Last night our old friend, Robert Galbavy, CEO of Vienna-based Cargo Partners invited Yuriy and me to dinner. Joining us for the evening at a traditional Ukrainian restaurant on a boat on the Dnieper River was Alexander Belov, Director of CP Ukraine, his wife, Alla, and Natalia Nazarenko, CP’s Manager of Business Development and her husband, Vladimir.

Vladimir is a retired Colonel from the old Soviet Red Army–Alexander is a former Lieutenant. Both speak some/not much English. Once the vodka starts to flow though, that is rarely a problem.

I mentioned earlier that one of the great pleasures in business is the people you meet/the friends you make. Robert and I met about 10 years ago and, while we have done some business together, in many ways we are competitors and do not do enough business together to “deserve” being such good friends. Cargo Partners is 10x the size of Logistics Plus. But in a big world with probably billions of shipments a day to handle, I’ve always maintained that there is enough business to go around–that you can compete some times, work together other times, and still be friends–kind of like when ex-college football player roommates get drafted by different pro teams and have to play one another–still friends.

Robert and I have a closer friendship than our business volumes would dictate. His son, Rene, interned for Logistics Plus in Erie for a summer about 8 years ago, while my son, Derek did the same for Cargo Partners over in Europe that same summer. Sort of an unofficial exchange program of fathers with sons looking for direction. Both kids loved the experience and, as 20 year olds at the time, it seemed to both Robert and me that it helped get each of them get more “on track” in their young lives. Something two fathers at the time had in common–trying to do the best thing for their sons.

In most cultures I’ve visited, and especially in Eastern Europe, there is a tradition of eating and drinking together to establish a closer bond between business colleagues. This was just such a night. Lots of good food, and WAY too many toasts of Ukrainain vodka (I know we demolished 2 bottles–maybe 3…

But what was particularly special about THIS evening is the fact that Yuriy was born in Ukraine, and left there for America 7 years ago when he was just 16. The Erie Rotary Club sponsored him to come to America to get a heart operation that he needed to survive. His Mom and Dad (those wonderful people I mentioned previously) had researched and searched desperately to find a way to save their only child’s life and then sent him to the US when Rotary offered to sponsor him. Any parent will understand what a selfless and loving (and difficult) decision that had to be for them. But I could tell on our visit to Yuriy’s home that his parents were glad with their decision and are so proud to see their boy doing so well, happy, healthy, strong and productive–leading such a successful life in Erie. NOTHING in life makes a parent happier than seeing their child doing well–no matter where he happens to call home. It is the parents’ greatest gift, I guess–to send their children out into the world prepared–whenever it is that they have to fly on their own. Yuriy’s parents had a much more difficult choice to make/gift to give Yuriy than Robert and I gave to Rene and Derek that one summer. But the intent is still the same–the happiness of our children.

Vladimir and Alexander, the 2 ex-Red Army officers, could tell that too. They fed us with traditional Ukrainian food and offered toast after toast to their guests:
“To friendship”
“To the women”
“To health”
“To happiness”
“To love”
“To one more toast”
And on and on.

We ate and drank and you could see Yuriy getting more and more emotional (ya think maybe all that vodka had something to do with it as well? : ) but when Vladimir called over the traditional Ukrainian musicians, dressed in traditional Ukrainian garb, to serenade our table with the traditional songs from Yuriy’s boyhood home in Western Ukraine, all the emotions–the love, the loss, the happiness, the sorrow–it seemed that all Yuriy’s boyhood memories came rushing back to him, and the 6 of us could see them clearly in his face, and welling up in his eyes–a studied silence at this table of 7 new friends– until Robert looked over at me, silently nodded towards the musicians, towards the satisfied, smiling, knowing look in Vladimir’s eyes, and then over at Yuriy–beaming/glowing as he quietly sang along to the childhood songs he remembered so well, and now came rushing back from the past to him again–and leaned over to me and whispered, “Good for the soul”.

So… Ukrainian soul food. Special.

Nastrovya!

JB