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<v Speaker 1>I'm pleased to welcome to the fifty five Carscite Morning Show.

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<v Speaker 1>Book you can get on my blog page fifty five

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<v Speaker 1>krs dot com like Swans by our local author, Susie Cohn.

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<v Speaker 2>Susy, welcome to the program. It's great to have you

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<v Speaker 2>on this morning. Thank you.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm honored to be here. Thank you.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I'm honored to have you on.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, you could be quite an inspiration to

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<v Speaker 1>some other folks in the listening audience. And I would

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<v Speaker 1>like to put a plug in for Peter Bronson because

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<v Speaker 1>his Chili Dog Press is a local publishing outfit and

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<v Speaker 1>he is an extraordinary author in his own right. But

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<v Speaker 1>let me first ask you what part of town are

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<v Speaker 1>you and since you are described as a local author.

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<v Speaker 3>Susie, I live in Sharonville.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, great, And you got a bit of a Brady

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<v Speaker 1>Bunch situation going over at your place.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, our kids are all grown, so they actually never.

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<v Speaker 3>Grew up together.

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<v Speaker 4>Oh okay, but they get along great. So we have

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<v Speaker 4>I have twin boys and my husband has three daughters,

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<v Speaker 4>so we're one short of the perfect Brady Bunch.

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<v Speaker 2>That's great.

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<v Speaker 1>I saw the description of your in your in the outline,

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<v Speaker 1>and I just was chuckling to myself about that. You're

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<v Speaker 1>also a flight attendant.

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<v Speaker 3>Yes, doing that from Doha last night? Actually, oh wo.

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<v Speaker 4>And I was so nervous because you know, the airport

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<v Speaker 4>in Philadelphia is a mess. There were so many delayed flights,

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<v Speaker 4>and I was like praying that I would get on

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<v Speaker 4>the six o'clock because otherwise it would be a very

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<v Speaker 4>late arrival and with the jet lag and all that,

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<v Speaker 4>I was like, I just want to feel good in

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<v Speaker 4>the morning, you.

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<v Speaker 1>Know, I understand that. And props to you and all

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<v Speaker 1>of the flight attendants I talked to iHeartMedia aviation expert

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<v Speaker 1>Jay Ratliffe every Thursday, and he is always reminding people

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<v Speaker 1>that you're not stewardess is you're highly trained folks who

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<v Speaker 1>are designed to deal with, you know, potentially terrible problems

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<v Speaker 1>that need to be treated with much greater respect. So

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<v Speaker 1>I can put in a word a positive word in

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<v Speaker 1>for you and other flight attendants for the work that

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<v Speaker 1>you do. All right, pivoting over your book like Swans,

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<v Speaker 1>what inspired you to write the book? We can dive

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<v Speaker 1>into the details of it. Tell my listeners all about it.

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<v Speaker 4>Well. My parents always, especially my mom talked about how

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<v Speaker 4>they escaped and life over there, and I wrote a

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<v Speaker 4>short story about it in like nineteen eighty six, and

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<v Speaker 4>my professors like, oh, that, you know, that's pretty good.

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<v Speaker 4>You should expound on that. Well, you know, then I

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<v Speaker 4>had twins and got really busy and I was, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>flying full time.

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<v Speaker 3>And my mother, though, was always like, no, Phisy, what

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<v Speaker 3>aren't going to write that book? And it was a

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<v Speaker 3>lifelong dream.

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<v Speaker 4>And when COVID came about, the silver lining of COVID

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<v Speaker 4>for me was having an eighteen month leave where I

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<v Speaker 4>could sit down. Michael, my husband, said, Okay, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>you can write your book now, and I knew I

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<v Speaker 4>had no more excuses, so I sat down and worked,

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<v Speaker 4>you know, very hard.

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<v Speaker 3>It was really a labor of love.

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<v Speaker 4>It was the hardest thing I've had to ever do

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<v Speaker 4>because when I was writing it, you know, we had

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<v Speaker 4>so much censorship going on, and it just reminded me

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<v Speaker 4>of what my parents talked about.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, you said over there.

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<v Speaker 1>The over there you were talking about is Czechoslovakia with

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<v Speaker 1>post communists when the people in the Communists were in charge.

