A Big Grey Elephant
Charley Steidel's day was more
than a big grey elephant!
Farewells
belong to the way that life is. And, sometimes these points in our
lives are best understood when viewed through the distance of years.
And this is how Charley Steidl remembers a day from long, long ago.
It
was 1939. It was late summer, it was hot, and Charley was still only
three. And, so strong and so deeply did this day impress him that it
still swims on on the top of his thinking as a wonderful memory.
Because
of the fine weather, his family had decided to spend the day at the
Viennese Prata, an amusement park just close to the centre of town.
With its rides and swings and roundabouts it was a wonderful place
for kids! And, even Charley won an inflatable big grey
elephant. He was happy and his world was in order! But, this magical
day was not only for riding the fare, there was something
even more important, and this was eating, and, this was at the top of
the list!
Lunch
was spent at Emminger's, a restaurant very close to the Prata.
Charley remembers that the meal was good, but he no longer recalls
that which he had. And then after finishing lunch the party moved on
to the Hauswirt another nearby eatery for afternoon coffee and
cakes, and then, with the coming of evening, Charley's father ordered
another main meal of roast goose and everything else that goes with
it. The fun and the eating then carried on until late.
And,
of course, it was much later in life that Charley realized the
meaning of all of this eating. His family weren't being
greedy, they were simply bidding farewell to the good times of
plenty! And they were right! Within just a short space of time the
dark clouds of hunger had eclipsed the fine days of not wanting for
anything at all! The world was at war! There was not enough food to
go round. All that was good was falling apart - and the sun was not
to come back for a very long time!
Vocabulary
eatery
– Restaurant
fare
– Vergnügungspark
farewells
– Verabschiedungen
greedy
– gierig
inflatable
– aufblasbar
meaning
– Bedeutung
recall
(to recall/recalled/recalled) – erinnern
