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John Madden
A few Things we did and saw.
One of the strangest and funnest things was a “Honey Wagon.” It’s a large round wooden wagon slowly pulled by a horse or two, full of manure.
Fertilizer.
It was pulled onto a field and the manure was spread, a good and economical recycling before it’s time.
Remember it’s slow, well a military Jeep’s driver apparently didn’t know or forgot that detail. He ran into it and unloaded it on himself and his passengers.
Really!
Can you imagine having to carry this reputation around in your military career much less your Whole Life! Not only the drivers but also his passengers.
Pardon my language but only one phrase defines this historical event.
You’re right, no matter what he does or accomplishes in life he’ll, and his innocent passengers will be known as, the Shitman or Shitmen!
Fame is fame wanted or not.
We went to Oberammergau, a village in south Germany in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps, where the Passion Play was started and put on, since 1643, except for World Wars. Unfortunately, we didn't see the play. However, the town was beautiful as so many of the buildings looked so aristocratic yet warn and welcoming.
Being from the South and growing up in South Dakota our food choices were established. In Wiesbaden, Germany we were introduced to ravioli, pizza, and lasagna. We had never eaten them but we loved them.
Italian in Germany?
Plus we fell in love with German foods, bratwurst, sour kraut, and chocolate pie with onions. Yes, chocolate pie and onions.
Try it!
Question, if we had gone to Italy
would we’ve eaten German food?
For some unknown reason I was allowed to ride a base bus to a very large indoor swimming pools with diving boards (sehr groBe innenpools mit Tauchplatten) It had numerous diving boards. From standard to high competition board, two pools divided by a wall and a place to buy eats and drinks.
All for pennies, for all day.
After swimming, I had a short, safe walk back to the bus stop passing a stand selling a wrapped heavy brown paper, in the shape of a cone, full of strawberries.
For pennies.
Life was great!
Oh, why did I say ”for some unknown reason” because my parents, especially my Mom was extremely protective and how or why I was allowed to do this baffles me still today?
I wasn't fourteen and we lived in a foreign country.
My brother doesn’t remember this but I do. He thinks Mom wouldn't have allowed it. My love of the water has taken me to teaching swimming, canoeing, rafting, and diving in Boy Scouts plus I’m a certified scuba diver, all came from that time in Germany.
Go figure.
My grandmother Sheppard, is responsible for my love of strawberries. Thank you, grandmother.
I spent time at a Royal Air Force, RAF, British base that was connected to or extremely close to a ski resort lodge. Having never skied once I got on the lift and was enjoying the ride and the countryside so I went to the top.
What a view. Beautiful just didn't cover it. It was spectacular! I had never seen anything like it.
Looking around I thought the only way down was to ski. I believe I was all of thirteen and not aware of the obvious of riding the lift down so I started skiing Down.
It was steep with lots of snow piles, why would they have piles of snow, later learned they were called moguls, for competition.
What did those Black Diamond signs mean?
Remember I had NEVER skied before.
Suddenly I was in a clearing with a giant wall of trees with the smallest opening cut in the middle. At least a hundred miles, slight exaggeration, way down there.
Reaching warp speed I envisioned myself hitting those giant Redwoods, yes to me that’s what they looked like. I has seen pictures of them and these looked bigger.
No doubt they would never find all the parts of my body.
So I mustered all my energy, strength, courage and did the right thing and fell.
To the best of my memory, I tumbled but stopped before arriving at the lodge.
Trying to calm down I asked for coffee and and found out British coffee wasn’t to my liking. Found out I liked hot tea.
With time on my hand, I watched skiers practice on the ski jump. It was interesting until a skier fell before jumping and left a trail of blood as he fell off the end of the jump.
Realizing I lacked snow skiing experience I decided the trip was trying to tell me something. So I listened.
Later in life, I took up water skiing, nothing fancy, no black diamonds, moguls, army of giant trees, or jumps, just fun and I enjoyed it.
On our last vacation in Germany we spent several days in Garmisch, in the shadows of the Alps. My brother Lynn, Dad, and I rented a glass-bottom paddle boat so we could fish on Lake Garnish in Bavaria. Dad though all you had to do was ”wet a line fishing” to have a perfect day. Catching fish was a bonus. However we didn't catch a single, fish or have a single nibble. Which was so frustrating because we could see them through the glass bottom.
I can still see them watching us watching them. Have you ever seen a fish smile, flip it’s tail at you and swim away?
Not a pretty sight or memory.
Dad bought an oil painting of the mountains and the lake. Our sister, who wasn’t born then, has it.
What does that say?
I started collection stamps in Germany and have many with Hilter on them plus a newspaper clipping of him giving a speech. At one time I could speak German fairly well but was never very good at reading it. Like the old saying, about everything, if you don't use it you lose it.
True!
So I don't know what he said.
Dad collected clocks and brought back forty-two. I have 1, a beautiful wall clock, face is a hand carved forest scene, one piece with 2 brass weights. It’s at least sixty-eight years old because that’s how long we’ve had it, not knowing how old it was when Dad bought it.
It sounds heavenly.
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