# Gaidar and compass. A child blues

Henry de Overwood

MMMDCCLXXIII. Gaidar and compass. A child blues. - February 27, 2026.

Gaidar and compass. A child blues.


What did I do as a child - when I was a schoolboy? I went to school, attended sports clubs, and walked in the yard...


The literary space around me was filled with stories by Arkady Gaidar and other authors - stories about good, honest, energetic boys.


My father had a compass.


I only vaguely remember this compass. It was an unusual thing. The compass was bronze, of an unusual shape. Perhaps the bronze body of the compass made it suitable for use in combat conditions.


I'd like to think now that it was an antique, a rarity thing, that could be sold an antique auction... well... for 10,000 US dollars.


One summer, my parents decided to send me to a children's (pioneer) camp. Soaked in the stories of Arkady Gaidar (and other authors) about good, honest, energetic boys, I imagined an interesting child life - with some interesting activities, with something entertaining.


With pleasant hopes, I packed my things in a backpack, and with my things I put a bronze compass. There will certainly be long-distance hikes, in which both a backpack and a compass will be useful.


My stay at the children's camp disappointed me. Time was divided between visits to the seashore (beach) (we went into and out of the seawater in a groups, after the orders), and stays in buildings, in large rooms lined with beds.


A staying of a significant number of bored children in the same room led to unexpected (for me) results.


One day, I reached into my backpack for something and found that the bronze compass disappeared.


I remember my emotion - the emotion of confusion and disappointment.


I returned home from children camp without a compass.


Life moved on.


When Egor Gaidar came and when the first default [collapse of the Russian ruble exchange rate] happened, I was busy with other things, and I didn't think about the bronze compass.


But now, reflecting about my active correspondence about a funded pension and a housing subsidy, I remembered the bronze compass.


Maybe it was a valuable rare item? Maybe I could sell it at a rare items auction for 10,000 USD?


It's nice to remember my childhood and the children's literature that taught kindness and goodness.


Russial literature is on the rise now. It would be good if a story about Gaidar - a handsome, short (not tall), plump, smiling man - be written.


February 27, 2026 08:17


Translation from Russian into English: February 27, 2026, 09:12

Владимир Владимирович Залесский ' Гайдар и компас. Чайлд-блюз. '


{ 3802. Гайдар и компас. Чайлд-блюз. - 27 февраля 2026 г.

MMMDCCLXXIII. Gaidar and compass. A child blues. - February 27, 2026.


Vladimir Zalessky Internet-bibliotheca. Интернет-библиотека Владимира Залесского}