Hegwein Family Blog

Birthdays, Swimming, and Prague

GOOD MORNING,EVERYBODY!

Happy Birthday Peter...may all your wishes be fulfilled and may you achieve surprising swimming records, just as Karl and Natalie did recently. With the help of Cindy by reducing the amount of ice cream, you will be a shining star at the Y. You will also be a noteworthy gem by finishing my Autobiography in 2006. :) -:)

So you know what is going on across the Atlantic: In Budapest, four German beauties achieved a 3:35.22 time in 4x100 Meter freestyle. They beat the Australians who came in at 3:35,94.

After my afternoon brain-function-restoring nap, I experienced this urge to play with two words that I had stored for some time. The word "Fensterln" and "Defenestration" will be the core of my interesting story. Fensterln is an old custom and word used in rural Bavaria and Austria. The word denotes (in most cases) a happy occurance, usually around midnight between two people. "Defenestration" describes a somewhat sorry act, executed in many countries many, many years ago. To remove people from office who performed badly was usually the reason for the trip through an open window.

For example, when a healthy farmboy, say a Sepp Sacktraeger discovered a equally healthy farm girl, like a Zenzi Habmichgern, their only opportunity to exchange reciprocal pleasantries were during church visits on Sundays. Both parents kept a watchful eye on their respective offspring in order to eventually arrange a mutually satisfactory marriage. In order to get to know each other better, only "Fensterln" allowed this occasion. At the arranged date and time, Sepp carried noiseless a 30 feet long wooden ladder from the barn section of the farm to the mainhouse, underneath Zenzi's open window on the second floor. Climbing the ladder in this moonless night was no problem for Sepp since he was used to more strenuous work at his parents farm.

Arriving in Zenzi's room, THREE results could ensue. After a gratifying "Meeting of the Minds" at midnight he would depart in the earliest morning hours in order to be ready to work with some plough job. Zenzi also had a tight time-table: she had to milk the cows in the early morning hours. So, after the pleasant rendezvous, Sepp stored the ladder where it belonged and wandered home, still thinking about Zenzi. The SECOND possible result could be that Zenzi knew about Sepp's love of a neighboring girl and that he only wanted a little "Abwechslung" by visiting her. So she slapped Sepp around and before he knew it, he was in retreat by grabbing the ladder, missing in his haste a step, and falling helplessly - away from Zenzi. The THIRD outcome could be that Zenzi's father heard some noise from the animals in the barn and logically entered Zenzi's room and chased Sepp through the window.

A bit more about "Fensterln", stemming from the German word Fenster, or "fenestra" from Latin. The French use "fenetre" for window. When the thought arrived of comparing the two words, I also remembered "Der Prager Fenstersturz" from somewhere. In the very old (1255 founded) and charming city of Prague (Praha), also called "The Golden City" in Czechoslovakia, Catholic City potentates were thrown through a window from the government house on July 30, 1419, that's right, 1419. Just a few years later, on May 23, 1618, on having established some kind of monopoly in these exercises, three Catholic leaders of their flock were thrown from the second floor 40 "Ellen" or 30 feet from the same building to the floor, landing this time however on top of a wide and thick dungheap (Misthaufen). One of the three suffered a circumorbital haematoma (black eye). A few shots with some "rifle" missed and the three escaped unharmed. The Czech were so happy about the event that they coined the actual extraction movement of bodies DEFENESTRAZION. "Z" is the Czech spelling.

Unfortunately, this event triggered the 30 Year War. Between 1618 and 1648, the population in Germany went from 17 million people to 8. This somber fact leads to another "Chain of Events" - the First World War. When Archduke Francis Ferdinand was shot, along with his wife, World War I (1914-1918) broke out. Two people's fate doomed millions. The Second World War was a result of the shameful Traty of Versailles. Millions died. The current confrontation in the Middle East was triggered by the capture of two stray soldiers of one party, resulting in unnecessary deaths. What's next?