Saturday, December 27, 2008

On to Mannhiem

What better way to start my visit to Mannheim, after adjusting to the news about Karl, than to sit across from a beautiful Fraulein, Karl's grand daughter Elena. She even needed some help (very little help) with her French homework, so we worked on that after dinner.

But first, about dinner. We ate (for my third time) at a wonderful restaurant in Moelhenbach, known for its schwienhaxen (pork hocks), and yes, for my second time, I did have the schwienhaxen Siegfried, named after one of the great knights of the Nibelung, who hunted in these woods, known as the Odenwald, or old woods. What a great meal. Of course I could not help but thinking of some poor pig named Siegfried stumbling around on a wooden leg, but the eating sure was great.

After dinner, we went to Michelstadt, which is a lovely old Odenwald town, pretty much unruined by modernization. Of course that makes it a tourist destination, and things were hopping in the main square near the Rathaus and the hotel where my mother kept my uncle from falling on top of Kaiser Bill back in around 1911. The town is beautiful, even when it was filled with tourists (yeah, yeah, including me), and as we were leaving, I counted over 50 large tour buses before I really got tired of counting them, and I think I was only about half way there. But they did have a lovely Christmas market, although most of the things were factory produced, which is a shame. And of course there was gluwien wherever you turned, and I could not avoid getting at least one mug of gluewien, with the name of the town stamped on the mug. A warming and inexpensive souvenir of the trip there.

Along with all of the tourists, and all of the booths trying to sell things to tourists, there were some really worthwhile things that were on display. There was an old mill that served as a museum in the town, and they had an exhibit of the types of grain that had been milled there. There was also a wonderful couple cranking away on their automated hurdy-gurdies, or at least that is what I would call them. I normally do not like to give out euros to street folks, but this couple certainly earned a few euros from me for making the wonderful music, and displaying the marvelously kept old instruments. I wonder if Wagner heard them when he was writing the Ring Cycle Opera?

Speaking of opera, it would be hard to imagine wandering through this beautiful old German town without bursting into song, and so it was no surprise when I turned a corner and ran into a bunch of carolers. That is Klaus on the left, and Lutz on the right.
Despite the sadness surrounding the death of Karl, it was a wonderful first day in the Mannheim area (actually, Klaus, Lutz and Petra all live and work in Viernheim, just outside of Mannheim.)

Thursday, December 25, 2008

ADDIO KARL

When I arrived in Mannhiem, Nikolaus picked me up at the train station, and he told me the sad news that Karl Pichner, Petra's father, had died the day before. We were headed for a restuarant in Moerlenbach, which was the family home, and where we would have dinner together. We arrived just as Petra and her mother, her brother, her sister-in-law and their daughter Elena, and Lutz arrived.

They did not want Karl's death mentioned, as he was well known in the community, and they wanted some quiet time with just the family. Somehow, I was fortunate enough to be included, and we all tried to have a nice time.

I first met Karl two years ago, when Klaus, Petra, and Lutz hosted a catered dinner at their office to celebrate a birthday. I remember him so clearly, because Petra had apparently talked about Fran and I, and he seemed pleased to meet me. Through other family members who spoke English, he apologized, and seemed genuinely sorry that he did not speak English so that we could not talk more.

He was so sincere, and we managed to talk several times through the interpretation of one of the other people who was there. He seemed genuinely interested in me, and why I was in Sicily, and about America. I later saw him at his architect's office, located in his home, when we stopped there for some coffee.

No, I did not know Karl well. However he did leave a lasting impression on me. I remember him as a man of incredible strength and moral honor. He suffered for two years with a failing kidney, refusing to be put on a transplant list because 'other younger people might need it more'. He raised a wonderful family, and I have gotten to know both Petra and her brother Marcus. They are both children a father would be proud of, and the pride comes from the upbringing that he provided.

I join the family in mourning his loss.

