Vater ist der beste Kunde im Lokal,
er haelt jede Nacht
an der Tecke Wacht.
Hat der Wirt auch keine Gaeste,
Vater ist der beste ...
My Mom used to sing this jingle with glee.
She adored her Dad.
I hope it was a mutual admiration situation.
My mom told me with great pride how her Dad
was capable of making her pretty dresses to wear to school.
I also know that he liked to laugh - and drink,
and he would not bother with the collection of dues.
Opa became a house painter, in business for himself
after he lost his wife's fortune during the great depression.
They had owned several houses, a convenience store and
"eine Gartenwirtschaft" a restaurant with a patio for music and dancing.
They must have been very outgoing and social.
My grandfather forbid his kids to join Hitler's youth group
and believed the Fuehrer to originate from the devil.
He had though no compulsions about withdrawing my Mom's salaries from her bank account while she served in the army during WW II.
Is there such a thing as 'a bike-loving gene'?
My Opa, my Mom, and myself, we loved our bikes.
My Opa, my Mom, and myself, we loved our bikes.
I seem to remember vividly feeding the birds with my Mom's Dad.
I remember him as calm and kind and - old.
It was the fifties, my hair was still black, Tante Hannah was a single, older woman taking care of Opa. They were social people, hanging out in bars and restaurants, gambling with pennies, listening to the jukebox, laughing and probably drinking too much, but never getting wasted. I guess Opa coped, mostly silently unless he had a glass too many, with the aftermath of WW II.
I can't tell you how much I enjoyed your stories about Opa, and the pictures. He sounds like quite an amazing man. Thank you for sharing him!
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