A German girl came up to my table at a Vancouver show, pointed out Miki on the cover of this book and said, “This Is My Mother.”
Not the name or the character — just what she had to go through. Which is one of the greatest reviews I ever got. And all I was doing was trying to imagine what it would have been like for me if I’d had to survive the end of a war.
The last panel makes me think of my German grandparents: at the height of blazing argument, Opa called Oma a cow. They barely spoke to each other (apart from things that needed to be said to live together day to day) for almost fifteen years, despite living in the same small apartment. How stubbornly German is that?
OOOH…. he called her a “Kuh”?? Oh man. Fifteen years is just starting with Germans. I totally believe you. The guy who wrote “On The Fritz — German Humor” — speaks of the “slow grinding of the Teutonic Plates.” You have to have German relatives to understand how unbelievably pig-headed we can be, even as Americans.
“Slow grinding of the Teutonic Plates” is a great phrase! And yeah, Americans are the only other people I know who get THAT offended by “cow”. It just doesn’t have that sort of impact to people from the UK.
I guess opa was lucky to get away with his life. But then “rache ist blutwurst..”
That explains why Himself can hold onto a grudge iwth both feet. He’s part German.
@Michael It’s where Star Trek gets the “best served cold” line. Then again, an awful lot of sci-fi is just disguised Third Reich (chicken!!!).
@hswoolve “Himself?” I’m slow in the morning…
Online, I refer to my husband as “Himself.” Part German and all stubborn.
hswoolve: That’s funny, I used to call Dan “Himself.” It’s Irish, isn’t it? As in, “Woman of the House” = “Herself.”