US Army Chapter 6

Hans Sachs (1494-1576) was the most famous of the Meistersingers, a group of master lyricists charged with maintaining the song forms of the Middle Ages in Germany. As such, this art represents something of a continuation of that of the troubadours, although here the themes tend to be moral in nature. Of course, Sachs was later immortalized by Richard Wagner in Die Meistersinger. http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/cds/svs33361.htm

Nuremberg destroyed around the untouched Sachs’ statue.

Prince Rupert of Bavaria Age 90.
Looks like my Grandfather at the same age.


FURTH and NUREMBERG

Chapter 6

Furth was not bombed into oblivion. Only the areas along the railroad tracks were flattened. Most of the old town was intact. I didn’t know what old was until I went to Europe. Furth was built before time started. Some of the housing dated back to 1500. You just can’t beat building with stone so closely stacked that you don’t need mortar. Every stone was placed and trimmed to fit its place. Streets were narrow cobblestone with sidewalks like our curb and gutters. Roofs were tile or slate shingled. Buildings were narrow on the street, three stories tall, and some had shops on the street level.

The markets, butcher shop, shoe repair, and all the other stores were mixed in with housing. No shopping centers in 1500. It was interesting trying to find a shop and not able to read the street signs. Most of my dealing with the German civilians was pleasant and easy. With the Marshall Plan showing results, the economy on a fast rebound, money flowing, and jobs abundant, the Germans were happy to be occupied. Even the black market was working. We provided them with cheap cigarettes, coffee, nylons, and even special orders. I had a coffee ration card and cigarettes were less than a dollar a carton. I paid for my laundry with coffee and cigarettes.

The laundry ladies would stand on the sidewalk under our window just before dinner hour on Mondays to collect our laundry. We would identify our personal laundress and toss out the dirty laundry for her to take home and wash. On Wednesday she would return at the gate to deliver washed and pressed clothing. My personal lady spoke no English, but we understood each other after a while. I gave her a new 220-volt electric iron from the PX for Christmas, and she insisted on doing my laundry for the month as my gift. She liked payment in cigarettes. She sold them for ten times the cash cost of my laundry. She was a widow with kids, like so many women in Germany after the war. We killed a lot of German soldiers from North Africa to Berlin.

I heard all my life how the Germans were such great mechanics, engineers, and craftsmen. That may be true, but I didn’t see any evidence of it while there. No one beats the average American GI. I needed a bolt cut shorter on my issue tripod. I asked our fine projector repairman to take a ¼ inch off the length. He didn’t understand what I was asking. I got MSG Trost to tell him in German. Trost just shook his head in disbelief. They got into a long discussion and finally Trost said that he didn’t know how to cut a bolt. He always used one the proper size. Here was a man gifted in knowledge to fix the mechanical and sound problems of a projector and had never cut a bolt. No one had ever shown him how. Our repairman got out his hacksaw, and Trost explained how to do it. Once done, he left the sharp ragged edge that would wreck havoc on my camera. He never thought to use a file to polish the end of the bolt. I thanked him, went outside and used the concrete sidewalk step to smooth the bolt. I just didn’t want to deal with that German mechanic any longer.

Trost asked me if I had ever taken a clock or radio apart? I said of course I had, and I fixed them too. He said that the German kid had never had a clock or radio to take apart, much less an old car. He said they were overrated as mechanics. That became evident with every car stalled on the curb. Large groups of men would gather around an open hood and look in, shake heads, talk, make suggestions, shake heads, and hands before leaving. No one could fix them.

Nuremberg was a medieval city, and at the same time a new city, and modern in all the new construction. The streetcars were running and transportation by bus was excellent. They had wonderful restaurants and beer gardens throughout town. We always went into Nuremberg Sunday evening for dinner. The Army mess on Sunday night was always cold cuts and cheese. We got rump roast or Wiener schnitzel, or Sauerkraut and Bratwurst, with hot potato salad on the side. Drink it down with Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbrau, Lowenbrau, Paulaner or Spaten beer. The dollar was worth 4.25 Marks, so dinner cost between 2 to 4 dollars including beer.

