Dads stories

Last email for 1999

29th December, 1999

Dear Harald,
I have a bad conscience! You must be drowning in my emails! I will take pains to keep this one brief! But I have to write because a few answers are waiting.

• Charlie. I will address that one later.
• Hedwig. “whom are you writing then?”; “Harald”; “then tell him I put on a warm pair of socks. HaHaHa”. Commentary unnecessary.
• Reuschenberg: Hedwig and I both grew up in Reuschenberg. No idea why I didn’t mention this earlier. Should you meet someone in our age who comes from there, they are bound to know us. The priest I mentioned previously and later on was in charge, was Paster Doppelfield. The church in Reuschenberg was designed by him and an architect in Russia in a prisoner of war camp. Should you ever happen to be there, the giant crucifix above the altar (not the body) I made. One of my last pieces as cabinetmaker, 1953.Oh..my address in Reuschenberg was Lupinenstrasse 33 and Hedwig Azalienstrasse 8, for what it is worth.
• derVatter (Haralds Home Page). Well well, reason for envy. Looks good, for a beginning. Am interested in what will become of this. You want to get more involved in your PC, good idea.I have done nothing more with mine (web page). Will play around with it in the next century, should I have nothing else to do.
• English proverbs. OK will make an effort to find some. I am of the opinion that they are a very important part of the culture. Even though some appear to be unreal, a lot are spot on. I can’t believe that there could be a language that doesn’t have them.
• Conscience/guilt. We have not yet finished with this. There are of course related, but are not the same. I am interested in these concepts. Like I said before, I would like to know the origin and the reason for their function.
• Inner voice. Very important topic. Have a lot to say about it, have made interesting experiments in this area.
• Helmut Kohl, of course. That I mentioned him was more a joke. I hope this topic does not rear its ugly head again!
• Christmas Eve: Could you please write to me some more about the story that you read aloud? What sort of a story is it, since when do you read it? Is that a more widely known custom?
• Herrings Salad. This secret recipe I will in time drag out of Anne. Because I am terribly stubborn in this when it comes to it! What sort of potatoes does her mother use?
• Christmas tree. If you would see what they call Christmas trees here, you would fall over. They don’t have fir trees here, also no Spruce. So what is left are Pines. Can you imagine one of those as Christmas Tree? Now they cultivate them and so you at least don’t need a drill any more. But no matter, the tree looks great each year once it is decorated. Tell Anne I could use an extra pair of hands for the decorating! But it has to be quick….we only have 1 hour.

Those were the answers to your questions.

As far as celebrating the end of the century here. Inge, Dennis and I don’t drink anymore, and without grog celebrating is not quite the same, I find. So that will be a very quiet push into the new year, same as the last few years. Can you believe that already for years here they show the German version of “dinner for one” on TV? I realise it is really funny but is that really the only funny movie that has been produced in the whole world in the last 15 years?
Gerd is in New Zealand. He is working on the New Years broadcast that will be transmitted from zone to zone over the entire world. New Zealand will be the first to see the new century. Then we are 3 hours later, here in Melbourne or even Sydney, where they have arranged magnificent fire works over their great harbour, really worth watching. If you don’t have the time I suggest you record it on video, it is worth it. You only need to find out which TV station in Germany has the film rights for this. We are now 9 hours ahead of you so NZ should be 12 hours ahead.
Robert is on the goldcoast, near Brisbane, with his girlfriend. I am really hoping this will last. I like the girl and so does Hedwig.
So..that is all. I am happy that I managed it still in this year!
Hedwig and I wish you both and your entire family a happy and good New Year. I am as pleased as you are that we have started this correspondence. I am sure it will become very interesting.

posted by Inge @ 9:09 am