My Germany Trip Begins

            Stan, Vanita, Logan, Naomi and Landon pulled in my driveway promptly at 11 a.m. We added the two turquoise carry-on bags that I borrowed from my granddaughter Madison to the pile of suitcases, and we were off, as we say, “like a herd of turtles.” We ate lunch at 5 Guys in Columbia and arrived at the Columbia Airport plenty early, only to learn our flight to Chicago had been delayed an hour due to storms in the “Windy City”. When we went through security, I set off two alarms and had to be patted down by two different female officers. Because we had a child less than two years old, the Webers (and Grandma Harvey) were allowed to board the plane first. A man behind us joked, “I want to be a Weber, too.” With 50 people aboard, The plane was full. The take-off was smooth. The white puffy clouds looked so pretty from above, as they dotted the fields and towns below. 

In less than an hour, we were circling over the blue waters of Lake Michigan and landing at O’Hare.

            We were concerned that we had missed our flight to Munich but soon found out it had been delayed also. As we walked up the ramp into the terminal, a United Airlines worker asked, “Is anyone on this flight going to Munich?” I said yes, and she said, “Run to Charley 29!” She looked at my panicked expression, or maybe it was my gray hair, and said, “Well, don’t hurt yourself, but hurry.” A man standing nearby advised us that it was about a half mile to C29. Logan, Landon and Vanita went ahead, while I went back to tell Stan and Naomi we could still make the flight if we hurried. They were waiting for their suitcases, which were among the last unloaded. I took off walking quickly, wheeling my carry-on and weaving through oncoming people.

Whew! We made it! They actually held the plane a little bit for us. We were so glad to stow away our luggage and find our seats on the big Boeing 777. I had an aisle seat by a couple from Bosnia. Vanita was across the aisle from me. There happened to be an extra seat in our row, so Landon did not have to be held the whole time.

            The United Airlines service was excellent. The flight attendants brought drinks and food, including a hot evening meal. I chose the pasta, which was very good. We thought we would be able to sleep, but none of us slept very much during the 9-hour flight. The sun rose, and at about 2 a.m. our time, we were served a breakfast of coffee, a croissant and yogurt.

            The couple from Bosnia was concerned about making their next flight. If I remember correctly, they were going to Lithuania. They spoke some English but were not fluent. I noticed other people talking to the flight attendant and getting their luggage from the overhead compartments and moving up to the empty seats in the business section. I asked the flight attendant if this couple could move up closer to the front section with their luggage, so they could get off sooner. She said they could, but they didn’t understand her. I told them again (with some acting out and hand motions) that they could get their luggage and move up to the middle section before the plane landed. They both thanked me for helping them. “You understand,” the gentleman said. “I not understand what she say so good.”

            After they moved, I was able to see out the window better, and was excited to get my first glimpse of Germany as the plane began its descent. Terra-cotta red roofs in little villages clustered together in the green countryside. 

After a safe landing, we waited to disembark from the plane. We followed Naomi through the airport and exchanged some cash for euros, which I waved excitedly in the air in front of Vanita. “I have euros!”

            “Mom!” she scolded. “Stop waving your money around in public!” We laughed as I tucked it away in my purse out of sight.

            We went through the proper gate and my passport was stamped for the first time ever! Logan picked up his checked bags, and we headed to the area where people were waiting behind a line. There stood Naomi’s parents, Hans and Linda Scheib, welcoming us with beautiful sunflowers tied with blue and white Bavarian flag colored ribbons for the ladies, German hats for Stan and Logan, and a little t-shirt for Landon. Hans went with Stan and Logan to pick up our rental van, a black 6-speed 7-seater which would accommodate all of us, plus one extra. We agreed to meet at Naomi’s sister’s apartment there in Munich where Lidia had prepared a traditional Bavarian brunch for us. Our adventures in Germany had begun!

          

The Icicle

An icicle appeared overnight outside my kitchen window recently. I admired it from my viewpoint at the sink as I swished my dishes around in warm soapy water. It was almost as long as the window – about three feet. I took a picture of the icicle, because I admired it so. Then, more intense winter precipitation added layers to the icicle. It grew, both in girth and length. I was amazed by its tenacity as it clung by icy fingernails to the snow-covered roof’s edge. My husband took a tape measure out one day and reported it was “pretty close to six feet.” Day after day, I admired Mother Nature’s work of art.

Being a writer, I thought I could use the icicle as a simile or a metaphor. The Robert Frost poem, “Fire and Ice” which I used to teach to my students in my American Literature class came to mind. If you have not read the poem, it presents the arguments of some people who believe the world will end in either fire or ice.

Read the poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44263/fire-and-ice

In his poem, Frost used “ice” to depict world destruction by hate. My icicle could be analogized in that way. It began cold and small, as hate sometimes does. Then just as other people sometimes jump on the bandwagon to embrace hateful beliefs, small droplets of moisture attached themselves to the icicle, creating a cold monster. My icicle could also be a symbol of destruction. I detoured around it rather than walk underneath it on my way to the mailbox.

Then one day, temperatures rose above freezing, and drops of water dripped off of the shrinking icicle. I imagined, still using the analogy of ice equaling hate, the hate was melting away and becoming more logical and grounded there among the river rock at the edge of my house. I thought about people who become educated about an issue or become acquainted with specific individuals instead of spewing hatred towards a whole group of people. I imagined the water sinking into my lawn and beginning a grassroots effort to bring renewed life and love to next spring.

I pray that the hate in our world will melt away as well.

Mary Poppins

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In 1964, when I was nine years old, our friend and neighbor Ruth Davenport called my mother to see if I would like to go to the movies with her son Johnny. I had never been to a movie theater before, and I was super excited to be invited to see Mary Poppins. As soon as the perfectly coiffed Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) dressed in a black coat and hat floated effortlessly on her umbrella from the sky into that darkened theater, I was drawn into a world where anything is possible if you suspend your disbelief. Mary Poppins and her chimney sweeping friend Bert (Dick Van Dyke) sang and danced their way through the streets of London and jumped through the sidewalk into pretend worlds I could not have even imagined. The Banks children, Michael and Jane, were swept along for the ride. The experience was “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”! (I learned that amazingly long made-up word and repeated it later to impress my parents.) 

Recently, when Mary Poppins Returns was advertised as “coming to theaters soon,” I knew I had to go see it. While I am not above going to the theater alone, I thought it would be much more enjoyable to take my nine-year-old granddaughter with me. I told her the story about seeing the original Mary Poppins when I was the same age as her. In the Jeep on our way there, I sang “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and “Let’s Go Fly a Kite.” Since I am compulsively early, we were the first to arrive in the theater, so we had our choice of seats. We moved three times before finding the perfect spots - close, but not so close that we had to tilt back our heads to see the screen. Megan sat ready with her popcorn and soda on which to snack during the movie.

We sat impatiently through the commercials and previews before the actual movie came on. I think I was more excited than she was when Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt), clad in a bright blue coat and red hat and gloves, floated down through the clouds to land in front of the home of Michael Banks, now all grown up, in his time of need. I sat there by Megan and could not stop smiling, except for the touching scenes through which Megan and I both sniffled a little. One time was during the song "The Place Where Lost Things Go." More of my favorite songs from this movie were "A Cover Is Not the Book" and "Nowhere to Go But Up".

     After it was over, I said, "I hope they don't wait 54 years to make another one!"
     Megan replied, "Yes, because I will be old then!" She didn't think about the fact that in 54 years she will be my age...or maybe she did. After all, she is honest, like me.  It was a
“supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” day!