Nuremberg is listed as the town of children’s toys and gingerbread. It is also the birthplace of painter Albrecht Dürer 1471-1528 and poet and Meistersinger Hans Sachs 1494-1576.
The old town of Nuremberg was mostly intact. The old castle was in ruins but it was that way before the war. There was a effort to rebuild the wall and fort. The housing around the castle were as old as Furth. Nurenberg was leveled along the railroad tracks, but not much damage was done elseware.

OUR UNWANTED VISITORS

One night in the recent past, I was sitting in the lower level reading my Bassmaster magazine, when over my head I heard the pitter-patter of tiny feet racing to and fro across the ceiling. Mice between the floors were my preferred choice of critters. I went to the garage to get traps, baited them with peanut butter, and put them in the open rear area of the ceiling from the unfinished part of the lower level. Next morning the traps were not sprung. I bought new traps of a different design. No luck. The usual late night chase across the ceiling continued.

When I went to the toilet paper storage area under the Jacuzzi in the master bathroom to get a new roll, I found all the opened rolls shredded with three half rolls left. Not even lint remained. The mice had discovered all the nesting materials they needed for a king size bed. I had a picture in my mind of them smiling, winking, and pinching each other as they passed with great anticipation of a perfect bedroom.

The real excitement started with a scream of sheer terror from my honey. I was sitting at the computer trying to get on line when the frantic call came from above along with, “You’ve got mail.” In my 50 plus years married, husbandly voice I yelled, “What’s wrong?” To which my bride screamed, “Get this animal out of the bedroom!”
When I entered the bedroom my honey was sitting in the middle of the king size bed with legs folded close to her body, pointing to the cutest little animal calmly sitting between us. I wondered which way it might run? If it headed for the bed all three of us would be in big trouble. Thankfully he/she dashed into the bathroom. I closed the door.

My bride said a lot of things at that time but I only remember a few. “Where did it come from? What kind of animal is it? How did it get into the house? What are you going to do to get it out? Is there more than one?” All the questions I could answer with a simple, “I don’t know.”

I had a choice to make about retrieval of our uninvited guest: the shotgun or a large minnow net. A 12 gage might do equal damage to shoes, clothing, and the closet along with the critter, so I resorted to the net. The critter was the color of a dark gray 1992 or 1993 Mercedes “S” series sedan, it had a round head and big black eyes placed in front of its face, not like the eyes of a rat or squirrel. He was a size larger than a chipmunk but had a similar size tail and design. One thing for sure, it was a night animal with those big eyes.

I went into the bathroom armed with the net from the boathouse, only to find him behind a trunk in a corner of the closet off the bathroom. It was reluctant to leave but once he/she raced out into the open bathroom, it was a simple matter to capture it in the net. I should have dispatched him into the critter afterlife instead of freeing him off the deck, but it was so cute my honey wouldn’t allow it. There was one more to go.

I went back to the computer to find I had been disconnected. Took an hour to get back on line. Once connected and “You’ve got mail,” I heard the pitter-patter of one little critter’s feet overhead heading for the open area in the unfinished storage area under the Jacuzzi. I thought he might be taking the TP back. Opening the door and quickly turning on the light produced another cute slightly larger, lighter gray little critter with a orange-yellow stripe above a dark Mercedes gray stripe on its lower side. We looked at each other for some time. Finally I said, “Wait here a minute while I get my BB gun.” I got the gun and went back, but he didn’t wait. Back to the garage to get rat traps loaded and primed to replace the mousetraps. The computer had disconnected, so I went to bed.

To answer the question “How did it get into the house?” took some investigation. Next morning I found a vent flapper missing from a four-inch vent under the deck. Capps’ Hardware had a vent cover in a plastic matching in color the area around the vent-my first mistake. I was finished with the project after much trouble removing the aluminum pipe from the cap and cutting a notch so it would fit. Figure he could get out but not back-my second mistake.

