Also the resentment - there is "ostalgia", of course, but not very common. Nobody wants to really go back to times of scarcity (meat, fresh fruits and vegs, toilet paper, menstrual pads - pretty endless list...).

It would be serendipitous if he is one of my schoolmates - I have some friends there too. One of the points on the cantaloupe is - the "tropical" fruits were imported from friendly countries like Cuba, and I am not sure any of these produced cantaloupes...

I wonder which shop in communist Prague sold cantaloupes back in 1980ies... IF there was any, it would be Tuzex - a specialised shop for the privileged (mainly members of the party). The hour-long queues were for bananas or oranges. When they were. 1-2x times a year.
Selective memory at the best.

I liked the dignified connection of the brotherhood of freedom between 🇱🇹, 🇺🇦 and free Belarus. Also that the Baltic revolutions 34 years ago were revolutions of song and prayer. The will to freedom can be stronger than the imperial power and will. Today we sang in Lithuanian and Ukrainian...