan Ude near the Mongolian border and then flew to the north end of Baikal for another visit to this beautiful lake and the surrounding forests. They then traveled west by train to the historic city of Tobolsk, then a day long bus trip to Shadrinsk. In this small city they stayed with the mother of Igor’s partner. Then an all-day bus to Chelyabinsk and an overnight train to Samara. There they visited a friend of Igor. They were then offered a ride by automobile to Moscow (16 hours, 1,060 km, 660 miles). Note – This is a summary of the trip I took with my St Petersburg friend in 2007. During this trip we stayed in private homes about half the time. We had enjoyable encounters with men Igor had met through silverdaddies and a similar Russian site. If you want the full summary of that adventure or if you want to contact Igor send me a message at tallguyct@hotmail.com or my account at silverdaddies.com profile number 2255167.

During the summer Joshua Winkler (grandson of Peter Smith / son of PT Smith and David Winkler) stayed with Aiden during a three month internship at Cleveland Botanical Garden when he was a student of agriculture at Ohio State University. Living with gay Aiden was not problematic for straight Joshua as both his dads and his grandfather were gay.

Today, Year 2020, Aiden continues to live in the same apartment. At age 77 he keeps himself young my surrounding himself with younger men. He attends meetings of the gay organization at the nearby university and usually rents one or two rooms in his apartment to gay students. At Thanksgiving he invites gay students who are unable to return home or do not want to return home for the holiday for a traditional dinner. When Peter and Tom visit Cleveland they stay with Aiden. If students are also staying there at the time they share Aiden’s king size bed in the master bedroom. He is planning to visit his friends in Russia in June 2020