I was a kid who grew up with a black and white TV in the house.  When we watched the Wizard of Oz, we never knew there was anything unusual about Dorothy entering the Land of Oz, other than the mess of midgets dancing and singing.  It was black and white whether she was at Oz or back home in Kansas.  So when color came to our TV it was such an amazing thing, I lost interest in anything not in vivid (or washed out) color.

Now, 40 years later I am watching TV one day and see an old Marx Brothers film.  I was hooked on the crazy humor.  It was only a matter of weeks until several DVDs arrived from Amazon.com.

To see the talent of the ever silent Harpo with his unique ability to confuse anyone he comes in contact with, and his amazing exchange of hats and deft pair of scissors that can remove any tie, garment or pocket in a heartbeat.  But then place him next to a harp, and he is able to make the strings sing like a choir of angels.

And to watch Chico sit at a piano and play is so incredible, that I have come to realize the ones who most enjoy his performances are his hands, with the fingers that literally dance across the ivory, skipping and jumping like a child fresh out of school for the summer.

And to see the antics of Groucho with his continuous attempts to marry Margaret Dumont who played: Martha Phelps, Mrs. Dukesbury, Mrs. Upjohn, Mrs. Claypool, Mrs. Teasdale, Mrs. Rittenhouse and Mrs. Potter and others.

Groucho with his one-liners are memorialized by many people in the entertainment industry.

“I once shot an elephant in my pajamas. What he was doing in my pajamas I’ll never know.”

Female: “Hold me closer …”
Groucho: “If I hold you any closer, I’ll be behind you!”

Here’s to our wives and girlfriends… may they never meet!

I never forget a face, but in your case I’ll be glad to make an exception.

Die, my dear? Why that’s the last thing I’ll do!

And many many others.  They’re nonstop in the movies.

You can’t help but notice that everyone in the films are having fun as well.  Many times you will see an actor trying to hold back a smile.  I have a bit of my mother’s curiosity, so as I watched these movies I became more in awe at these men, until I had to jump onto Wikipedia to find out more about them.

I knew there was a fourth brother, Zeppo that played in the earlier movies, but I find that there was also another brother, Gummo, who left acting before his brothers entered the films.

But I also see there was actually a sixth brother, the first born, Manfred, who died at 7 months, probably a victim of influenza. – what a great trivia question!

The four brothers, compliments of Wikipedia.

I have since ordered a book titled, Harpo Speaks, which is a biography of the Marx Brothers through the eyes of Harpo, the one who never spoke in the films, who supposedly only had a year and a half of schooling.  Ironically, it is said he was the best at words.  I am assured it is good reading and when finished, I will add its book report to the I’ve always hated book reports section.

It is a good thing to delve in the past humor of Hollywood when it was truly funny and worth watching, to clear your head of the convulsions and bias of the modern film world.  My hats off to those zany men and their antics.  Heaven must be a really funny place at times.

Keep kicking.  D.

I’m not an athletic person, so when the Embassy decided to host its first Olympic games, I pretty much crawled into a corner and kept very quiet.  Terese on the other hand, said, “Sure, why the hell not?”

Well, I can tell you, “Why the hell not.”  The old woman spent many years of her life twirling around like an spinnin’ phonograph record during her days of ballet and has the worn out joints to prove it.  Myself?  I see the day a success if I can get out of bed to walk to the bathroom without falling over.  It’s the creaks in my joints that wakes the damn cat up.

But before I knew what happened, I was signed up for several events that do not require athleticism.  Such as the blindfolded obstacle course, the egg carrying relay, volleyball and the final tug-o-war.

Terese on the other hand, performed the blindfolded cupcake coloring contest, the egg relay and believe it or not, actually tried her best at the slip & slid competition.  It’s was exactly as you would imagine.  Run as fast as you can, land on your belly and slide as far as possible.  Which she did.  As far a possible.  About that far.  … and no more.  But the ol’ gal gave it her best and never looked back.

Now, the whole fiasco was divided into Teams from the offices in the Embassy.  Terese was on the Consular Team, and I was on the RSO Team, which is the people in my office, the people in the Security Office and the Marines.