About 11:00 PM I hard that pitter-patter again heading to the back open area. Light on and an upward look found him looking down smiling at me from a hook holding the sleds and Honey’s 60-year-old ice skates. He was eating the leather laces. I clapped my hands and he dashed out of the house with vent flapping. I went out and taped the vent flapper shut with duct tape. Next morning the tape was chewed away. I taped the door shut with him inside. I had to know where he was. If he was inside, I figured I’d hear him scratching on the vent to get out and I’d go take the tape off and wait outside for him to leave and tape the flap tight with metal furnace tape. Third mistake.

The next night, my bride thought we should catch him in the net as he came out. My picture of that wasn’t the same as hers. Looked like an old Boy Scout snipe hunt setup to me.

It was about 9:30 the next night, he was scratching to get out. I called my new hunting partner and had her hold the net while I pulled the tape. About 30 minutes later, we saw paws and a nose pushing out the flapper. I told my Honey to get ready with the net. No movement from either him or us for a long time. He came out half his body length and a l o n g time later he eased out except for one foot still inside. Honey lunged at him, and before she got to her second step he went back inside. She turned, handed me the net, and went to bed. My honey has never been and is not now a hunter. A gatherer yes, but hunter no. She just hasn’t the patience. I got that “Him or Me at any price” attitude. No little critter is going to live in my house without paying rent. I saw no way he could support himself sleeping all day and going out at night.

I pulled up a chair at the end of the patio and sat for the long wait. Once he cleared the area I got the metal duct tape and really taped all traces of a flapper out of view. Then put duct tape over that. My fourth mistake.

Next morning while checking the traps I noticed our freeloader had shredded the black insulation on the air-condition coolant pipe that ran across the ceiling. He chewed through the $75 dollar neoprene pool (lake) float mat in many places. He had chewed through all the tape and the plastic flapper too. He was once more our unwanted resident rodent. Back to Capps’ this time to get an aluminum vent hood and flap. Allan, a clerk in Capps got what I needed. He told me I was hunting a male ground squirrel. They have stripes. He also told me to bait the traps with cotton. Rodents are always looking for nesting materials.

I glued a ½ inch square hardware cloth to the back of the aluminum hood since he knew how to lift flappers. Now back on with the old plastic with repaired flapper. I had to wait for his scratching to get out one last time. This hopeful last wait for him to leave was the most interesting. I went out on the dock, pulled a chair up about two feet from a piling and got comfortable. Within minutes a big spider started to build a web from my chair to the piling. It only took 20 minutes for the web builder to complete a beautiful web and get into his wait mode with me. At least I had company and it was entertaining. It took two hours for the final eviction notice to be served. Once the rodent had cleared the premises, I quickly removed the plastic vent hood and replaced it with the aluminum screened vent hood. It was 2:23 AM when I turned the alarm clock switch too off and went to bed.

My bride is an early riser, like 4:30 to 5:00 AM most mornings. She came charging into the bedroom at first light saying, “Quick, get up and get the net. The ground squirrel is scratching on the vent. You can catch him.” I asked her which side was he on? She said, “Outside.” I said, “GOOD, that’s where I want him. You catch him in the net if you want too.” I don’t do anything quick any longer. I rolled over and slept very well until 9AM.

First thing I did right. Not bad: one out of five, for three days and nights work.

Note to the wise: Bait mouse and rat traps with one half of a cotton ball, or a peace of cotton from a pill bottle. (Now you know what to do with all that cotton.) It works like a charm. I wire one to the trigger to keep it in place. It can be used over and over even with blood on it from a previous execution.

Bruce, one of my friends and fellow member of Lake Writers, is an artist, poet, sculptor, carver of wooden Indian masks and comical fish wall hangings, chef, recipe book author, book illustrator, Actor, director, house builder, stonemason, Gardner, and that’s just this month, told me they were flying squirrels. Ground squirrels are prairie dogs. All I know is that it would take several per person to make a meal.

DENTISTS I HAVE KNOWN--Chapter 2

This year I had to get new dentures and a new partial due to wear and tear of advanced age and global warming. The exam by my regular dentist and referral to the periodontists dentist cost me $235, and left me with a choice to have a lose tooth reinforced by bone grafting from a cadaver donor and a new cap for a cost of several thousand dollars for one tooth, OR pull the tooth.