Germany - Frankfurt area

Off to Germany I went. The trip to Munich and Aschaffenburg was easy, and Nadja was waiting for me at the station. As it was fairly late, we simply drove to her home outside Frankfurt in Maintau, where her husband had just arrived home from giving a final exam to his technical students. We sat around a had a bit of whiskey and talked about where our lives had taken us in the year since we had seen each other. Ralf and Nadja had gone to Mauritus, and because of overbooking, they had been asked by Emirates airline if they could fly a day early. Because they had agreed to extend their vacation in paradise by one day. the airline then gave them free tickets to anywhere to be used within a year. They were happily preparing to return to Mauritius, where they had found a group of friends, and had presented a lecture on the state of Marxism in Germany and the world.

The next day, while Ralf again worked with his students, Nadja and I went shopping for groceries for the meeting that she would be hosting for the group of Doctors who have a political organization of which she is executive director. Then we drove off to Ashaffenburg, stopping along the way at a Bavarian Beer Store, which had beers from all over Bavaria. Nadja picked up some mixed cases of Christmas and Winter beers, and I bought a few of the local beers to take along to Mannhiem when I went there. It is my second time at the store, and the place never fails to amaze me. Along with the beer, they gave Nadja two free mugs, and she gave one of them to me as a souvenir. I took some great pictures there, and later, and they have all disappeared from the camera. Again, learn to use a new camera before you take important picutes with it.

Anyway, we went on to Nadja's parent's house, where we were greeted with coffee and Christmas cookies. Her father is retired from Volvo, and they were a wonderful couple, with a lovely and warm house. We had been using their car, so her father dropped us off near the castle, and we walked around the castle into the old downtown area. The castle was not only huge, but also beautiful, looking over a bend in the river. It was closed to visitors, however we were able to get into the central court yard, and see through some windows to the interior.

Then we did a quick turn of the Christmas Market, looking for a little statue of Santa's (black) helper, similar to Black Peter in the Netherlands, but could nto find any. There were of course plenty of wurstel (sausage) and Gluwien (hot spiced red wine) booths around, but we tried to steer clear of them.

Then we did a tour of the Cathedral and the old part of town. The Cathedral of St. Peter and Alexander had some beautiful paintings by Mathis Gothard Niethard from the 16th century, and there was a group of elementary students practicing for a Christmas pageant. It was wonderful.

After wandering around a bit more in the town Nadja had grown up in, we stopped at the Schlappeseppel Brauhaus for a local beer. Ah, soo good. They also had a wonderful old poster of how beer is made, and I took a picture of it. Again, get to know your camera before you take important pictures.

Nadja's sister met us at the Brauhaus, and took us to her house, after picking up the beer that we had stashed at her parent's house. I was amazed when I got out of the car and looked in the window. Her husband was working on the computer, and there was a large thank you message on the screen from SOS Kinderdorf. This was a charity that my cousin Eva Kallir helped found and worked for, originally taking care of German and Austrian war orphans, and now taking care of dependent and neglected children around the world. Every Christmas I remember my mother putting a card on the tree from SOS Kinderdorf thanking her for her contribution. It brought back such nice memories for me. When I talked to Willy about it, he said that he makes a contribution to them every Christmas.

We sat down to a feast of wonderful German sausages and pates and breads and cheeses (and, by the way, beers and wines), and talked about America. Nadja's sister asked what I missed about America, and I said fresh peanut butter. She laughed. She had lived in Portland for six years while Willi worked there, and she started listing all that she missed, much of it having to do with the music scene, heavy metal, and that whole subculture. She then asked her husband what he missed about being in America, and he thought for a while, and then said nothing. Their son said he missed some of his friends, but he had new friends here, and was looking through a catalogue to determine what he would need to get for Christmas.

Nadja's sister then drove us home, where we had a nightcap, and Nadja prepared for the meeting the next day.


So it was off to Frankfurt, and as she hosted the meeting at Goethe University, I took the tram into the centro, bought my train ticket for the next day, and wandered through the Christmas Market. After being to a few Christmas Markets, I have found it much more fun to people watch than stuff watch, although I did succumb to the temptation of a Gluwien, and I also found a book store that had a wonderful selection of boxed sets of music for almost no money, so I bought Nadja and Ralf a collection of American Folk Music, and Carl a Dave Brubeck set. I also found the International Book Store (right where it always was) and got a new poster and a book by Enzo Apicella, a wonderful left wing cartoonist who is from Milan and now lives in London.

I met Nadja after the meeting, and we went to her house and picked up Ralf, and headed to the local Brauhaus for some of their local beer, along with a wonderful dinner of wild boar in a delicious sauce.

