On Saturday, I talked with Bev. We spoke of the idea of wealth, poverty, and signs thereof. I mentioned that we have all these “drives” to provide for the “poor children” backpacks filled with school supplies. I wondered why the schools required all the “stuff” the kids need, especially if they know it is a “poor” population. I wondered why the parents didn’t take it upon themselves to provide for the kids. Every summer, the big stores have big sales on all this “back to school” stuff.
We talked about crayons in our childhood. I said that we needed a box of 8 crayons each year, and I made mine last the whole year. Some children had boxes of 16, and I thought that was “wealth.” Bev said that a box of 48 with a sharpener was the height of wealth in those days. Two old women clucking about the decline of society.
Last night, I dreamed that I had that box of 48, with a sharpener, something I never had. This morning I looked in a drawer in my study—-a box of 48 crayons!
I take these events, the dream and the reality, to mean,
I have everything I need.

The Christmas I turned nine, my family lived in Germany, because my Dad was in the U.S. Air Force.  That year, my main gift was a special hat, called a Bavarian Hat, or sometimes called Tyrolean hat. Usually these hats are green, but mine was a natural wool color, not quite white.  

My brother woke me up very early, really in the middle of the night, to go open our presents.  That year, my brother and I each got a Bavarian hat.

We were in the front room of the apartment, by the Christmas tree, being silly, and noisy.  We had already opened our hats and put them on.  Our parents heard some commotion, and still half asleep, my Dad came out to see us.  Then he went back to the bedroom, and we heard him say to our mom, “There are a couple of German kids in the front room, I don’t know why,” and they went back to sleep.

The custom for these hats is to buy little pins in each place one travels, and put the pins on the hat.  There are 6 such pins on this hat, and a little jeweled salamander pin.   There’s a white fluffy feather, and a green band.  You’ve maybe heard the expression “a feather in your cap”?  It means you accomplished something.  This tradition comes from hunters putting a feather in the hat band from birds they had killed.     

This hat has always reminded me of my childhood and that very special Christmas celebration.  The pins on the hat show my travels while we stayed in Germany.

 The Frankfort Zoo at that time was magnificent.  It was the first zoo I remember visiting.  The animal enclosures were set apart by moats, not fences, so the animals appeared to be in the wild.  It was there that I saw the okapi, a strange animal.  

Heidelberg is a town famous for its university, and Koln for its cathedral.

Schwetzingen  is in wine country, as shown by the grapes and wine glass, and has an amazing castle surrounded by gardens.  Maybe my love of gardening was begun when I toured those gardens.  I think my dad was in the hospital in that place, and we went to visit him there.  (I know my dad was in the hospital, I think that is the town where the hospital was.)

The Hansel & Gretel pin, the word is faded, but I think it is Eisen – hard to say.  There is a part of Germany now called “Fairy Tale Road” and maybe this town is on that road.   I know that we went to the Hansel & Greta operetta, and that is probably when I got this pin.  I still remember a song from that show.  It was a very special occasion for us.  You’ve heard of The Brothers Grimm?  They came from this part of Germany.  They were scholars of language, but they became famous for their collection of folklore.

Worms/ Rhein     The Rhein River is a major river in Europe.  Worms is famous for its cathedral, and as the place where Martin Luther was the subject of a court case in 1521.   The mushroom, red with white spots, is considered “good luck” as is the chimney sweep.  I’ve never seen that kind of mushroom and I don’t know why it is “good luck.”  I’m sure the sweep brings good luck because a clogged chimney can start a fire. 

Berchtesgaden is town up in the Alps where I rode a ski lift to the top.  I remember being terrified!  But the view was wonderful.

The salamander is also considered “good luck” because he is thought to be able to withstand high heat.

This year, 2019, I asked my granddaughter if she would like this hat and she accepted.  I had it cleaned and cleaned all the little pins and put them back.  I researched the places they represent to tell her about them, and to suggest she might someday make a trip to retrace my steps.

As a small child in her grandparents’ home, my mother would gaze at a picture above the table while her grandfather said mealtime prayers.  The picture showed a waterfall coming over a mill in the German home town of Grandpa.  One day he said to her, “Maybe someday, you will go to Germany and visit the old home place.”  And, decades later, she did. 

I have suggested to my granddaughter that just as my great grandpa’s words came true for my mom, my words may come true for her.