I have two birthdays. The first is the usual kind, being expelled, screamin' and hollerin', from a very comfortable and a warm place. We've all had those even if we don't really remember. The record shows that mine took place on June 1st 1951 in Prague, in a little central European country then called Czechoslovakia.

The second birthday was a more understated event that took place exactly 18 years and 3 days later and I remember it clearly. I left the vile womb of Communist banality and flew to friendly, hip, cosmopolitan London, England, in search of, well, something better, more exciting and fulfilling. Breaking all ties and with only a slim chance of ever going back, I had a rare opportunity to start with a blank slate—a new person.

A four decade long journey through four different countries followed, and along with modest successes, there were assorted screw-ups, cultural gaffes, lapses of reason, embarassing faux pas and other oddball happenings. Some were committed by me, some by those I met along the way. Except for a change of most names and a date or two, these stories are all true.

They are the Bouncing Czech Tales.

Karel Kriz
Mission Viejo, California


JUST ADDED!
Scottish Aristocracy:
Equestrian High Jinks and
Dining with History
Theatrical Anarchy in Scotland
or Bouncing from the Sublime to the Ridiculous
The Infernal Jeep
and Other Motoring Mishaps
How to Incite a Riot in Santa Barbara: a Beginners Guide
Hogmanay, Usquebaugh and Fitba Introducing Czech Cuisine to Hollywood
Up and Down in Sverige
or Swedish Party Animals
(in two riveting parts)
Kommunism: Living in the Shadow of Hammer and Sickle
(in Three Parts)
"Zhentelmen, tzees vill nev-err flai"
and Other Weird Potpourri
Prague Ruzyne Airport Safety Protocol
and
Dancing with the Stars
Fencing with a Serving Spoon and Fork
or
Das Hammer und Das Bierkeller
The First Year in London, England
or
From Rags to Riches And Back Again
(in Four Parts)
Crossing the Iron Curtain and Other Nightmares The Odors of Communism
Crazy Adventures of the Aquatic Kind Luncheon with the Black Watch
or
Entertained by the Troops
Jack the Ripper: All-Singing, All-Dancing Show and Revue The Worst Job I Ever 'ad!
No Sex Please, we're British! Hitchhiking to the Promised Land
and an Introduction to Chicken Rustling
Close Encounter of the Unexpected Kind in Grand Canyon Superman and Pasadena Mayor's Wife

...coming soon

  • Lallans and Adventures with Old Scots
  • Natural and Un-Natural Stage Disaster Compendium
  • Sleeping with Women's Liberation Army
  • Auld Reekie Tales
  • Pasadena Roof Orchestra and Blimp Exposure
  • Las Vegas Barbershop Entertainment
  • "Nice One, Cyril"

I welcome feedback of all kinds. Messages of appreciation, encouragement and constructive criticism are always accepted with thanks and responded to as time allows.
Flame-throwers, insult-merchants, saber-rattling trolls and lonely grammar/syntax/spelling maniacs are encouraged to get a life and will be generally ignored.

© 2007 Karel Kriz and Bouncing Czech Productions