Thank you Ralf and Nadja for a wonderful stay at your house. I am so sorry that the pictures did not come out. Well, one did come out, of a great mural, near the sudbahnhof, I think.

Una Pausa

After Thanksgiving, I took a break. I needed one. I was scheduled to travel to Germany to visit my friends near Frankfurt, my friends near Mannhiem, and to finally spend enough time in Cologne to at least see the Cathedral. The pause was relaxing. I really did not do much of anything but read and putter around. Angelo came down one day to help me reorganize my storage shed. Other than that, it was pure relaxation.

And then, a few days before I left, I got the crushing news that my friend Gabriella Cinnicio's father had died. I will write about him in a later note. I felt at sea, I did not know what to do. I was trying to prepare for the anniversary of Fran's death, and now this terrible news. I knew not how to be of comfort to Gabriella and Fabrizzio, and so paralyzed, I simply called and offered my condolences, and told them I would see them when I returned. It was very difficult for me, for whatever reason, but I needed to get away, so off to Germany I flew, on a direct flight from Palermo to Munich, and then a train on to Aschaffensburg, where my friend Nadja picked me up.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Another reason for thanks

When I got back to Sciacca after the Thanksgiving feast, I found a message on my answering machine. Acursio was telling me that I had to be at Agape that night by 7 PM. It was important.

Well, Agape is the service provider for day programming for differently abled adults. It is a non profit organization, and much of the costs associated with the program are paid by the parents of families of the clients. It is one of my favorite charities, and I donate money to them when I can, and especially to help out with special events.

When I arrived at the center, the important event was a family dinner, and they wanted me to be there. We all went to the lower level, where my friends Gianni and Antonio teach ceramics when they are not working in their ceramics shops in town. The table had been cleared and cleaned, and we sat down to a wonderful meal of pasta with sauce, followed by grilled sausage, pork fillets, and chicken fillets. The men did the grilling, and the women did the sauce and pasta making. Believe me, it was not easy for either group to cook for the approximately fifty people who were there.

It was a wonderful event, with the various families together to break bread. When I asked what they were celebrating (usually they are celebrating something, whether it is Acursio's birthday, Liberation Day, Christmas, or the end of the year.) They told me that they were not celebrating anything, it had just felt too long since they had gotten together like this.

What a wonderful reason for a celebration. It was like Thanksgiving again, with a different family, and different traditional foods. And yes, all fifty of us were there like family. Even my friend Francesca, who usually acts up during public events, just smiled and took part in the serving of the food.

Bravi to all the clients and families of Agape.

Now if I could only get my gosh darn camera to work the way I want it to.

A new camera for Thanksgiving

While I could not go to England for Thanksgiving, I did go to Sigonella. And because my camera malfunctioned so badly in the US, I bought a new click and shoot camera. I probably should have read the instructions before using it. I took some great shots at Sigonella, and somehow they all got erased.

But I do need to tell you about the experience. Rob and Jacque LeBlanc hosted me, and on Wednesday night, we went to a restaurant near Nicolosi which is one of a group of restaurants that have specialty dishes, and when you order that dish, you get a ceramic plate as a reminder of the meal, as well as a book with a listing of all the other plate restaurants in Italy. There is also a group of plate restaurants in Japan. Who knew?

Anyway, Jacque and Pat, a friend who teaches at Sigonella, both ordered the specialty, and I even got a taste of it. Oh my was it good. I ordered probably the simplest meal, just a wild mushroom risotto, and it was also good, with great fresh local mushrooms. I snuck a piece of Rob's roast pork, and it was also wonderful. The name of the restaurant was Palazzo de Principe, and the kitchen staff knows what they are doing.

For Thanksgiving, because Rob used to be a chef in the Navy, Jacque made the feast. She had invited her landlord's family, a nice couple with two boys, as well as their friend who teaches in the Italian schools nearby. Jacque did up everything just great, making a huge ham as well as a turkey. And of course there were ALL the trimmings. Because I was on a diet, I only filled my plate once. I had not realized how much I had missed turkey or baked ham here, but I was sated after one plate. It was fun watching the two twenty something sons go back and refill their plate, and go back and refill their plate. It looked like a good old American Thanksgiving Dinner.

