Oma Alma Materi, Tallinna Tehnikaülikooli, vilistlaskogu ettevôtmisel, sain eile vôimaluse külastada Draamateatri vapustavat etendust “Lehman Brothers” juba kolmandat korda.
Etendusele ei tahaks ma siinkohal liigselt keskenduda, seda teevad etenduskriitikud minust môôtmatult paremini ja aupaiste-trio Kangur-Malmsten-Vôigemast etenduskunsti kvaliteet räägib ilmselt iseenda eest.
Mis mind eile hämmastama pani (ma ei saa kunagi môistma, kuidas see minust sirge seljaga juba KAKS korda suure kaarega puhtalt möödunud on) – need murdumatud vennad suutsid ka täiesti lootusetetest olukordadest taas tôusta:
Lehman-vennad ajasid juba mônda aega väga edukat puuvillaäri, kui ühel hetkel kôik puuvillapôllud lihtsalt maha pôlesid (ei etenduses ega raamatus pole selle pôhjustele just erilise tähelepanuga keskendutud). Ehk äri essents selle senisel kujul oli hävinenud. Nôrgemad ärimehed näeksid siinkohal ilmselt turvalisema väljapääsuna ettevôtte ülejärgmise kriisi alguses maaklerite seas pea epideemiliselt levinud enesetappu, aga Lehman-vennad ei olnud mingid lihtsad mehed. Nad korraldasid mingi aja pärast oma äri jôuliselt ümber ja see hakkas tänasel päeval populaarsete tulevikutehingute najal taas ôilmitsema. Kust leidsid nad jôu uuesti tôusta? Minus äratab see tohutult aukartust ja imetlust.
Mingi aja pärast, olles pôlengutest taastunutena saavutanud uue hiilguse, mis oma valgushelgi Alabamast New Yorki oli saatnud, algas Ameerika kodusôda – aga Lehmanid ostsid lôunast, et müüa pôhja… ja see liin läks nüüd katki. Kas vôiks olla meeleheitlikumat olukorda ühe ettevôtja töömaastikul – lasta end kahel korral ninali mutta suruda? Kangeid selline asi siiski ei murra – nad organiseerisid oma äri uuesti ümber, seekord pôhjalikult ja hakkasid uuesti ôitsema. Mulle ei mahu pähe, kust leiavad inimesed sellise tahtejôu. Kuhu küündivad inimvôimete piiriid?
Kolmanda kriisi ajaks olid nad tuhast tôusmises juba nö “vanad kalad”, kahetsusväärselt ei aidanud ka kedagi teist. Aga neljas löök, jäi lôplikuks nii neile (miks pidi keegi aitama neid, kui nemad varem kellegi toetamisest hoidusid?), kui paljudele teistele pankadele USAs ja mujal maailmas. Aga siis ei olnud ettevôte enam algsete inimeste (ega nende järeltulijate) käes. Vôôrast varast on lihtsam loobuda.
Minu kallis mäeinsenerist sôbranna käis mind koomajärgselt taastusravihaiglates oma vastsündinud beebiga (tutika titega, vôiks lausa öelda 😀 ) külastamas ja nentis (mis sa värskele sandile lohutuseks ikka muud ütled 😀 ) – selleks, et kôik vôita, peab enne kôik kaotama. Selle järgi peaks uus tôus algama vôimalikult puhtalt lehelt. Pole ju kuhugi ehitada, kui kôik ees on! Igati loogiline, kas pole?
Usun, et saatuse tööülesannete hulka kuulub meie eluehitiste maharebimine. Igaühel eri moel. Meie asi on mitte alla anda ja uued karkassid püsti ajada. Nagu tegid Lehman(n)-vennad.
************************************************
I had a chance to visit Estonian Draamateater’s exceptional performance “Lehman Brothers” for the third time yesterday evening with my Alma Mater, Tallinn University of Technology.
I wouldn’t like to focus on the performance too much here as there are immensely wiser theatre critics than I’ll ever be and the glorious trio of the actors Kangro-Malmsten-Vôigemast speaks for itself.
What amazed me the most (I’ll never understand how it passed me TWICE) is where did these unbreakable brothers find the strength to rise from totally unbelievable situations:
Lehman brothers had a successful business of mediating cotton for a while already, when a fire broke loose all of a sudden on the cotton fields, burning everything to the grownd (the performance nor the book give any further details on the causes). The essence of the business was gone. Weaker businessmen would most likely only see a suicide as a way out. That became almost epidemic among Wall Street brokers in the beginning of the Great Depression. Lehman brothers were no simple men. They reorganized their business quite forcefully after a while and rose once more with helping hand from the future contracts and flourished. Where did they get the strength to rise again? I’m in such an admiration towards them.
After a while, having recovered from the fire infused damage in a new glory (that shone to New York from the original Alabama), the Civil War broke loose. But Lehmans bought from the South to sell to the North… these guys were in a war now. Could there be a more desperate situation for a business owner – having been beaten up in such a manner twice? Tough guys are unbreakable, quite obviously – they reorganized the business ONCE MORE, a little more thoroughly this time and started to blossom again. I just can’t figure out where did these people find the willpower. Where are the limits for human capabilities?
When the third crisis hit, Lehmans were professionals already in defying destruction, they didn’t help others either, unfortunately but the fourth blow took them (who would help them if they refused giving a helping hand before?) as many other banks in the US and the rest of the world. True, the company wasn’t managed by the original people anymore (or their descendants). It’s easier to give up without a fight when it’s someone else’s property.
My dear girlfriend (an engineer of geology) visited me repeatedly after my coma period in different rehabilitation hospitals together with her newborn baby. She told me that in order to gain everything, one must lose everything first. That implies the new rise to begin from a clean slate. There’s nowhere to build when the old stuff is on the way. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
I believe that one of fate’s job assignments is tearing down our life constructions every once in a while (or at least once). Differently for each one of us. Our job is not giving up and reconstructing the framework for the new life building. Like Lehman(n) brothers did.