Television I

Miroslav Zivanovic a farmer from Trnjan near Pozarevac, asked the RTS to exempt him from paying TV tax on an electricity meter in his pigsty, writes the Belgrade daily Politika. The RTS informed him that the tax had to be paid, and Zivanovic has decided to install a TV set in the pigsty, so he'll know why he's paying.

Television II

Valjevo was among the first cities in Serbia to get a local TV station in 1989. Unfortunately, the local Socialists weren't seen on the screen often enough, and the program was discontinued after two years. In order to make up for lost time, an initiative to start broadcasting again was launched. A contract was signed between the Municipality as the executive producer and Radio-television Serbia (RTS). The Municipality agreed to transfer to RTS without payment: premises, a studio, technical equipment, to ensure finances and purchase additional equipment, to cover all costs of maintenance and pay all those involved in creating the program. Just the building and equipment cost 1.5 million DEM. On the other hand, RTS is obliged to ensure a frequency, which after the contract has expired, remains its property.

Asked why they gave so much, but didn't take anything, the Valjevo Socialists said that they, as the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), had no reason not to trust RTS. Other parties say that they don't want local television in this way. If the SPS wants it, then they can pay for it, because two-thirds of the citizens of Valjevo have no intention of financing another campaign of the ruling party. But, the contract has been signed, and everything paid for.

Lottery

We recently wrote about a prize game "Win A Job With Yumco" (the Belgrade daily Politika, 22 February) in connection with various advertisements and appeals to young people, all with the same idea: pay, and if you're lucky, you might even win a job!

Yumco denied what we had written, and on the same day announced that among its January customers - all those who had bought something costing over 100 dinars in one of their 520 shops, a winner had been found and his name was Slobodan Tomasevic, from Bileca in Herzegovina. A job awaits him, probably in the same shop where he went shopping, because Yumco does not have a drive in Bileca. Or perhaps, he might try his luck in Vranje, which is not one of the most popular cities in Serbia among those leaving Bosnian Serb territory.

On the other hand, among those leaving Serbia, America is still the biggest favorite. A program of student exchange enables students to complete their last two years of secondary school education at some elite high school in the US. The program has been functioning for several years, and in the last three years, all technicalities concerning applications, tests and travelling have been taken over by the Soros Foundation of Yugoslavia. Unfortunately, after watching a RTS information program many candidates will now have to face an unsurmountable obstacle - the school director. It is just a matter of luck if the director will agree to sign the recommendation. The Mathematical Secondary School in Belgrade has informed the Soros Foundation officially that it will not sign recommendations for its students.

Naturally, the most talented young people should remain here. Who knows - after dealing in foreign currency and buying something in one of Yumco's shops, they might even land a job!

A matter of luck

It is not expected that anyone will win the main premium at the jubilee 500. round of lottery, said Jugolutrija official Slavomir Djordjevic, talking to the Belgrade daily Politika. A winning combination has not come up in the past 14 weeks, so that the premium has reached one million and four hundred dinars, an absolute record in Yugoslavia. If the 1:1 parity of the dinar and the German Mark were in force, then this would be an all time record. The highest premium in Socialist Yugoslavia reached one million DEM.

At Jugolutrija they believe that the premium will entice many to play. The gamblers fear a repetition of the "Montenegrin affair" when two Jugolutrija officials rigged the whole thing so that they won the premium. But, since they are in jail right now, there is a chance that the lucky winner will get his money, and hopefully, won't have to behave like the Palestinian multi-millionaire who can't leave his house without a plastic bag over his head, in order to hide his identity. After all, life is more peaceful here than in Palestine.

Portoriko

The Banja Luka disco Portoriko has opened its doors to children on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 o'clock. Entrance is free and so is the juice the kids get. Krajina children's theater actors have come up with a varied program for the children - games, dancing, acting. There are sweet surprises such as chocolates, etc. The disco is packed and favorite cartoons can be seen on the large screens. Portoriko has become an oasis for the children and their parents wishing to flee for a moment from the dreary realities of their everyday lives: war, murder, killed and wounded parents, empty fridges, freezing classrooms and kindergartens with candlelight. Religion has become part of the curriculum, children starting school must be christened and Cyrillic is the official script. Luckily, there are still those who believe that children have the right to colorful dreams and fairy tales. At least two hours a week.

Heart attack

"The Yugoslav had to take up a post as ambassador in another country. He left his Alsatian with us. After ending his term in office, the owner returned and asked for his dog. We cautioned him that the dog must get used to him slowly, but he didn't want to wait. We opened the door and when the dog saw his owner he ran towards him. He jumped and fell to the ground. He was dead. An autopsy established that the dog had suffered a heart attack from the joy of seeing his owner."

This story, taken over from the Belgrade daily Ekspres, is full of mysteries: an unidentified official leaves because of the requirements of his service, his destination is unknown, he leaves his faithful dog with the local police, he sends money for the dog's upkeep, or being an Alsatian, the dog earns his living, the ambassador is deaf to the well-intentioned warning of the police and this leads to a tragic end...

This story which has no single toponym, name or even the name of the person telling the story, was published in Ekspres in order to illustrate "the emotional life of dogs"; VREME is carrying it in order to show how memories of meetings with important comrades are made impersonal and to what extent they are burdened with a touching veneration.