I do give thanks for such wonderful friends as Rob and Jacque. Rob has just accepted a transfer back to the states, and will be leaving in a few months. They are moving back to Hawaii, home for them, and I will miss both of them. They have often inspired good cheer for me, and Jacque has organized the folks from Sigonella for trips here to Sciacca.

Happy Thanksgivings for all your thanksgivings in the future, and again, I give thanks for having friends like you. I only wish the pictures had come out.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Back to Sicily, but for how long?

When I finally arrived back in Sicily, after trying to recover by just relaxing at my hotel in Amsterdam, and deal with the jet lag, I was indeed happy to be met by my friend Angelo.

Angelo has been out of work with the rental car company since the very end of the summer and early fall crush of tourists here, so I am glad to have him act as my driver for airport pick ups. When we got to Sciacca, I realized two things. First of all, there was work to be done around the outside of the house, and second of all, I did not have the energy or strength to do it, without doing some harm to my post surgery sore chest.

The first item of business for me was to get x rays and blood work to take to the hospital for a check up. Everything seemed to be fine, and the folks in thorasic surgery seemed to love the wooden spreaders I bought from Roz as an example of hand made American crafts. Angelo met me at his house in Palermo, and took over the driving to the hospital and back, also making sure that I understood everything the doctor told me, which mainly was that I still needed to take it easy, that I would be feeling pain in my chest for another year or two, and that was my body's way of telling me to take it easy, and that above all else, I should take it easy.

After we finished with the doctor, we met Franci and Alessio at Franci's parents clothing store, and then took Alessio on to Angelo's house. It was great holding him on my lap as Angelo went through the curvy, tiny back streets of Palermo, making far better time than the folks who go up and down Via Roma and Via Marqueda. We parted company at Angelo's house, making arrangements for him to come to Sciacca to put in a day's work for me.

The next order of business, sadly, was to call my former college room mate, now a professor of Physics at Gettysburg College, and tell him that I could not join him in England for Thanksgiving. I also had to cancel my visit with our first year neighbors, Claudio and Giusy, and their new baby Ginevra, who now run a pasta delivery service in Bristol (Giusy cooks and Claudio delivers, fresh hot pasta with home made sauce, now that is Sicilian!!)

Fortunately, I had booked the flights fairly early on Ryan Express, and while they do not give refunds, I was only out 0.00 Euros, plus a little bit of tax. Good prices on those flights, and I will use them to get up to England to visit Claudio and Giusy soon.

Friday, December 19, 2008

The rest of the whirlwind tour

I have not covered Stephanie and Jon's wedding to the extent I should have, however I did lose all of the photos I took, and I will just let that story and that wonderful time ride for now.

While I went to the states to help them celebrate, I also took three weeks to do it, and made a whirlwind tour of Massachusetts and New York while I was at it. I did not spend as much time as usual with Fran's family in Dunkirk, but I then used the time to visit with other friends that I had not seen in far too long, and also to catch up with some friends I visit regularly.

After two nights at Stephanie and Jon's apartment in Boston, mainly sleeping away jet lag, and investigating the nearby Whole Foods store, a chain I remembered from visiting New Mexico more than a decade ago, I headed west.

My first stop was a lunch break with my dear friends Marge and Ted Fedak. Ted always claimed to be my Dutch Uncle, and indeed he was. He was my father's friend who was never afraid to correct my behavior, and I always felt especially cared about by both he and Marge. They are retired now and living a comfortable life just outside Albany.

All too soon I had to get back on the road and get to the Syracuse area for the night. My good friend, and former colleague in Adult Education, and co conspirator on a regional adult ed steering committee, had rented a cottage on the shores of Lake Ontario for us. We used it as a wonderful retreat, watching the sun set over the water, watching the sun rise over the water, and enjoying the abundant heat of the cottage as we watched frost form on the grass.

We also went to dinner with her girl friends, and caught a folk music act at the Oswego Music Hall, which was wonderful, and reminded me of the time Fran and I saw Utah Phillips play there. It is a wonderful small venue, and the volunteer staff is great. I always enjoy getting together with Donna, as she always gets me together with her girl friends, and I get to watch interesting socializations going on, as well as being stared at by their casual acquaintances wonder what a man is doing in their presence. It is great fun.