There were many of the healthier people who took part in the 4×400 meter relay, broad jumping, sack race, three legged race, the mile run, soccer kick, dodge ball, and others I try not to remember.  There was one little athletic girl whose body reminded me of a jaguar.  Ever step on a packet of ketchup on the sidewalk?  She was as fast as that squirt.  We had several young marines on our team that makes the Hulk look like a wimp.  You would think that we would win every competition with them, but they are not that good at blind-folded cake decorating, blind-folded obstacle course and running with eggs on spoons.

About the best way to describe this mess, is with the few pictures I took. First have a look at Terese’s blindfold decorating entries.  The woman is a born artist.

And the Master Cake Decorator herself.

One of the best aspects of the gathering, was the food available.  I chowed down and would have continued, but I had the volleyball contest right after eating.

… and assorted spurious pictures taken of the unsuspecting.

And I am slipping in a picture of my boss and co-worker who took part of the arduous games.  My boss is the thinner of the two. Below is the team Terese was on.  Yep, that’s her hold the banner.

And here is the Team I was on.  I’m not holding the banner.

 – well, actually, I have not been able to track the picture down. When I find who has it, I will post it.  Just pretend it is a bunch of hefty guys with one little thin girl, celebrating winning First Place. –

And here is a pic taken by a friend who allowed me to post her picture of the final competition, the tug-o-war.  I’m on the team on the left.  The winning team.  –  There was some horse power there.

Which team won?   Well, it was not a pretty win, but the team I was on took first place, with very little help from me.  The score was tied between our team and the team Terese was on, but her team had a point deducted because of an illegal substitution.  So, RSO Team won.

It was probably the most exercise we had in years.  We both ended up with aches and pains.  My face and blonde spot were sunburned in addition to irregular bowel movements throughout the night.  Did we have fun?  Ah, yeah, I guess.  Next year, I will be better prepared to find somewhere else I need to be, like a horse auction or a basket weaving class.

Kick butt in the Olympian way.  Dwaine

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I grew up in the Texas Panhandle where the land is so flat and barren, the birds use cows as landmarks.  The winters can be frigid, dry and windy; or snowy and wet.  The summers can easily reach above 100, and add the dry winds and it can bake a log.

It was always a thrill to head to the mountains for a spell, where the moisture fragrants the air and the pines whisper to you.  But something the mountains don’t have, are the sunrises and sunsets of the flat land.

Certain times throughout the year, I would drive out to the edge of town with my 35mm camera and take pictures of the sunsets, where the sunlight traversed through the moisture of the mountains of New Mexico, hundreds of miles away.

In the places of the world that I have the privilege to be, I have yet to find a place to rival the colors of the Texas Panhandle skies.  In sitting here and thinking about this, I realized all the colors were there, even green – the one color that is not desired in the skies, for it indicates the presence of hail.

I would guess that I have taken no less than a thousand pictures of the displays of the Texas Panhandle.  Many are digital, and there are hundreds on developed film.

At the possibility of boring you, I would like to post a few below.

– My compliments to the Creator.      D.

Week before last, Terese and I went to Frankfurt for me to get a bit of training, so I will have some more smarts.  When we returned home, I had to make a quick trip down to Adana for a project that is about to conclude.  I’ll be making another trip in week or so, but this topic needs to be about Frankfurt, as there is much to tell and show.

Germany is the land of my ancestors.  It pretty much typifies Europe with one exception, among others – the Germans are larger in size.  Not large as in Wal-Mart large, but they are big boned.  It must be where I got my broad shoulders.  The natives also have the rough facial features that my brothers and I have.  I can’t complain as it keeps the riff-raff away.

The youth pretty much reflect the youth of Europe with their strange haircuts, leather clothing and men with facial makeup.  Many men carry something that resembles a purse, which most are not feminine looking.

On Saturday, we rode the tram up to a major rail station where there are booths set up selling food and drink.  It was about 11:30 in the morning, when we stopped at a crowded booth and ordered up two glasses of white wine, and stood under a canopy out of the light rain and watched the people.

We noticed that people would go to a booth for wine or German beer and take it over to another booth and order food, then sit on one of the picnic tables under the awnings to enjoy a perfect German lunch.  We continued along the walk paths between the booths and tents looking through some of the shops.  Terese purchased a scarf to wrap around her neck to keep out the cool wet breeze that was lightly blowing.  Then we stopped at a favorite restaurant of mine, which is an old building that reminds me of a small train station from a century ago.  Had sausages that were long thin hotdogs by our account, along with applevine (apple wine).  Applevine is a light wine from apples that does not seem to have the alcohol content of regular wine.  (Gary, is there such a thing as regular wine?)  My brother is the family expert on wine and perhaps other nefarious things … except box wine, which my brother Quenton is the expert.

