The Write Stuff
Christies of London Auction House
Thirty some years ago it was a cherished dream for my husband Hal to browse through Christies Auction Catalogues and if there were any dueling pistols for the upcoming auction, he talked about it, but never gathered the courage to do any bidding. He would look in a special bookstore for the quarterly catalogue of Christies and sometimes also for the San Francisco auction house Butterfield & Butterfield. For Hal
Joachim, Rainald and Ducky
My sister Friedl lived in Darmstadt/Germany and had a very nice husband Georg and two adorable sons Joachim, then, during my visit and the time of this story, 6 years old, and Rainald soon to be 4 years old. It was my first visit to Germany in 1957 when I got to see the little one, Rainald. He was born the night I had left Germany and was flying to the United States to join my dear husband Hal. When I arrived at the Frankfurt/Germany Airport they, my sister and both boys were there to await me. We had a wonderful visit together it was so nice to be with my sister again. It was very devastating leaving her behind when I left Germany. After a few days of visiting and conversations we made plans to go on a picnic by our favorite lake. We stopped at the bakery and purchased good crunchy rolls had butter and cheese and also some little tomatoes, fresh strawberries and bananas, a thermos with good coffee and some lemonade for the boys. Friedl had baked a wonderful cake and we packed some of it into our basket.
We took the stroller for Rainald in case he would get tired after the walk from the end of the streetcar to the lake, but mostly for our basket. It was a sunny and beautiful day late August. We found an empty bench and made it comfortable for the four of us. On a big beach towel we unpacked our basket. The boys wanted to go down by the lake to look at the ducks. They loved ducks. After our delectable lunch, we went for a walk and let them watch all the ducks in the lake. Of course they all came out of the water thinking they would get some food.
I had noticed several times during my stay that Joachim and also Rainald would address my sister as:
A Ballet: Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky
The Ruby Necklace
My sister Friedl was only two years older than I, but I realized, looking at her that she seemed much more mature and more sophisticated than I. She already had her own season ticket for the opera and would go with her friend Irmgard to several performances during the season. It was one of those evenings when my sister, all dressed up in a beautiful gown was sitting on the window bench in our bedroom. The gown of beautiful, soft black velvet fitted down the front and neckline straight across. The back was flared at the bottom and the neckline was low and loosely draped. Friedl, with her black hair looked elegant and awesome. She told me that she asked Mama for the necklace she liked very much to wear this evening to the opera. We were discussing the opera that Friedl was going to see tonight. I really loved the music of Rigoletto. It is a beautiful, but sad and tragic opera but the music is captivating and heartrending.
It was a few days later Friedl and Mama were talking about the opera that Friedl so enjoyed. It was always interesting to me to listen to our Mama talk about different operas or ballets. She always made it so interesting and fascinating. I might not be going to see them yet, when I am a few years older I will be able to go too, but I love that type of music already. Our Mama could play this kind of music on our Grand Piano and I loved to sit nearby and listen and daydream.
When Mama entered our bedroom, she had a sweet smile on her face. In her hand she held up a most beautiful long necklace of rubies. She put it on Friedl gave her a kiss and turned her around to have a look at her beautiful daughter and smiled.
Next evening, we were enjoying dinner together having again a lively conversation about classical music and ballets and Mama was telling us about a most beautiful piece of music choreographed by Mikhail Fokine into a most enchanting and mesmerizing ballet
My Darkest Hour
I grew up in Germany and after WWII in 1948 I went to work for Northern Area Command, General Eisenhower
The Beautiful Opera Aida
It was September 9th 1944. The opera we would see tonight was the beautiful Aida with elaborate costumes and powerful music by Giuseppe Verdi.
One of our professors at the university I was attending took it upon himself to teach us not only a strong and complete curriculum but also introduced us to the
Dom P
A Summer Night Ball
I grew up in Darmstadt/Germany during WWII. Even though a cruel war was commencing, our lives still were structured, filled with new things to learn and to study diligently. My father strived to bring as many activities into our lives as we could handle. My mother tried hard to keep us protected and safe yet let us have free time to do some of the things we love. At the age of 19, my sister Friedl had finished her education and enrolled into a dance studio to learn proper ball room dancing. My sister was two years older than I and she was enrolled first. After each course, each different dance they put on an evening of festivities and a formal ball. First course was the waltz, second course was the slow waltz. The third was my favorite, the tango. Then came the foxtrot, samba and rumba.
It was a surprise when my sister handed me a gold engraved invitation from the dance master to attend the summer ball at the end of the third dance course. I still remember my beautiful gown. It was a symphony! It was long and had a full circle skirt. The color of the silk crepe was a very pale grey with a hue of purple. About 10
Homecoming After Seven Long Years
It was 1946 after WWII had ended and I lived with my sister Friedl in Darmstadt/ Germany. Our mother just had died of cancer. She was only 46 years old. Our father did not return at the end of the war, and we did not know if he was in a Russian prison camp or died when the Russians took Berlin where he was stationed. My sister Friedl joined the Red Cross so we would receive some information or news about family members who did not return after the war as yet.
It was not until 1949 that the Red Cross office informed my sister of some news, but also told Friedl it might just be a rumor. Prisoners of war from a Russian camp came through Darmstadt and told the Red Cross workers that our father might be in Siberia in a prisoner- of-war camp. The worker at the Red Cross told Friedl that she would notify us when there would be a train with prisoners and officers coming through the Darmstadt Train Station. Could we have hope?