Christmas 1975 we went to Florida to visit my Mom and Dad in Venice, Florida. We planned to take all five kids to Disneyland on the way home. My cousin Bobby invited us to stay with them for a few days in their home in Orlando. Bobbie was a jewel and husband Don was more like a lump of sandstone. A real jerk but was good to Bobbie and that was all that counted. She had discount admission tickets and would take us to the park. We visited them shortly after Don had returned from Bedford, Virginia, to have his teeth pulled and new dentures made in one day from a denture factory. The trip from Orlando to Bedford and return saved him thousands of dollars. Don was in great pain and miserable. When Don was miserable, all around him were miserable.

I needed to find that factory. They had advertised on Channel 10 in Roanoke with a 1-800-Denture number. My honey called and they sent a brochure with the local “Affordable Dentures” address and phone number. http://www.affordabledentures.com/

The drill (pun intended) for while-you-wait dentures is first come first serve. Get there at 7 AM and eat a steak with new teeth at night. They have three quality choices and prices for full set of dentures: $375, Economy (one day); $615 Custom, (two day); and $890, Premium (two days). They make impressions at 7 AM and make dentures in the morning, pull your teeth, (at $65 per tooth) in the afternoon, install the dentures over your bloody gums, and send you off to eat dinner.

Bedford, Virginia, is 20 miles from our home and is the new home of The National D Day Memorial, and Affordable Dentures (another National Monument). I made an appointment for an exam.

The building is on VA Route 460 next to a Virginia State Police barracks. It’s a real rundown dump of a building, much like a WW1 temporary Army medical unit. BUT the two dentists are female as are the technicians, so the heat was up in the comfort zone. Not like the cold I find in male dentists offices. The waiting room had lots of folding chairs organized in theater arrangement. Every one filled with toothless men and women. We only waited an hour for my name to be called.

They had six dental chairs in the impression area, and four dental chairs in the extraction area, separated by barroom doors. I removed my old teeth and put them on a paper towel. The technician brought all kind of paperwork to be filled out and checked for tooth color preference. That’s when I asked for My Honey to make the choice. She decided on color and quality for our home, yard, and me. She picked the best quality. One of the dentists arrived at my mouth to see which tooth needed pulling. She wiggled it and ordered impressions. They took impressions and made another appointment at 11:30AM, two days later to approve wax mockup of my teeth. We paid in full on the way out the door.

At the next appointment they had my full uppers and the lower partial dentures in a wax mockup for me to try. Couldn’t try the lower due to still having the un-pulled lose tooth. They looked fine. Two days later I had the tooth pulled and my new dentures installed in time for lunch.

I had to go back this week for a few pressure areas to be ground down. I arriver about 10 AM and waited my turn. During the long wait, we were entertained by an irate gentleman (word used loosely) not satisfied with how they repaired a lose tooth on his bridge. He kept getting louder and louder in the waiting room. The receptionist tried to help him, but he just wanted all to know how dishonest the place was and shoddy they did the repair. She offered to redo the tooth or give him his money back. He went through the audience giving out his phone number offering to go on a class action law suit with anyone interested in suing this @X#^&* place. The office manager and receptionist decided to refund his money with an apology. He just wanted to rave on and on. He got his money back as two Virginia State Troopers walked in the front door. He started in on them when one took him by the arm and hustled him outside. The other filled out paper work. The second officer returned, and almost immediately the man returned. Only to be put outside with force.

When my turn came to go into the impression, six-chair room, I thanked the dentist and several technicians present for providing such a good entertaining show in the waiting room earlier and asked if they had another show planned for the afternoon?

No, they didn’t have planned shows in the future either. I did get smiles and winks.

Have you ever noticed when your mouth is numbed to the point your whole face seems like someone else when you touch it, that you are asked by the dentist, “How does that feel?” or “Is that a good bite?” How would you know?

And then you go to lunch and eat half of your numbed lip and tongue with your ham sandwich, and you leak your ice tea down your chin on your shirt.