The German Connection, Part Two

When Zexiv was a little boy, he was known in the family for being a very very slow eater. You may wonder what this has to do with the title and pictures of this post, but it actually has quite a bit of a connection, as you will see in a minute ...

Zexiv was not at all interested in meals when he was younger, and would always be the last one remaining at the table, continually frustrating his parents, who tried various methods to get him to eat faster, to no avail. His meals would usually take at least an hour, sometimes two. None of the children in the family were allowed to leave the table until they had finished everything in their plates, even if it was something commonly disliked, like eggplant, or liver. Zexiv even remembers one time it being close to Christmas Eve and, unable to finish a dinner, quickly stuffing the rest of his rice under the legs of a chair by the dining table (this was discovered on Christmas morning by Zexiv's father when he was opening some presents).

However being always the last at the table did have its advantages, one of them being that Zexiv was always there to hear all the stories of the family and and later became somewhat a bit of a storyteller himself. After every one had finished and retired upstairs to their own rooms, the hired help had cleared all the dishes away, all was quiet, and Zexiv was left chewing away, his mother would oftentimes sit with him, sometimes doing her reading or crosswords, making her lists of things to do, sewing, or oftentimes just relaxing and reminiscing about her childhood. All this was exciting and exotic to Zexiv, who never got to travel abroad until after high school, and was fascinated with anything concerning life overseas, or under the Japanese occupation or American liberation.

Zexiv's mother told him the story of how his grandfather, or Opa, a doctor of medicine by training, was appointed by then President Magsaysay to head a diplomatic legation in Germany, during the early fifties, the Philippines apparently having no embassy there at the time. Apparently Opa had done much work campaigning for his friend Magsaysay and his party either in his home province of Pangasinan or his adopted province of Zambales and Magsaysay in turn had promised him some sort of post. After Magsaysay had won and all the dust had settled, however, the plum position had gone to someone else, whom the president had also promised a favor (which is not that uncommon in politics, whatever the place and age). Opa was indignant. "You promised me!", he complained afterwards to the president. "I'm so sorry, compadre", Magsaysay said, using the familiar term meaning Godfather, or two people sharing a close bond by virtue of one of them being the Godfather to the other person's child, "But the position is no longer available. Tell me, is there anything else I can do for you?", he asked, trying to assuage his friend. "Perhaps you would be interested in ... (he named a diplomatic position in a certain country) ... or another country?". "Germany!", prompted Zexiv's grandmother or Oma excitedly, to the surprise of Opa (and probably Magsaysay as well).

And so Germany it was. As mentioned, there was no embassy or consulate in Germany at the time, and Opa, although a charming man, a brilliant doctor, and natural diplomat, knew next to nothing about being a foreign service officer. So it was decided he would head the foreign legation to Germany (Zexiv believes it was Hamburg) but that he would start at a relatively junior position, which was Vice Consul. It was also decided that Opa and Oma would make the trip first together, and that the children would follow afterwards, once things were settled.

The next few months were a whirl of great excitement for the family. Opa and Oma went ahead, making the long journey by ship, and a few months later the children followed, with the exception of Zexiv's Aunt Maly, who had recently gotten married. Zexiv remembers being glued to his seat hearing his mother talk of the trip by ship. His mother must have been in high school at that time, and all that was very exciting and new for her as well. He recalls it being sort of a cargo ship that also took passengers and stories of his mother and her siblings being befriended and entertained by the captain and his crew.

For Opa and Oma, it was a new exciting chapter in their lives as well. Oma hadn't been back in her homeland for many years and it was the first time she was reunited with her own mother and brother. Of course during those days, the world was a much bigger place than it is today, before air travel became more frequent, and before the advent of direct dial, fax, and e-mail. Opa slowly adjusted into the duties of his new job, while Oma kept busy getting the children into their new schools.

There are many stories Zexiv has heard from his mother from this time and which he hopes to tell another time. One of the stories he remembers the most is about how his youngest aunt, then a very little girl at that time, locked herself in the bathroom of Zexiv's Great Grandmother. The children were newly settled in Germany at the time, and Zexiv's Great Grandmother apparently did not speak a word of English. Zexiv's aunt, of course did not speak any German, either (although being the youngest, she would later become really proficient in this language and pick it up quickly in school), her native language or rather dialect being Pangasinan. There was no one else from the family home at the time but somehow the two were able to communicate and understand each other and Zexiv's aunt was finally able to unlock the door. But it is an interesting anecdote on how not impossible it is to actually understand each other if we make an effort, even if we speak different languages.

I hope to come out with more stories about this period in the future, once Zexiv gets hold of more pictures.

Indeed, being the last at the table does have its advantages ...

Peter O' Toole, Sophia Loren, and The Impossible Dream

Zexiv and Inverbras first came across the movie "Man of La Mancha" many, many years ago. Zexiv remembers they borrowed the tape - which was in Betamax format - from their cousins who lived in the same village in the home country and rode school bus #16 with them everyday. He remembers them watching the movie over and over again and it quicky becoming one of those unforgettable classics with them, just like "The Godfather" and "The Warriors". These were movies Zexiv and Inverbras had watched so many times they could recite many lines word for word. Eventually the tape disappeared, just like so many things that passed by their room in Camp Redbrick and were lost forever in the "twilight zone".

Zexiv was thus delighted to discover this video a few days ago in YouTube, containing perhaps the most memorable scene and song from the movie. Peter O'Toole plays the role of a not-quite-all-there idealist very convincingly while Sophia Loren is likewise brilliant as an embittered woman of the night. She is very beautiful here, even dressed in rags and with her hair dishevelled, and has one of the most expressive eyes Zeviv and I have ever seen.

Almost everyone nowadays knows the story of Don Quixote and Man of La Mancha, but the movie, in Zexiv's opinion is grossly underrated. The song "Impossible Dream" is beautiful and has a wonderful melody and very meaningful lyrics but unfortunately over time has become overplayed and mangled in many a karaoke house.

Later in high school, Zexiv saw this musical performed by a very known local theatrical company in Manila, but this was nowhere as good as the movie. In fact Zexiv remembers his mother and him meeting with his high school principal to discuss his having to take summer school one day and his mother, noticing a souvenir piece from the musical, seizing the opportunity to break the ice: "Oh you've seen Man of La Mancha! It was quite good, don't you think? And the principal replying that he thought the local production was quite good but that "the actress who played Aldonza is not my idea of a Dulcinea". (Note: nothing came out of that meeting, and Zexiv did have to go to summer school, but the principal always remembered Zexiv after that).

There is really nothing like the original movie version and this is something Zexiv highly recommends for someone looking for a "feel good" but not sappy movie. Highly recommended for all the impossible dreamers, idealists and romantics out there (Zexiv naturally counts himself as one of them).

One cannot help but wonder who is the fool in the movie - is it Don Quixote, who sees dragons in windmills and a steed in his donkey, or is it the world around him, hopelessly grounded in grayish reality and drudgery?

This particular video is dedicated to Inverbras, who used to stay up with Zexiv well into the night long ago in the room they used to share at Camp Redbrick, and talk about all the things they wanted to do when they grew up ...