Pater Noster

When I was stationed in West Germany from 1966-1968, I had an occasion to visit the I.G. Farben Building in Frankfurt which then housed the U.S. Army Fifth Corps Headquarters at the time.  It was a building that the Americans took over after WW2.  Previously, it was the headquarters for research projects relating to the development of Nazi wartime synthetic oil and rubber among other research.

I was assigned to a general court-martial involving attempted murder of one soldier by another.  Though that was interesting in itself, and a topic for another post maybe, the thing I remember most was the elevator in the building.  It was called the Pater Noster.

It consisted of two elevator shafts next to one another, one for up (usually the right-hand one as you faced them), and one for down.  What was interesting - and exciting - was that the elevator compartments were open, that is no doors, and they didn't stop but rather moved slowly but continuously up and down. It was called the Pater Noster it was said because one prayed before getting on it because you had to jump on and jump off since it didn't stop!  It was even trickier when you had to get in if someone was already there.  And getting off was as tricky.  Usually, one would wait for an empty car.  The other thing that made it so scary was that you were told that if you missed getting off you would turn upside down once you reached the top or bottom and would show up in the other shaft that way! As you can see from the drawing above, that is not true.  But it was fun watching first timers.

The building now belongs to a German university.  And the paternosters still exist. The university has said the paternosters will remain forever.  Oh, and by the way, the real reason for its name was that the continuous loop resembled a rosary bead used in saying prayers.

Wistful Wednesdays - Baumholder Jacket

Living in Southern Virginia for the past two winters has already spoiled me with the warm winter.  Granted, there was a fierce winter three years ago, but everyone says it was an aberration - something that happens only every 20 years or so.  Even then, then temperatures aren't that bad, and in fact, no where in the U.S. do I remember living that had real cold winters, or rather, that biting, bone-chilling, wet cold that I remember from my Army days in Germany.  Maybe Colorado where my brother lives, but I never did. Maybe Kansas where I was assigned, but not quite.  My daughter, Kim, might remember differently. She would have been about ten then. 



But nothing compared to the winters spent in the Army training areas of West Germany.  I often went to either Grafenwoehr or Hohenfels for training.  Being in a tank or cavalry unit, we usually went to "Graf" and usually in the winter for annual gunnery.  It originally was a training area for Hitler's armor, or panzer, units.  The commander would watch the training from the large tower (above) in relative comfort as his units would practice their blitzkrieg operations as well as gunnery practice.

It was so cold - I have several stories that will see the light of day here, but one at a time - that we had what was called "Baumholder Jackets" made by the local seamstresses in the village.  It consisted of three layers; an outer layer (a green rubberized poncho) and and inner liner (a soft fluff-like camo poncho liner).  In between, was an Army OD wool blanket.  It was thigh length and had an oversize hood to fit over our tank crew helmets as well as our steel pots.  We bought the separate items at the Clothing Sales store and gave them to the seamstresses.  It cost $38 (1975 dollars) to make back then, not counting the cost of the items; that's about $275 today!

It's not me, but you get the idea.  Boy, was it warm! It was called a Baumholder jacket evidently because it originated there, Baumholder being a third training area in the Western part of West Germany, whereas Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels were in the southeastern part near the Czech border.

 I kept it for years afterwards, finally giving it to my father for hunting after I retired from the Army.  One could sit or stand for hours in the cold without getting the slightest bit chilly.  Actually, it was so heavy one didn't want to do alot of walking or standing.  I think Pop used it only for sitting when he hunted.  After he died, I got it back, but lost it over the past ten years.  It was cracking and falling apart.  But it served its purpose(s). 

Wistful Wednesdays - High School Summer Drum "Practice"

Driving into town yesterday, I glanced up at back the military academy sitting high atop a steep precipice.  It reminded me of the summer days of high school when we would have band practice getting ready for the coming year, but especially the football season.



Trinity High School in Washington, PA, underwent a tremendous renovation after I left in 1962.  It looked like the picture when I was there.  They have kept it, but expanded and modernized it to the left and rear of the main building.  Back then, during breaks in the daily practices, the drum section would sneak behind Old Main, take bad drumheads - all snare heads then since we didn't have all of the other fancy drums the kids have nowadays - and take turns "frisbeeing" them down over the hill.  We only used the bad ones, but I sometimes think we had very strict standards on what was a good drumhead.  It had evidently been a tradition before I got there. Never asked my brother if the tradition continued after I left.

