When Tito died also in a symbolical way, and when no political power uses his symbols and mythology any more, all what is left after him is his name and memory on his image. Idolization era is over, together with its dark sides: lovers, vanity, a small communist dictatorship, the island of Goli otok, 1972. That is all known and if we would add something here, we would unnecessarily fill the paper with his name. Even more hopeless would be an objective, neutral view, which would tell the same story, from a perspective though, that he as anybody else, had good and bad sides. What holds today, is a simple chronological fact: hundred years ago a man was born, that all the world's encyclopedias mention among 200 most important people of this century.

Beside chronological, there are at least three substantial reasons to aim our thoughts on this sympathetic creature with a name Tito.

Tito had a nice habit to gather wisdoms from classical philosophers: ``Let us live, as if it would be peace for a hundred years, let us prepare, as if it would be war tomorrow.'' One could say, the old man is a plagiarist, but it is of no importance for the idea. Those, who took Tito's wisdom at their heart, benefited a lot in Yugoslavian wars.

Tito, though being hated, took a dignified stand in jokes of his political and military enemies. Years ago, a pro-Ustasha ``New Croatia'' published the following joke:

``Tito and Ranković were visiting India. Nehru took them to an old temple, where they were shown silver plates as a special treasure. In a moment, as hosts were not careful, naive Ranković took a plate and put it in a pocket of his jacket. Though Nehru's people were not careful, this did not escape Tito's attention. After the visit to temples, Nehru invited a high guests on a banquet, where they were honored by being served from the same valuable silver plates they had seen before. At this moment Tito said to Nehru, that he was not only a great politician, but also an excellent magician. In order to prove this, he stood up, took a plate from the table, put it in his pocket and sit down to the table saying: ``Now look what Ranković has in a right pocket of his jacket!'' Surprised Ranković put the stolen plate on the table and, together with Nehru, vigorously applauded Tito's magician knowledge.

Joke was followed with a point that Communists are crooks but Tito is a crook non plus ultra (i.e. the biggest crook without comparison).

After his death, Tito lost almost all his monuments and images, though in one thing did not change. As all others mutated from comrades to misters/gentlemen, as the addressing with comrade extinct altogether, he stayed a comrade. Neither his one-day pals, nor his heated enemies, pronounced, or will ever pronounce the syntagma Mister Tito. With the word Tito goes only the apposition comrade Tito, while the word mister/gentleman goes only in: ``Comrade Tito was a great gentleman.''

Ko je Tito poginil tudi simbolno, ko njegovih simbolov in mitologije ne uporablja več nobena politična sila, je ostalo za njim samo še ime in spomin na njegov lik. Malikovalsko obdobje je mimo, enako njegove temne plati: ljubice, nečimrnost, komunistična diktaturica, Goli otok, 1972. To je vse poznano, če bi tu kaj dodajali, bi po nepotrebnem nasičevali papir z njegovim imenom. Še bolj jalov bi bil objektivni, nevtralni pogled, ki bi pripovedoval isto, a iz perspektive, da je tako kot vsak imel tudi on dobre in slabe plati. Tisto, kar danes velja, je preprosto kronološko dejstvo, da se je natanko pred sto leti rodil človek, ki je vpisan v vseh svetovnih enciklopedijah med 200 najpomembnejšimi moži tega stoletja.

Poleg kronoloških pa so vsaj še trije vsebinski razlogi, da naperimo misel na to simpatično prikazen, ki se ji je reklo Tito.

Tito je imel lepo lastnost, da je svoje velike reke pobiral iz modrosti antičnih mislecev: 'Živimo, kot da bo sto let mir, pripravljajmo se, kot da bo jutri vojna.' Lahko bi rekli, stari je plagiator, a za idejo je to nepomembno. Tisti, ki so Titovo reklo vzeli na znanje, se jim je to bogato obrestovalo v jugoslovanskih vojnah.

Tito je, dasiravno osovražen, dostojno nastopal tudi v vicih svojih političnih in vojaških nasprotnikov. Pred leti je proustaška 'Nova Hrvatska' objavila tale vic:

'Tito in Ranković sta bila na obisku v Indiji. Nehru ju je peljal v staro svetišče, kjer so jima kot posebno dragocenost pokazali srebrne krožnike. V trenutku, ko gostitelji niso bili pozorni, je nič hudega sluteči Ranković pograbil krožnik in ga vtaknil v žep svojega rekeljca. Če so bili Nehrujevi nepazljivi, pa Titovemu očesu ni ničesar ušlo. Po ogledu templjev je Nehru povabil visoka gosta na slavnostno pojedino, kjer so ju počastili s tem, da so jima hoteli postreči na tistih dragocenih srebrnih krožnikih, ki sta si jih pred tem le ogledovala. Tedaj vstane Tito in reče Nehruju, da on ni le velik politik, ampak tudi odličen čarovnik. V dokaz je vstal, vzel krožnik z mize, si ga vtaknil v žep in sedel za mizo rekoč: 'Sedaj pa poglejte, kaj ima Ranković v desnem žepu svojega rekeljca!' Presenečeni Ranković je na mizo položil ukradeni krožnik in skupaj z Nehrujem ognjevito ploskal Titovim čarovniškim spretnostim.'

Vicu je seveda sledila poanta, da so že komunisti barabe, da je pa prevarant non plus ultra prav Tito.

Tito je po smrti izgubil skoraj vse spomenike in slike, a v nečem je neuničljiv. Medtem ko so se vsi drugi iz tovarišev prelevili v gospode, ko je naslavljanje s tovariši že povsem izumrlo, je on ostal tovariš. Ne njegovi nekdanji pajdaši, ne goreči nasprotniki, niso, ne, in ne bodo nikoli izrekali sintagme gospod Tito. K besedi Tito gre le apozicija tovariš Tito, gospod pa le v: 'Tovariš Tito je bil velik gospod.'