May 2006

Hunter Keating Byrne; newest member of "The Clan!"

Well, I have been waiting patiently for some pictures of Hunter Keating Byrne, born November 1st, 2005, to Jennifer and Bobby Byrne, but there have been none coming. So, I decided to post some from a recent football shoot, where Hunter was rooting (literally) for Karl.

As you can see, his hairstyle is reminiscent of dandy boys back in the 20's! Even more shocking is his resemblance to his Father; the classic Byrne forehead!

Will we see more pictures of Hunter? We sure hope so.

World Cup Soccer

WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SOCCER

There are currently several countries around the world on edge due to the famous(?) forthcoming World Cup Soccer Tournament; Die Fussballweltmeisterschaft, staged in several German cities, among them Munich where the games start on June 9 and end one month later in Berlin. Since punctuality is exceedingly important to "Buergers" in the land of Sauerkraut, Knoedel and Bier, millions are already counting the days, hours and minutes to the opening of this unique event. Germany expects some 3 Mil. visitors from around the world and the organizers want to make this an unforgettable experience.

For this purpose - somewhat one-sided - they have permitted the influx of some 30,000 "Information hostesses" from Russia and other Slavic countries. These mostly attractive and bilingual young ladies will act as tour and game guides, or whatever is involved during the tournament. For a measly 20 Euros, one can get acquainted with these guides, who spend then some scarce 30 minutes with the visitor. American authorities concerned about these dangerous developments have already voiced great concern and have protested. By now, I am certain in my assumption that all of you are extremely anxious to learn more about these World Games, since the USA has qualified to play in the "Cup."

My own involvement in this somewhat rough sport were several "matches" after school in my 4th and 5th grade on the Munich Koeningsplatz where our "Leader" mesmerized the crowd with hour-long speeches of motivation. Sometimes we played a "game" with girls from the "All-Girls School" just adjacent to our boys school.

I will attempt to translate a short article from the Stern magazine (4-21-06) about some particularities of this utterly fascinating game. For soccer fans, only a few numbers are important: a match lasts for 90 minutes, each team has eleven players and there are two Halbzeiten (half times). The impressive goal is 7.32 Meters wide, 2.44 high and this is just fine, experts decided. Should the goal be larger, the goalie could not possibly reach every corner when jumping from a standing position and the result would be an avalanche of goals, say, like in a basketball game, 109 x 112 for instance. This outcome would be deadly for the game because it would eliminate totally the "luck-factor."

The goalie has of course the hardest job, hence his compensation and reputation. When a so-called "Elfmeter" (penalty Shot) happens, he has to make an attempt to stop the ball. The opposing player kicks the ball from 12 yards or 10,9728 Meter before the goal. The ball then reaches a speed of 83 Kilometers/Stunde (hr). Even if the goalie has perfect reflexes, he still needs about a quarter of a second to react to the approaching danger. If the goalie waits until the ball is hit, he would need a speed of 35 KM/St. to reach the ball from a standing position, and this is impossible. The solution: The goalie must leap ("loshechten") before the ball is kicked. This 1/4 second allows him to jump only 18 KM/St. to reach the ball. If he succeeds, he still has to stop some hard leather that has the impact of an 70 Kilo cement sack. There are many more interesting happenings in this game, like the "Drall" which occurs when the ball is hit sideways and the ball's trajectory is unpredictable for the goalie. When the ball flies at 100 KM/St. and simultaneously rotates ten times per second, the ball can easily be 10 Meters off the estimate.

The Germans spent considerable sums of Euros on new stadiums, but also updated many others. Here is a list of cities where the games are played and seating capacity, besides the moolah amount.

Muenchen New 342 Mil. 59,416

Frankfurt " 188 43,324

Gelsenkirchen " 192 43,324

Hamburg " 100 45,442

Koeln Rem 110 40,590

Dortmund " 36 60,285

Stuttgart " 53 47,757

Hannover " 63 39,297

Leipzig New 116 38,898 *

Nuernberg Rem 56 36,898

Berlin Rem 242 60,021

Kaiserslautern Rem 48 41,513

* = only city in former East Germany

Enough for today, "Schluss fuer heute!" - drop a line when you have time.

