Busy Days
For Georg and Maria, the morning came with voices outside their apartment door.
"Good morning, Franz. You're up rather early."
"It's a habit David. I've always been an early riser. I wanted to be sure none of the children tried to go off by themselves."
"That's exactly why I'm here this early. I was on a cruise with children who didn't follow directions. That was stopped when I let them get lost and waited a good amount of time before I spoke to them. They never ran off alone again."
"David is wise, Georg. He'll make a good parent someday."
"True, I don't hear any of our children's voices."
"Give them another few minutes. As soon as one wakes, he or she will wake all the others. I also think Katia and Rosemary are awake; they're used to getting up this early to begin to prepare our coffee and breakfast."
"And Maria, I'm sure we can get coffee this early on the ship. Let's get dressed and ask about it."
Within minutes of finishing dressing the children's voices were heard. They quickly entered the passageway and immediately asked.
"Is there coffee available this early?"
"Actually, Georg, there's fresh coffee available all day long. And children, there's milk and juice available for you as well. And breakfast service begins at seven thirty."
By now all the adults had joined them. Max was also eager to have his first cup of coffee. He may have complemented Georg on his fine wine cellar but he had a fondness for a good cup of coffee.
And so this first day on the ship was off to an early start.
The group really didn't need David to give directions to the dining room; they had already learned the way. Max was the point person this morning. He led them down the passageway to the grand foyer and then down the grand staircase to the deck with the dining room.
And even though they had seen it before the group still oohed and aahed over it. And as David had expected, no one else was in the dining room besides the waitstaff.
One of them spoke. "Good morning everyone, I hope each of you had a good night's sleep." He saw heads nod. "Then you should be full of vim and vigor and ready to enjoy all the activities the ship has to offer."
"We are sir, but first I know I need breakfast. I'm famished."
"We can't have that, young man," the waiter acknowledged with a grin. "I have the menus in hand, I'm sure you can find a selection to quell your hunger."
And Georg and Maria held those parental smiles meaning, will he ever grow out of this stage. Georg grabbed Maria's hand for a reassuring squeeze as the waiter distributed the menus.
All the adults recognized the distinct influence of an English breakfast. Various types of fish were on the menu; some were even strange to them as were unusual preparations of other kinds of meat. Kurt and Louisa recognized other foods.
Louisa spoke about them. "I know I'm not having Force cereal or that other one named Puffed Rice, neither is filling."
Rosemary had thought they might like them when she served them at the Whitehead home. She discovered she was very wrong. The children needed a snack before lunch was ready because they complained about being hungry.
The waiter added. "I've heard that from others. Tell me what you'd like to eat this morning."
The waiter heard Louisa and Kurt order a bowl of peaches, two fried eggs, a slice of fried ham and a serving of fried potatoes and a large glass of milk.
Friedrich and Liesl were the next to place their orders. They didn't order one of those cereals Louisa had mentioned either. They both ordered a bowl of bananas in milk, a large bowl of porridge along with buttered toast and a slice of ham. The little girls and Brigitta also had porridge and a muffin with butter. All the adults chose something similar to what Kurt and Louisa had ordered.
Since they were the only ones in the dining room, their selections had been prepared and served promptly. And the other stewards had assembled there. They were prepared with a list of activities.
Mark was in charge this morning. "I'm taking you to the Sport Deck. Boys, we're not going to do a real active sport first. Your meal needs to settle. I believe you will find my selection satisfactory."
This group of eighteen followed behind Mark as ducklings follow their mama. They arrived at a room with many tables with a short net in the middle. Mark asked.
"Is anyone familiar with the game Ping-Pong?"
Only Frank and Maria raised their hands. "Where did you learn?" Georg whispered.
"At the University."
"Will you two tell the others about the game and show them how it is played?"
"Maria, you can probably explain it better than I could."
"Okay, Frank, I will. If you look closely at the all the tables, they each have two paddles lying on them." Maria walked to the nearest table and picked one up.
"Mark, do you have a ball for us?"
"I do. I have a bucket full." He handed one to Maria.
"This special ball is made from an extremely light plastic material. It's actually two halves which have been glued together and somehow filled with air. The air helps them bounce."
Maria demonstrated by throwing it down on the floor and it bounced way over her head. Mark ran to retrieve it and returned it to Maria as she continued to explain the game.
"To begin play, one partner tosses the ball up a short distance and hits it with the paddle so that it first hits his side of the table once and then bounces over the net and hits the opponent's side. Then the other partner attempts to hit it back so it bounces on the other side. The volley continues until one partner's ball doesn't hit the table."
"An excellent description, Maria. Later after you master the game, I'll teach you how to keep score. But now you should pair up and all of us will distribute your balls. Marta and Gretl, there's a children's table for you."
The girls' smiles told Mark they were pleased.
The five stewards did a lot of running around to retrieve the balls which went everywhere. They didn't mind. They heard laughter from the group; they were having fun. One by one the pairs stopped playing. But this would be a game they would play almost every day.
It was now midmorning. The stewards took them to another game room. This one was filled with Bowling Alleys. It was another game which only Max knew how to play.
He told them. "The object of the game is to roll the ball down the alley and knock the pins over. Those you knock down are taken away and you have an opportunity to roll the ball again and see if you can knock down the others.
"Brigitta, Marta and Gretl, these balls are very large and rather heavy, even Kurt may have trouble holding them."
"That's okay Uncle Max. We'll sit and watch."
