COMING
HOME FROM WEDNESDAY
May
Feelings
There
are certain days in the year which are special, and one of them is
Mayday. And, here in Vienna it is still very popular. But now, I
believe, for not the right reasons.
When
I first came to Vienna, and that was many years ago, I was surprised
and amazed by the spirit of oneness that this day used to stir
up. It was a celebration of achievement and the workers
(and everyone else, too) had reason enough to be happy. The
country had been rebuilt and socialism was providing all that
was needed for prosperity in general. And, life was indeed
good. And, so it was that the people in their thousands used to turn
up to be part of the Mayday fun – and - because even the
public transport was on holiday – the only way to show up
was to march. And, in they marched from every direction. And, in
those days the routine was always the same.
At
first light the people would gather before setting off through the
flag decorated streets for the centre of town. Distance was no
problem, the mood was too good for pain, and then, after having
reached their destination, Vienna's famous Ringstrasse, the marchers
became part of a giant - almost jelly like body - which was
pulsating its way round the streets.
What
followed next on the town hall steps were the
usual boring
optimistic political speeches that made everyone cheer and
applaud. And, because they were always packed full of names and
never ending statistics of success they made the conclusion the best.
Mayday always finished in true Viennese style with sausages and
beer.
And
now? Mayday has become just another day off. A part of a long
weekend and a chance to leave town. There are no longer the lines of
people marching in time, and, in Vienna there is hardly a flag to be
seen. Many of the great builders of then have passed on and the
young are all used to what's good. The job has been done. The
overcoming of hardship was a question of then – not now. And, maybe
that’s the best reason of all to keep marching. We should never
forget!
Vocabulary
achievement
- Errungenschaft
boring
– langweilig
giant
– riesig
prosperity
– wohlhabend
pulsating
– pulsierend
reason
enough - Grund genug
rebuilt
– wieder aufgebaut
show
up (to show up/showed up/showed up) – auftauchen
spirit
of oneness – Einheitsgefühl
stir
up (to stir up/stirred up/stirred up) – hoch
bringen
turn
up (to turn up/turned up/turned up) – auftauchen/aufkreuzen