Fritz

Memorial Day

WHY DO WE HAVE A MEMORIAL DAY? (To honor the war-dead)

The Revolutionary War (1775-1783) 4,435 dead

The War of 1812 (1812-1815) 3,260

Mexican War (1846-1848) 13,283

Civil War (1861-1865) 364,512

Spanish American War (1898) 2,446

World War I (1917-1918) 116,708

World War II (1941-1946) 407,316

Korean War (1950-1953) 36,516

Vietnam War (1964-1973) 58,205

Gulf War, Act I (1990-1991) 382

Iraq War pending

A short sequence on NBC on Friday evening highlighted the plight of orphans in the country. Just think for one measly minute about the fate of those fallen or suffering from wounds or victims of fatal war circumstances. Just think about it for one minute.

Memorial Day 2006

Opa

Silliness...

Hallo All Readers!

Perhaps the younger Blog-familiar generation will find this amusing Syntax Selection helpful.

ONLY I hit him in the eye yesterday

I ONLY hit him in the eye yesterday

I hit ONLY him in the eye yesterday

I hit him ONLY in the eye yesterday

I hit him in ONLY the eye yesterday

I hit him in the ONLY eye yesterday

I hit him in the eye ONLY yesterday

I hit him in the eye yesterday ONLY...

I find these eight applications of ONLY funny and I hope you will too.

Opa

More accolades...

Dear Karl!

Oma and I are truly overjoyed to read about your success in school. To achieve these high marks required some effort on your part which you certainly applied. Congratulations for this monumental achievement, in addition to your involvement in two sports.

I had to look up my old school notes to see where I stood at that time in my life. Hold on, here it comes: On April 12, 1938 I got the following grades in my fifth year in our "Grundschule" before I enrolled in the next higher temple of learning. Ambition 1, Conduct 2, Religion 2, German 2, History 1, Geography 2, Biology 2, Math 2, Drawing 1, Physical Ed. 2. The fun part started in fall of 1938 when I had to learn English and Latin. Oma could not remember her grades when I asked her; but you may assume that she was a smart girl. Now, back to you Karl. Try to keep up the excellent work. Study hard, the rewards will come later. Good luck.

Oma and Opa.

Uncle Tom chimes in!

I just wanted to congratulate Karl for his noteworthy achievement especially the part about getting straight "A"s .If he continues to build on his foundation with the same effort and enthusiasm then he will become an exceptional student through High School and well into College. On a lighter note his hair is looking much better.

Karl Graduates!

Today, Karl "graduated" from K-5th grade, moving on to Middle school next year. He finished his final semester and year with a bang; all A's and 1 B, and straight A's, respectively. He was so happy, he cried when we got home. Tomorrow, the entire 5th grade class at Southside goes to Sun N' Fun, a water park/putt-putt golf park that yours truly used to go to back in the 60's! Anyway, here are some pictures of Karl's Pomp and Circumstance!

Congratulations from Principal Marks!

Ditto from Mom!

Even the "old man!"

Way to go, Karl!!

Congratulations and a 1937 comparison

Dear Natalie!

Oma and I would like to than you for the excellent entertainment you provided during this last weekend at the bustling "Y." For us "Golden Age" folks it was a unique thrill. In your 50 Meter Back you left the next three opponents - Flippsy Wasserscheu, Susi Bleischwer and Cloe Zoe De L'Eau in your wake. Your performance in the Sunday events were equally impressive and you can be very proud of your accomplishments.

An extra bonus for us onlookers would have been an appearance in the water by Karl. He most likely would have done rather well, judging from the results of some of the boys in his age group. Well, perhaps later this summer he might just change his mind and sign up with the Sharks.

I could of course not keep up with both of you, since I learned to swim at age ELEVEN in a very cool mountain lake in Anger near Reichenhall, Bavaria with the help of a rubber ring around my waist. It was a present from my aunt from New York who was with her two sons, John and Rudy on a vacation in 1937. With the help of J and R [3 & 6 years older] I finally could paddle along the edge of the lake in very refreshing water.

Natalie, congratulations for a job very well done. Keep up the pace.

Oma and Opa.

Salsa Recipe! Hmmmmm!

Need something new for Memorial Day?

For the picnic-dinner that day, try Oma's (Ann) easy to prepare and very colorful salsa. Mix together: black beans, corn, tomato and avocado cubes, chopped red onions, salt & pepper and pour over plenty of fresh lime juice. Try it, you might just like it.

YMCA Sharks Memorial Invitational Swim Meet

This weekend, the Sarasota YMCA Sharks Swim Club held the Kent B. Holdren Memorial Invitational Swim Meet, with over 350 swimmers from around the US, including the Kansas City Blazers, Reno Aquatic Club, and Nashville Aquatic Club. Additionally, there were entrants from the Florida Gators Swim Team trying to improve national times for the big meets later this summer. Natalie swam 7 events; the the 50 meter backstroke, 50 meter free, and 100 meter breaststroke on Saturday, and the 100 meter free, 50 meter fly, 50 meter breaststroke, and at the last minute, the anchor leg of the girls 10 and under 200 meter medley relay. This was a 50 meter long course meet.