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<v Speaker 4>Yes, it was like in nineteen sixty six was one

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<v Speaker 4>day escaped.

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<v Speaker 3>So sorry, I forgot that small detail, but that's okay.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, So they you know, told me about how everything

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<v Speaker 4>was still controlled, and that's how I felt that everything

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<v Speaker 4>was controlled, you know, information about COVID and then how

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<v Speaker 4>we could live, what we could do, you know, we

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<v Speaker 4>had to wear masks.

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<v Speaker 3>Uh. It was just it was just really weird. I

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<v Speaker 3>can't even but see that's in the sea.

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<v Speaker 1>I've found a whole lot of positive about COVID, and

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<v Speaker 1>you're illustrating one of them. I think the people will

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<v Speaker 1>be less inclined to just sort of prostrate themselves before

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<v Speaker 1>whatever directed from some random governor says about where you

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<v Speaker 1>can be and what you can't do. In spite of

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<v Speaker 1>the fact that we have amendments of the Constitution which

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<v Speaker 1>project protect these liberties and freedoms, it's as if the

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<v Speaker 1>Constitution was eradicated. And it did feel a lot like say,

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<v Speaker 1>Czechoslovakia are under the under the Soviet Union, because I've

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<v Speaker 1>read a lot of Mulan Candera, and I believe that's

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<v Speaker 1>where he is from, and he's written about it one

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<v Speaker 1>of the one of the books of the note he

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<v Speaker 1>made or the joke I think was the name of it.

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<v Speaker 1>He made some sort of random joke about one of

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<v Speaker 1>the Soviet leaders and ended up getting unemployed and ostracized

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<v Speaker 1>just by merely uttering a joke.

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<v Speaker 5>Brian, my mother got called into the local police station

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<v Speaker 5>for wearing a sweater that was bright and colorful.

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<v Speaker 4>Oh my go. They accused her of you know, advertising

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<v Speaker 4>Western propaganda.

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<v Speaker 5>Uh.

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<v Speaker 3>And that was really.

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<v Speaker 4>A blessing because my father had spoken for years about

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<v Speaker 4>you know, he'd you know, we need to leave. Things

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<v Speaker 4>are getting worse and they're they're not going to get better.

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<v Speaker 4>But she didn't want to leave her family. You know,

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<v Speaker 4>they waited two years to get an apartment, she had

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<v Speaker 4>to get an extra part time job to you know,

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<v Speaker 4>furnish it. Everything was difficult. I mean there was just

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<v Speaker 4>no easy path for food, for furniture. And so she's like,

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<v Speaker 4>you know, I don't want to leave. But that showed

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<v Speaker 4>her that someone in the neighborhood. There was every neighborhood like.

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<v Speaker 3>A had a watch person. Yeah, so you never knew

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<v Speaker 3>who it was.

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<v Speaker 4>And so she got called in because of this sweater

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<v Speaker 4>and that's the turn that was the turning point for her.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, she knew that they had to get out.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow, that's that's just frightening. Stuff is the book about

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<v Speaker 1>their story, in other words, a work of nonfiction about

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<v Speaker 1>their trials and tribulations and experiencing life under communist Czechoslovakian

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<v Speaker 1>then ultimately leaving.

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<v Speaker 4>Yes, it's it's I really wanted people to see why

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<v Speaker 4>you would want to leave a place like that. I mean,

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<v Speaker 4>you know, waiting in line for food. People would get

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<v Speaker 4>in line if there was a line. They didn't even

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<v Speaker 4>know why, oh wow, but they got in it because

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<v Speaker 4>it might be something good that they could sell. I mean,

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<v Speaker 4>it was just like a weird sci fi they were

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<v Speaker 4>living in almost but it was if the book is

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<v Speaker 4>a love story and a thriller because of you know,

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<v Speaker 4>their escape. I mean, of course, you know they did

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<v Speaker 4>make it, but just the way it all happened, it

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<v Speaker 4>was really God's intervention, I believe, because just the way

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<v Speaker 4>everything I don't want to give too much away, no, no,

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<v Speaker 4>you know how it.

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<v Speaker 3>All came about. That they were actually able to to

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<v Speaker 3>get out well.

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<v Speaker 4>Really amazing because many people weren't able to well in

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<v Speaker 4>an oppressive regime like Czechoslovakia during the Soviet days.