After eating, we strode down the side street to a Starbucks for coffee.  We had to sit outside due to all the people who go to Starbucks and park their butt for several hours watching movies on the free Wi-Fi, with an occasional drink.  Now, I realize that many of you feel that no one in their right mind would pay those prices for coffee, but there are many of us who do.  I never mind paying $2 for a fresh strong cup of coffee.  You get what you pay for.

We also took advantage of being in Frankfurt to meet with Josie, a good friend of Terese who worked in Addis with her, when we were there last year.  She has two vibrant young girls with an incredible potential in life.  Naomi and Emmanuela.

Naomi is 11, and when I pressed her on what she wanted to do in life, she replied a rock star but would settle for a fashion icon. Emmanuela is 8 and wants to be a ballerina.  If not that, then maybe a librarian.  Both of these girls love reading, which made me happy to hear.   I hope I also have them convinced to do some writing for me, telling me about the countries they visited and what they were like.  Hopefully, I’ll have some words from them I can post on my site.  Again, I used my 95 year old mother as an example for writing.

The traffic here is unlike that of Ankara or Addis Ababa.  Addis traffic was hindered by pedestrians, livestock and drivers who are always in a hurry and expect you to let them cut in front, even if there is no room for them.  Forget any lines on the road as they are just for decoration.  In Ankara, the traffic is a bit more defined, but the lines on the road are just a suggestion.  The drivers will weave in and out among the lanes, mostly straddling them.  As an aside note – one of the good people here in Turkey told me, he went to the US a number of years ago but was afraid to drive because of the strict rules.  He knew he would have to stay in the lines.  In Frankfurt, the traffic is not only well defined, but also enforced.  Traffic travels at the same speed, everyone stays in their lanes and if a pedestrian walks across the road that is not designated as a crosswalk, they are given a hefty fine.  Also, there are designated paths for bicycles, and you do not walk on those paths.  All in all, the traffic, though may have been crowded at times, was refreshing.

In Frankfurt, we see many of the Smart Cars® which look like a scrunched up Volkswagen.  The emergency vehicles have the familiar European, He-Haw sounds, as they rush around the corner of the hotel we stayed at.

Sunset from our hotel window.  The large building is the American Consulate.

Another favorite restaurant of the thousands in Frankfurt is Albert Wagner,  where I first discovered the wonderful pork knuckle.  I had been to Frankfurt a few years ago and ate one.  The inside is relaxing and most of the seating is just picnic tables.  Terese and I took her friend Josie.

Before and after pics of the pork knuckle, with plenty of applevine.

Then there is the “tower” across from the hotel we stayed at.  It was where I had my first sampling of true German schnitzel during the previous visit.  It has a nice outdoor seating area in its small courtyard.  In the warmer weather, it is crowded but very enjoyable.  Many people from the hotel eat there.  Below is a picture of the castle and our hotel from the tram stop.

My schnitzel and Terese’s bowl of soup.  And again, applevine.

In Germany, I see a lot of family interactions.  It’s common to see families out  riding bikes together, and kids either riding their own bikes or sitting behind mom or dad. As I type this, I watched a father and very young son ride by the hotel windows, with the little one’s bike a fraction of the size of dad’s.  Many times we will see the little ones in a stroller pushed by one of the parents.  The family unit, if you want to call it that, gets out and mingles in public instead of planting their butts in front of the damn TV.

As I am typing this part I am setting in the hotel lobby, and there is an old German fellow who is watching TV.  Probably in his 70’s with thick spectacles and a fanny pack around his waist with a stack of newspapers sitting in his lap.  He’s watching the soccer game with the sound muted, but every now and then, will turn his head slightly to look at me.  Don’t let that fool you.

He could be a spy sent by Moscow to watch me.  Yeah, I know, but it’s a cool thought.  In reality, the two years we were in Moscow, we did have a few good men follow us when we first arrive.  Until they realized I was just a peon electrician working at the Embassy.

And last, and certainly not least, is a picture of my feet that was inadvertently taken.  I’ll post it now as a reminder to keep kicking butt.      Dwaine

Currently in Frankfurt, Germany for training.  This is the land of my forefathers.  Will visit next week when I get back.

Until then, keep kicking butt.    D.