Relapse & Snow

Had a relapse Sunday morning and have been on the mend ever since.  Hopefully, I am finally rid of the virus or whatever it was that laid me out for so long.  Not bad, though, since I haven't been "sick sick"since before we moved here in August 2010.

It snowed about 6-7 inches Sunday afternoon and evening.  By Monday morning it was a beautiful scene everywhere.  This morning is all gone except for a few small patches on the grass.  Nice thing about living here.  It is supposed to be high 50's today and 60 Wednesday.

Laughter is Indeed the Best Medicine

I am slowly recovering from a terrible bout of GI problems that hit me Thursday evening.  Ironically, I was at my doctor's office that morning and he asked how I was feeling.  I told him I was fine and he mentioned that any of his patients were coming down with diarrhea and vomiting.  Maybe it was the thought he put in my head, but more likely the germs I picked up from his office that morning, or the docent training class I had that afternoon, of even the luncheon I went to on Valentine's Day.  I had not been around many people until this week since before New Year's Day.
Anyway, to get to my story.  Not feeling quite up to conquering the world yet after my morning ablutions, I decided to treat myself to listening to a weekly radio show on NPR.  It is called "Car Talk" and is absolutely hilarious.  It is two guys who take phone calls from all over the country - and Canada as well - about car problems: usually what might be causing the problem and how to fix it.  Okay, doesn't sound funny, I know.  It's these two guys, brothers - Tom and Ray Magliozzi - who broadcast from Harvard, Mass, and how and what they say.  They should be standup artists on the comedy stage, though if you read their biographies, especially Tom's, they seem to have been everything but that in their careers.  They are on 10:00am Saturday's and repeat at 11:00Sundays.  You can also listen to the online, just go to www.cartalk.com and check it out.  They also have a weekly puzzle - usually involving numbers - that is always fascinating.  Oh, and they seem to always get to the possible problem and offer useful advice. Check it out - you'll spend the hour laughing.  They always brighten my day.  

Wistful Wednesdays - Parents

I thought it appropriate to post this picture of Mom and Pop (Ruth and Billy) today since it is one day after Valentine's Day - it's a romantic picture - and two days after Mom's birthday.  This was always one of my favorite pictures of them, but never asked if it was before or after they got married.  I suspect the former.

Pop was in the Army Air Corps and assigned  to a ferrying squadron.  Mom must have found or made a jacket that looked like a uniform.  She was 19 and he was 22 when they got married.  Good looking couple!  They were married for 59 years before Pop passed away in 2002.  Mom past in 2009.

Cooking Adventures #1

Since the Wife is working part-time, 3-5 days a week, and doesn't get home in the evenings until about 7:30, and since I am retired, I have become the chef so-to-speak.  I try to stay with simple pastas and things I can bake in the oven.  It makes preparing and cleaning easier.  Yesterday I ventured a little off the lesson plan.  We were hunting for a good white bean chili.  Admittedly, the first one we tried a couple of weeks ago was not a winner.  The ground chicken was probably the reason.  It tasted gummy.  The texture was just plain bad.



 So yesterday I tried a shredded chicken from Cook's Magazine from years ago.  It was very good.  Not hot at all considering it had seven peppers of jalapeno, Anaheim, and poblamo varieties.  The only bad thing was I spent from 1130 in the morning until 5:30 in the late afternoon in the kitchen cooking, cutting, food processing, chopping, measuring, and cleaning.  We agreed that it will take less time the next time, but for right now I am happy to eat chili leftovers tonite.

Last Year's Reading Results & The Coming Year's Forecast

It's official.  For my first full year of retirement, I read 104 books.  27 were non-fiction, while 77 were fiction and 67 of those were mysteries.  Considering my past high was 45, this is some accomplichment for me.  This year I want to read more non-fiction.  I have no further desire to break another "most books read" record.  The 100 barrier was reached without rushing and with alot of pleasure. Now that I have said all that, let's see if I can hold myself to it!

Good Day

Welcome to my blog.  Don't know what exactly will go in here, but think it will be just some thoughts that come to mind from time to time.  Some days will probably have more than one entry; other times there will be days between posts.  I will try not to make this a project that turns into work.  I hope you find something worth reading and maybe even responding to me.  Thanks.