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<v Speaker 1>You mentioned the emotional struggle of deciding to leave because

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<v Speaker 1>in spite of how bad things are you have all

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<v Speaker 1>these emotional ties not just to the land, but also

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<v Speaker 1>to your community and your friends. But once they made

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<v Speaker 1>the decision to leave, was it was it difficult? Did

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<v Speaker 1>they have to you know, steal out of the country

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<v Speaker 1>under cover of darkness or be snuck out or could

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<v Speaker 1>they Did they work through some approval process.

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<v Speaker 3>No, they tried to get approval.

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<v Speaker 4>I mean my dad had approval you know, put in

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<v Speaker 4>for years, but they never got it because my father,

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<v Speaker 4>my mom's dad, was a capitalist. He had a trucking

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<v Speaker 4>company and so he was on their like blacklist, and

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<v Speaker 4>so my mother wasn't allowed to go to college. She

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<v Speaker 4>was she actually wanted to be the flight attendant. That

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<v Speaker 4>was her lifelong dream, which is so ironic because I

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<v Speaker 4>never that wasn't in my I, you know, a view

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<v Speaker 4>at all. And I got it by just sheer chance.

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<v Speaker 4>And so my I don't know where was I They

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<v Speaker 4>escaped because my mom got permission to take me out

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<v Speaker 4>of the country to Yugoslavia because I had a lot

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<v Speaker 4>of ear issues and the doctor was like, oh, you

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<v Speaker 4>need to go by the sea because the air is

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<v Speaker 4>much better. And then my dad, last like a last

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<v Speaker 4>minute thing, got the trip to Milan. He was an engineer,

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<v Speaker 4>and so he had a business trip to Milan because

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<v Speaker 4>one of the boss's sons was ill. I mean, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>usually only the people in the party were allowed to travel,

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<v Speaker 4>but this was some big job and my dad was

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<v Speaker 4>given permission to go normally because he would not sign

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<v Speaker 4>on the communist party line. He refused, and so he

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<v Speaker 4>knew that, you know, something was going to get I mean,

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<v Speaker 4>they weren't going to let him just get away with

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<v Speaker 4>that forever, and that's why he knew he had you know,

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<v Speaker 4>they had to get out of there.

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<v Speaker 3>Wow, So they were.

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<v Speaker 4>They took the same train out of Prague, got to

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<v Speaker 4>Austria Vienna, and did not go on their separate trains

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<v Speaker 4>to their final destinations. They stayed there and my dad

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<v Speaker 4>had had family there that they actually didn't even know

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<v Speaker 4>if they were still alive, because they never got the letter,

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<v Speaker 4>a letter, you know, in response to their letter. But

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<v Speaker 4>you know, it just worked out for them that they were.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm so glad you wrote this because this may give

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<v Speaker 1>people something they truly need, is to pause and consider

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<v Speaker 1>the freedoms that we enjoy in the face of a

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<v Speaker 1>country that won't let you leave. I just can't imagine

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<v Speaker 1>being in that environment. And I've heard a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>stories like this over the years. Think of the people

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<v Speaker 1>who tried to get out of Berlin and had to,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, go through the wall or under the law

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<v Speaker 1>or or law I'm at risk getting machine gunned down

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<v Speaker 1>for even endeavoring to leave.

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<v Speaker 2>This is a great story.

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<v Speaker 3>And I guess you're communism was so great? Why would

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<v Speaker 3>people go right?

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<v Speaker 1>I know I was gonna say earlier in your in

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<v Speaker 1>your breadline comments like whatever happened to from each according's ability,

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<v Speaker 1>each according to his need? How come it's so hard

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<v Speaker 1>to get an apartment in a communist country? This is

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<v Speaker 1>all summed up like Swan's my local author guest today, Sussy,

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<v Speaker 1>It's been a pleasure talking with is Susie Khan likes

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<v Speaker 1>Swann you. You can get it on my blog page

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<v Speaker 1>fifty five carose dot com. I encourage people to do

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<v Speaker 1>that and then pause and reflect on what we've got

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<v Speaker 1>here that so few countries in the world have. Susie,

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<v Speaker 1>thanks for doing this for everybody.