I also stopped by to see my former boss Mike Egan, who is supposed to be retired, but this year has accepted an acting principalship of the high school in Fulton, and caught up on what was going on in the school district.

I left on a Monday morning for Dunkirk, with a stop in Rochester to see Andy, my father's widow. She is doing well, and seems to be enjoying life in the retirement home, which looks to have wonderful facilities for her. Brava!

In Dunkirk, I tried to integrate into the busy lives of Junior and Jo, as they prepared to go to a wedding in Ohio (One of Fran's nieces, Stan's daughter Cori), and I was also able to catch up with Joe and Kathy Piede for about three hours at the hotel bar where Junior tends bar (he also does not seem to like the idea of retirement).

Jr and Jo have gutted the house on the lake, and are fixing it up to move into this spring. It looks wonderful, and the windows over the lake will give them great views of the spectacular Lake Erie sunsets. It is a long project, and seems to be going well. Ellyn got a full time job working at a community residence, which is a great step for her after working part time for a few years. Lanie continues to be busy with her commute into Buffalo every day for Verizon, and the Caccamise family was so busy I did not get to see them.

Ron and Patricia are doing well, and Ron hopes to get off temp status with Purina into a full time job as they introduce new products into the plant, and increase production. I felt worried as the economy in the US started to crumble, but then I thought about a possible upsurge in the use of pet foods, as real food perhaps gets more expensive. Oh my. Danny is doing well in school, Rori is really enjoying motherhood, and Alex and Mandy seem to be getting on quite well.

Roz and Mike have their workshop all set up, and Roz is supplementing her income by looking after Mia when Ellyn is at work. They have a beautiful house and grounds in Dunkirk, and continue to make wonderful wood products.

As everyone left for Ohio, I left to visit the Kompf family in Fort Erie (actually Stevensville). It was a wonderful time, and I got to see not only Michael and Sandy, but Samantha was also home, and we teased her about what sort of car to buy. She eventually settled on a small pick up, which was totalled a week later by an idiot on the highway. I think she has just found another one. It is not easy growing up.

Something strange happened as I crossed back into the states. I must admit that I have felt that I might be paranoid when I talk about the idea that my e mail and my skype phone calls may be monitored. However, the previous time when I was in the states, I took 7 international flights. Each time, when I got to my destination, there was a little note in my checked baggage letting me know that my bag had been 'randomly' selected for search by the Fatherland Security Act team. Okay, seven out of seven is, I suppose, possible.

This time, as I crossed into the US, for the first time they electronically scanned my passport. I was driving a rental car, and was asked about that. I was asked what roads I followed to get to my home in Dunkirk (the person seemed to know Dunkirk, as I had to explain to him where Junior lived, and then he understood, and he also gave a sign of recognition regarding Sam's vegetable stand). Okay, I can accept all of that.

However, the screen on the passport reader beeped, and I was told to drive over to the inspection area, because my car had been 'randomly' selected for search by the Fatherland Security Act folks. It was a simple procedure, and I had to wait about fifteen minutes for someone to look in the trunk (which had not been opened since I rented the car), and then I was told to go on my way. Random my butt.

So it was back to Dunkirk for two nights, a fond faretheewell to Jr and Jo and Sam, and then on the road to Auburn.

Ah, blessed Auburn, home of Annette and Mark. Annette was a student of mine when I was adjunct professor at SUNY Oswego, and she ended up taking all of the courses I taught as a part of her Master's program, and then got them to accept me as her thesis advisor. Mark is an expert handyman carpenter who does wonderful work in the Auburn area. I have watched their house grow from being a little baby to being a custom built palace. What a wonderful place they have. What wonderful food Annette makes. What wonderful conversations the three of us had. A great two days of rest for me.

(I should mention that my side was getting sorer and sorer as my travel progressed, and when I slept, I generally slept in chairs. That part of the trip was not fun).

On October 29th, I started driving through the snow, first stopping in Fulton again to visit with the current superintendent, Bill Lynch, and Tom Greer, Director of Personnel in central offices. It was good to see them again, and I went on to Lanigan School to see Carlo Cuccaro, the psychologist there, and then on to Fairgrieve to visit with their psychologist Bob Magee. It was good to see those folks again, and as Bill and I reminisced, it is amazing the personnel turnover that has gone on in the school district.