Natalie swam exceptionally well, with all her times just above BB rank. Additionally, she finished 1st in her heats twice, and placed 10th in the 50 meter breaststroke (out of 4 heats/8 per heat). Her coach was very pleased and remarked that she will probably be moved to the Black Team by the end of summer! Lastly, she snagged an autograph from Ryan Lockte, the 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist in the 800 free and the Silver Medalist in the 200 IM. All the girls were going gaga over him...

Here are some pictures.

"Shark Frenzy" The warm up.

Waiting...

Take your mark!

Nice freestyle form, Noodle!

even better breaststroke!!

Touch N' Go for the anchor leg of the 200 Medley relay. Coach is in the yellow shirt.

All in all, we had a great time! Cindy volunteered (you have to; they dock you $25/session if you don't) as a timer, and I helped out closing up all the timing equipment after the meet ended. Needless to say, we are all totally exhausted. The next meet is in June down in Ft. Myers. Perhaps by then, Karl will want to join too! He won't admit it, but I think he likes the whole concept of individual effort: team camaraderie. We do to.

Last Flag Football Game

After last weeks loss to the Raiders, their coach called and offered to help us prepare for the Rams, who beat them earlier in the season (and soundly, too). We enjoyed a fun but intense practice/scrimmage, and felt afterwards that we could take on the Rams, even possibly beating them to ruin their potential undefeated season.

Things started out pretty well, giving up a TD (but making them earn every yard). We then marched down the field on their vaunted defense, with Karl getting the TD on a nifty comeback route. After that, things started to go awry. I knew the Rams coach would pick on Karl (Safety), throwing deep balls to see if he could cover their top receiver, a big, fast 12 yo, and Karl, to his credit, didn't back down, covering him like a wet blanket. Unfortunately, the 2 passes thrown his way, Karl tipped them and the Rams receiver caught the ball anyway, both for TD's. We did manage 5 sacks, 4 tackles for loss, 1 INT and 1 4-and-out, but the skill and maturity of the six 12 yo's on the Rams eventually won out. You can see and read more about it here.

Game 8 was a victim of the Flu!

Well, the good times had to come to an end, or so they say. The Eagles tried with all their might to defeat the defeatable Raiders, but as several boys were in various recovery stages from the flu, it was not to be. Karl broke up a TD pass, our bulldog pass-rusher had numerous tackles for loss, including QB sacks, AND he scored his 1st TD of the season (that brings the total of Eagles players to score a TD to 9, more than any other team!). You can see pictures and read the play-by-play here. Our last game is on the 20th, against the mighty Rams, 8-0 and a lock to go undefeated...unless we stop them! Go Eagles!

A brief Synopsis...

This is my second attempt to create a "Blog." The first disintegrated in Thomas' computer, which he graciously allows me to use. Two occasions prompted the composition of this mega blog. First, Peter encouraged all tribe members (Cavanagh, Scheider, Byrne) to communicate, exchange secret recipes, report about school accomplishments and some gossip. My second reason to write was triggered while searching for material for my 80th birthday in an album, whereby I stumbled over rehearsal pictures in our home. These events are reasons enough to drop a few lines about the original Hegwein familie, dating to Silurian times. Obviously I am unable to write about any achievements of our kids, therefore I will report odds and loose ends about us from currently sunny Sarasota, where the sun cheerfully rises and contentedly settles.

Evidenced by this communique, we are still meandering through the landscape, occassionally bothered by some maladies. Ann and I had our cataract operations which transferred us back to 19 1/2 - 19 3/4 vision and the ability to almost be able to look around the corners. Ann suffers almost daily with knee and ankle pains which is easy to explain. When we met, Ann was a superb dancer and was a member of the Embassy Supper Club in Stockholm where dancing was the number one sport. Ann did not engage in the famous Banana dance like Josephine Baker, but danced otherwise with unparalleled enthusiasm. Our "Golden Years" are passing in quick fashion.

Since finally retiring from private Club Management (after working through my 74th year) I keep busy slaving around our shack, which recently - particularly in Sarasota - gained in value. Water property...Since the time you were here for the rehearsal dinner, we remodeled almost the entire mausoleum and improved the landscape, resulting in massive back-aches for the undersigned. Our social highlights consist of birthday celebrations for 10 family members. Most of the official holidays are celebrated here at home, which injects some life into our mundane existence. The list of celebration excuses could easily be expanded by adding the famous Crayfish season in August and Lucia Dagen on December 13, both great holidays in Sweden. From Munich, my birthtown, we could import the Invention of the world-famous Weisswurst on Shrove Tuesday in 1854. The Swedish highlights date back to 1700-which also deserve to be celebrated here in Sarasota.

