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Epiphabets

Tag Archives: German

My.Daily.Distraction ~ Post 172: “You Owe Me A Nickel”

20 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by duckykoren in Blogs, language, memories, Toronto, Writing

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Contest, Family, German, language, Learn, money, School, Shopping, Yorkdale

My Father and I had a weekend ritual that I remember to this day.

It all started when I was six years old.

Every Saturday morning I had to go to German school from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

My parents insisted.

And yes, it sucked.

Dad would have to drive me clear across Toronto to the only public school that offered German lessons to children.

As we drove down Highway 401 and neared the Dufferin Street exit, the car would become very silent, and our eyes very sharp.

Both of us were looking for the same landmark, but who would be lucky enough to find it first?

Whoever would be the first to spot Yorkdale Shopping Centre would have the honour of holding their hand out to the other and say the following victorious words:

“You owe me a nickel.”

Sometimes I would win the nickel, and sometimes Dad would.

Yorkdale Shopping Centre was still very new at the time. In fact it was considered quite the jewel as it was one of Canada’s first enclosed malls with the most elegant stores.

Of course, a nickel is now worth a lot less than it was way back then. You could buy a whole loaf of bread for a nickel.

On the other hand, the memories of my Father and me playing this game has significantly increased in value.

In fact, I’d gladly give up all my nickels just for the chance to play this game one more time with him.

I’d even let him win.

My.Daily.Diversion ~ Post Eighty-Nine: Hospitality

18 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by duckykoren in Church, English, Languages, Religion

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Tags

animated, benediction, Church, congregation, English, eyes, Family, feasting, German, grandfathers, Hospitality, innocent, Luncheon, mistake, morning, practice, pray, Prayer, pulpit, sermon, sick, Singing, speaker, Speech, storytelling, visit

HOS-PIT-AL-IT-Y

hos·pi·tal·i·ty n. pl. hos·pi·tal·i·ties

1. Cordial and generous reception of or disposition toward guests.

2. An instance of cordial and generous treatment of guests.

……………………………………….

It was an innocent mistake.

Really.

My grandfather had been invited to travel out of town for the weekend to preach at an English speaking church.

He and my Grandmother arrived on the Saturday and were invited to stay as guests of honour at the house of the Pastor and his family.

It all went so well.

His morning sermon was delivered perfectly. After all his years of practicing, his English was easy to understand even though he spoke with an undeniable German accent.

He was well known for being a powerful and animated speaker.

The sermon had been well received and he met many new people, and made as many new friends.

After the morning church service, there was a grand luncheon served in his honour.

There was feasting, story telling, and singing.

Later that day, after the evening service had been given by the regular pastor, my Grandfather was asked to come to the front of the church and give the closing benediction and prayer.

Arriving at the pulpit, he closed his eyes, and began to pray.

He prayed for the sick.

He thanked God for all of his blessings.

He thanked God for loved ones,

And then, with his eyes still closed in prayer, he thanked God for the kindness of the entire congregation and then proceeded to thank God for their…

…Hostility.

My.Daily.Diversion ~ Post 9: ‘Let My People Go’

10 Monday Nov 2014

Posted by duckykoren in Family, Humour, Movies, Quotes, Religion

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Bible, Cousins, Family, Fun, German, grandfathers, Humour, Insight, Moses, Music, Poetry, Rhymes, Songs, The Ten Commandments, Verse

One never knows how a story will present itself or when.

Case in point:

It was not that long ago when I was relating to a friend a story about my Grandfather, who was a tailor by trade until he was called into the ministry.

Grandfather had a flair for good humoured drama as demonstrated by one of his favourite Charlton Heston quotes from the movie ‘The Ten Commandments.’

He also had a talent for making up little jingles and verses.

One of his favourite rhymes went like this:

(Oh… If only I could hear him bellow this out like he had when I was a child)

“Let my people go…

…Dann sind wir alle froh!”

Unfortunately the humorous German punchline does not translate all that well into English.

But let me take a shot at it anyway:

“Let my people go…
Then let the good times roll!”

(Actually, that turned out pretty good.)

So now, on with my story:

After I had finished explaining my grandfathers penchant for talking in rhyme using the above example my friend utterly floored me with his response:

“Gee, your Grandfather was the world’s first rap artist.”

I was completely undone with his wonderful and witty insight.

Long story short…

You cannot imagine how much this truthful iconic statement will be a continual source of joyful warm fuzzy giggles until the end of my days.

Unless of course, you’re one of my dear cousins.

In that case of course…

I hope my friend’s insight brings you the same joy as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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