Love+Notes

Liebe Jack This is weird. Your mom and I worked for 49 min (and 17 seconds!) trying to get me signed on to this thing. Finally here and I can't find any way to change my justification to left margin. It's all because of those red, red lips below now your mom put there when you left. Oh well - here goes anyhow. It sounds as if you're having a really great time and making use of all the museums all there is to offer. So much has changed since we were there. Berlin, in the early sixties was still post-war. We went there every year for the Berlin Film Festival. GrandPa (what did you all him - can't remember.) Anyhow his work over there was with the Motion Picture Association (Export division). His job was to protect American Film Companie's (there were basically 9 of them then - MGM, Fox etc) - from nasty subsidies etc. He covered Germany, Austria and Scandinavia. Part of the job was to present the American film for the year and give a BIG bash at the Berlin Film Festival (around this time of year). The party was so popular - because they served Scotch, Bourbon as well as the usual white wine, champagne and orange juice in various combinations - the invitations had to be hand delivered.. The party also featured The Berliner Wilde West Klub - a group of Germans who loved our wild west stories and made beaded tents and fancy outfits out of hide - really beautiful. We also had to stand in a very formal receiving line - really funny when I was VERY pregnant with your Uncle David! (IN those days pregnant ladies didn't move around in public that much.) We toured the East German part of Berlin with the consul and Charleton Heston - a bit scary as things were getting very hot. The Berlin Wall went up shortly after that. It was so moving - chilling in fact. GrandPa was standing right under President Kennedy when he made the famous speech (Ich bin ein Berliner). He used to say that if Kennedy said "To the wall!" the 100,000 people there would have gone over and just pushed it down. They were right next to the wall at Checkpoint Charlie (if you've seen that). We hung out with Charleton Heston, his wife, Lydia, and a really neat guy who played Tarzan (NOT Johnny Weissmueller). Incidently Chuck (as he was known), such a nice guy then, went on to become President of the NRA Post WWII (BA_A_A_D). At that time, rebuilding the city, was really just getting started. One of the newest buildings was a theatre - very modern - can't remember its real name; but they called it The Pregnant Oyster! That is really what it looked like. One of the first shows there was the movie on the Neurenberg Trial about the trials of all the Nazi criminals. What amazed us was the Germans really wanted to see it. All this to say that your postcards are fascinating to me especially the memorial to the murdered jews. Couldn't figure it out so I googled it. Wow. I remember the Tiergaren but not the statue. We had little time to sightsee - too much stuff going on in the Festival. One of the film company directors was Ernst Wolf (I think). He had a little zoo on his property right there in the city. During WWII his mistress hid him in her house. AFter the war, they married - a really fabulous, generous couple in a very gracious home as well as the little zoo.. I have a picture of him in a bathtub with a duck in the water and a horse leaning over for a drink!!! He made sure that he did business with both the East and West so that, if anything happened again, he would have connections to protect them on BOTH sides. What fun to be there for Soccer 2012!!!! Last time I listened, there was a good chance that Germany would win it. When we lived in Oberursel, there were only (State-owned I think) TV stations - and ONE children's program 7:00-7:15 pm called Sandmenschen. When there was a sport competition (we followed ice skating), they covered it ALL - all the lead-in competitions, lots of interviews with everybody and every single competitor even if it ran on til 1 am! It was great fun. You became "friends and protectors" of all of them. So, one year during Olympics (I think) when one of the leaiang figure skating pairs collided we were really shook. By they we had lived and died with them all that time. 'Nuff - I've rambled on and on. Sunday, we're off to Skytop. We'll miss you and take lots of pictures. It promises to be HOT with scattered thunderstorms every day. Not too promising; but, so far, at least not pouring rain! Are you taking pictures?? Hope so. Best to Becca - hope she's having a great time too. How are your classes? Almost forgot that. Forgot to write in German - next time. Meanwhile viele gruesse an Sid biden? (no umlauts on this site). Plus which I'm not sure at all that that's the expression) NonA :>) **A goodnight kiss. We miss you. Look what you missed. It can all be posted here! **

June 6 ~ sweet dreams!! AML, SteffiMom June 6th ... I don't know how this works... am I doing it right? If I am doing this right ... Jack...I am so jealous. Ich bin nicht zer gut. Your Uncle Pat and I honeymooned in Deutchland. We started out in Austria actually, visiting Vienna, Saltzburg (The Sound of Music locale), Innsbruck, and then headed up the "Romantic Road" into Germany. We stopped in so many medieval villages...so much history. So cool. We even visited a torture museum. That was really interesting...and made us both grateful that we were not born back in the day. We stopped by Oberusal where we lived in the early 60's and where your Uncle David was born, and ended up eventually in Munich. We did not visit Berlin...although I am sure that NonA told you that she and Granddad were in Berlin to hear JFK's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech. Historic. You are a lucky boy Jack that you are able to visit Europe ... and with Becca. She sounds like a lovely girl. Send pictures....

I might have to give you a list of things to buy for your Aunt Carrie while you are there (hee, hee).

Much love to you...keep safe...and let us know what you are up to!!!!, xoxoxoxoxoxox Aunt Carrie