Dads stories

Apologies...this one’s out of sequence. Just found it in my draft folder. Inge.

Sent: Monday, 3 July 2000 12:01 PM
Dear Harald,

So everything is organised. Mid July you are off!

I had intended to put together a list of all 24 hour clinics in the various cities and also the internet cafes (should you need to send an email message). But that is all ridiculous, you can find that out when you are at the place, in the hotel reception or courzier????

Confession: it has taken me a half hour to find this word in my extensive vocabulary, german, english, italien, french. I know it is there, I have found it once before. Gave me the shits years ago when I was on tour with the musical. These fancy hotels call it that. The strange thing is that my computer wants to have it spelled exactly so (courzier). I thought there should have been an E in the word, Couerzier, but according to my spellcheck that is not the case. In german “cour” is court, to make court. In platt courere is when a man is courting a woman, so the same as “carassere” , like a casanova who is after the women.  Courzier is spelled wrong in English. But how? I can’t find it anywhere. What a dilmma, Mr. Teacher!

Let’s try the english spellcheck:..I was in Melbourne. At the hotel there was a corzierge….doesn’t work.

Ah!!! Peter!

“Peter, at the hotel, the reception, there is a different name for that!”

“You asked me that already a couple month ago”, he replied grumpily. Why he is always grumping I don’t know. Very difficult costumer.

“I know, I forgot!”

“Concierge”, he informed me with another grunt..

It’s spelled exactly the same way in German! According to Berlitz Interpreter.

English concierge

French concierge

German Hausmeister

Spanish conserje

Italian Portinaio

Ph!!!! That’s what happens when one is not brought up with class. In my horse stable, I was the concierge. But I didn’t know it then! Sorry, we went off the subject.

Burials. Maybe I left the wrong impression here. I am very anti everything that that turns humanity’s basic needs into profit, be it the banks, who with their legally approved 16% bank cards turn ordinary people into slaves, tobacco companies who are legally allowed to murder people, gun lobbies who are legally allowed to turn the unsuspecting into murderers, film producers who are legally allowed to ruin our youth and so on. Under that lot are also funeral directors, at least here in Australia, who with distasteful kitsch play around with people’s deepest feelings. I am sorry I have become so cynical when it comes to Capital, Politics and Religion!

I had actually intended to bring them all together and plan for a family grave! The reason for that was to create the possibility for those who are left behind to maintain contact. That is not the way here in Australia. Death and all that’s involved I will deal with in one of our future emails. You don’t want to be bothered by it now, first go on your trip!

So we can slowly look forward to an actual meeting!

All the best and kind regards to Anne. Have you started building the sandbox? The little one will soon be crawling.

Hedwig and Peter.