I TOLD YOU THIS WILL BE A MEGA BLOG! Other interesting social highlights are Flag Football and Basketball. Karl plays in both sports as major pillar. His main activity however is as universal player in Flag Football. Peter, winning coach of most games, puts Karl where needed most. Jennifer, the little girl you might remember who served drinks at the r-dinner, married a local boy. They have a nice home some 15 minutes from here and 10 from the local hospital where she works in the X-Ray department as RN. Six months ago, Jennifer delivered a boy who reacts by the name of Hunter Keating. Ann and I suggested Franz, Fritz, Isidor, Hieronymus, Blasius, Pippi or Cycly. Ann is also retired from Jacobson's department store. It was a "Belly-Up" closing. Thomas is currently taking some well deserved rest after slaving at a Teak-decking business for several years. [No, he does not own a yacht.] Last fall, the local tribe treated us for our 50th Wedding Anniversary at a gourmet temple. A "blast" was had by all!

One year prior to my retirement (January 2000), I started to write my autobiography. I felt our kids should know how our past was prior to their arrival. After going through my life once more in the form of research and typing some 200 pages, Peter elected to edit my creation of love, since he was not satisfied with my diction, syntax and punctuation. [It is a Bavarian-English version.] What I thought would be a snap for him turned out to be a literary (?) odyssey.

I have not received the corrected version and wonder some time if I should not compose a new story, written in short staccato sentences and totally void of a Bavarian-english slant. Well, he might just surprise me at Christmas with a finished copy. I feel the product is very interesting to the "kids" since it contains articles about Nazi-Germany, my humble performance in the obligatory Hitler-Marching & Singing Youth outfit, my appearance as K-2 in a 88 mm anti-aircraft battery outside Munich, performing duty in the equally obligatory Reichs Arbeits Dienst, followed by a stint as volunteer in the German navy and ending my military career for the Vaterland in the First Marine-Infantry Regiment, trying to defend the Reich from the upset Russian hordes who were anxious to occupy Berlin in 1945.

In order to keep my already negatively affected brain cells more active, I am currently working on another history booklet. In 1937, My father needed a so-called Aryan Background certificate (Hitler said so) in order to keep on working and being spared to spend some time in one of our emerging concentration camps, like Dachau, just 20 KM outside Munich. In the process, he gathered documents reaching back to 1773. Our ancestors had some interesting occupations, like a coach-wagon driver, blacksmith, baker, butcher, stocking-maker, farmer, sheep-herder, postal clerk, estate owner and administrator. Around 1946, he mentioned that I could perhaps one day write a "little story" about our ancestors in order for my kids to have a understanding of past times.

While working the customary six days/week in the hospitality field in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and the USA, there was never any free time to gather material, coduct necessary research and write. But I knew I had to tackle this project. So, I am now on page 150 with some 80 or so pages to go. The compilation of material was time consuming but also very educational and fun.

So, now you know a little about us. Needless to say, we hope you will enrich the blog collection when you have time to write. This lengthy entry will keep you busy for a while. Future blogs will solely focus on one (?) theme.

Fritz

The Singing Swimmer or the Swimming Singer?

I would like to congratulate Natalie for her superb performance on Wednesday evening at Southside Elementary. It was a sweet success for her. She propelled herself to the plateau of Beverly Sills or Maria Callas and easily "outshone" her partner Natalie Olson with excellent stage presence, acting and singing. Their duet "What Dreams are Made Of" was refreshingly executed with great confidence. It was a real renaissance in youth performance. Natalie's presentation was as smooth and effortless as her 50 meter breaststroke at the Y. Karl and Natalie seem to stimulate each other to always perform at their best in their respective sport. They seem to have the drive, ambition and skill inherited from Mom and Pa, who were both also excellent swimmers. Of course, all results lead unfailingly to Oma (Ann) - who motivated Peter [also Thomas and Jennifer] to be super swimmers. In the art of faultless singing neither Oma nor I can take credit. So once more, it was a nice performance and the applause was evidence of that success. Keep that pace up.

Opa

PS: The reason for the writing delay was my inability to get that far in the mysterious world of computers.

This is a test...this is a test...

this is a test....this is only a test

if this were a real emegency...........