Then I stopped by to see Barbara Arndt, my friend and financial advisor in Syracuse, before heading on to western Mass. for the night.

After the wedding, I holed up in Boston at the Royal Sonesta. When I got to my room, which was large and comfortable and all the usual stuff, I noticed that there was no really comfortable chair for me to sleep in if sleeping in the bed became too painful. In talking to the front desk staff, they told me that they had changed the chairs to comfortable desk chairs, as their marketing department said that worked best for the guests. Then they said they would try to work something out. Within an hour, there was a knock on my door, and a wonderful overstuffed chair was delivered to my room complete with ottoman. I slept well. I will also say that both restaurants in the hotel served excellent food. This is not a plug for the Royal Sonesta, it is simply appreciation.

My friends Carol and Eric Chandler came up from New Jersey to spend two nights with me there, and we had a wonderful time chatting. They also took me to their friend Edgar's church for Sunday morning service. It was wonderful. Edgar ministers to a small parish in an Hispanic neighborhood of Boston. The organist was not there when we were there (called in ill), but the choir pulled out some instruments and made the church fill with beautiful music with an Hispanic and African tinge. Thank you Edgar for a wonderful service, congregation, and music, and thank you Eric and Carol for taking me there with you.

I was also able to get together with Jess a few more times, and then spent election eve in front of the TV, watching McCain get virtual shoes tossed at him by an awakened population. I have high hopes for our president elect, and I hope that he can push through major parts of his agenda. Already there is a more positive feeling toward Americans in Europe, as they look forward to being able to have a more positive feeling toward America.

The day after election I bid a fond and painful adieu to the US, and flew to Amsterdam via Heathrow. The designers of the Heathrow airport are to be congratulated for studying what travellers need most as they change planes. However it is unfortunate that they seem to have designed the airport to do just the opposite.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The Best Union Ever

Jon Collier and Stephanie Ziobro got married on October 31st in Massachusetts. My pictures of the wedding did not come out well enough to post, but you can see some great shots of their honeymoon at Jon's Flickr site.

The wedding was wonderful. The bar was open for an hour before the ceremony, so everyone was as relaxed as they needed to be for the wedding. Stephanie, and probably some help from Jon, wrote the ceremony. It was great. The best thing was that as each repeated the written vow, the Mistress of Ceremonies, or High Priestess, or the Marraiger, asked them if they really meant what they said in their vow, and each let the gathered community of friends, family, hangerson, and recruits from the street know that they were serious about this marraige.

Following the ceremony, the bar reopened, dinner was served, and several of their friends regaled the audience with stories of how they met, what they were like when they were younger, and Jess did a wonderful piece about what Fran would have said and done if she had lived long enough to attend the ceremony.

Then there was loud music, dancing, and the bar remained open. Who could ask for more.

To make more sense of everything, I would invite you to visit the wedding web site at bestunionever.com It tells the stories of two wonderful people who were made for each other, and gives you some insight of what their life may be like in the near future.

Congratulations to both of you. Love you both.

Catching Up

It has been far too long since I have updated anyone, including myself. Part of it was the fact that I was still recovering from my vacation at Ospedale Il Cervallo. The recovery took longer (is taking longer?) than I had expected. And even in recovery, as the saying goes, I still stayed active, and at times, too active. And then of course in order to cut my internet ISP and phone service bill by two-thirds, I changed providers, which ended up keeping me off line for a month. Those are all of my excuses, and now I have some real catching up to do. I need to tell you about my visit to the US, and to the best wedding in the world, where Jon Collier and Stephanie Ziobro made their feelings known publicly. Off course there were other adventures when I was in the states, and I will get to those. On the other side of the coin, I must say Addio to two great men. All that in time. And of course it is now past olive and olive oil season, and a trip to Germany, and a sad anniversary.

Because of the way this blog works, and because I plan on spending a lot of time on this blog doing all the updates in the next few days, the entries will appear in reverse chronological order, or illogical order, as the case may be. But catch up I shall, and I will start soon.