This game was more difficult than they thought it would be. Everyone laughed at all the times the balls went into the gutter on either side of the alley.
By now the morning had passed and they were ready to eat lunch. The lunch menu pleased everyone. Afterwards, the stewards had one more game for them to learn. This game was called Shuffleboard. First they watched a group of people play this game on an outdoor playing surface.
Michael told them. "The object of the game is to push the biscuit-puck with the stick and get it to stop in one of the triangles. As you can see, each triangle has a number which is the number of points which are awarded to the player. These people are practicing to play in a tournament. You can play it just for fun in the room which has several courts to use."
They went there and the three ladies, Isabel, Katia and Rosemary became very good. Eventually they played against Stefan, Phillip and Franz and were able to beat them. Liesl and Louisa enjoyed this game but the boys didn't.
Friedrich voiced the reason. "This game isn't very exciting."
"We've heard that before." Michael answered. "Let's spend the remainder of the afternoon watching movies. Marta, I believe it was you who asked about them."
"I did. Are we going to see more than one?"
"You are. We can stop for refreshments while the theater is getting prepare."
Scattered throughout the ship were several respite bars serving coffee, hot tea and milk or juice for the children. They also had pastries and cookies. And there were several chairs where people could sit. They sat for about twenty minutes before Michael announced.
"The theater is ready for us."
They took seats which were not real close to the front of the theater. Michael had told them if they sat too close they would grow tired of looking up at the screen but if they say back a few rows they could view the screen more comfortably.
Michael also told them. "The American who made these movies is a very talented man named Walt Disney. Even as a young boy he loved to draw things. I don't think he dreamed his talent would ever bring him financial success. But it has.
"His first movie was, Alice's Wonderland. It was never shown to the public but a copy has been given to us for you to view. After you see it, I will show you the first in a series of short films which are titled, The Alice Comedies."
Michael saw Brigitta raise her hand. "Do you have a question?"
"I do. Are these similar to the Alice in Wonderland story?"
"I suppose they are but I don't think Walt Disney got his inspiration from it. Now sit back and enjoy them."
Everyone waited in eager anticipation; they weren't disappointed. Alice's Wonderland was about a real person in a cartoon studio. Alice is amazed by seeing the cartoon characters come to life and play around.
After heading to bed that night, she dreams of being in the cartoon world, welcomed by all of the characters. Alice plays with them until a group of lions break free from a cage and chase her.
Children and adults alike were amazed at how a real person could be viewed as being in an imaginary world. And the movie which followed, Alice's Day at Sea, was from a collection of movies about a girl named Alice and her cat, Julius. It was as amazing as the first. No one could understand why they didn't bring Walt Disney success.
Michael could only speculate. "It seems the public didn't enjoy Walt's visionary imagination. He didn't let it stop him. One day he drew a rabbit and named him Oswald and wrote a story about him but that didn't bring him success either. Walt continued to fiddle with his rabbit and it soon became a mouse.
"It wasn't a normal looking mouse. He had shortened the ears and made them round. He had a round middle and short legs. Walt brought him alive in what is called animation. He was an instant success.
"The first one is named Steamboat Willie. It has music and Mickey speaks for the first time. The next one The Gallopin' Gaucho introduces Mickey's lady friend Minnie Mouse."
This group wasn't alone in the theater. Everyone there laughed heartedly. They had time to recover from laughing so much before the full-length movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, began.
Marta and Gretl both knew this story. Maria had read it to them soon after she had become their Fräulein. Still they held their breath during the scary scene with the jealous queen and her poisoned apple and what happened to Snow White after she took a bite of it. They both knew the story had a happy ending; the Prince and Snow White get married. Everyone in the audience clapped enthusiastically when it ended.
It was now dinner time and once again the group found food selections to their liking. After dinner their stewards took them to a big room where they played a new game. Maria recognized the game after it was explained; she knew it as BEANO. They had been told that the Americans called it BINGO.
Everyone had the best time listening to the letter and number called out and looking to see if they had that combination on a card they had been given. If they marked all the card's spaces in a single row either vertically or horizontally, they shouted out BINGO.
One of the stewards checked their cards; if it was correct they were given a small prize.
After several games were played, the children began to grow tired. After all they had been awake since shortly after sunrise. No one complained about going back to their apartments and getting ready for bed. And no one read for very long.
Maria and Georg found all of them almost asleep when they visited them. They still had energy to fulfill the scripture again.
In the morning no voices woke Georg and Maria. It was Georg's internal alarm clock which woke him. His snuggling closer to Maria woke her. They took advantage of this time. As their heart rates slowed Maria heard.
"I doubt this opportunity will happen very often."
"You're probably right. We should get dressed. I'm sure we will hear the children's voices soon."
It wasn't only the children's voices the couple heard, all the adults were with them. And they heard Chris.
"Are you ready for another fun day on the ship?"
"We are." Kurt answered. "I know I want to play one of the games we played yesterday, Ping-Pong was a lot of fun."
"You can do that. Ladies, there's a cooking class today. You will learn how to cook a turkey and how to prepare all the other foods for an American holiday meal. And then the entire group can eat what you have prepared for dinner."
"How wonderful. What time does it begin?"
"Right after breakfast. And men there are things especially for you. Stefan, an American farmer is giving a lecture on growing a vegetable garden in one of the small rooms in the library. He'll also talk about American fruit trees."
"I'd like to attend too, Chris. Stefan and I have always worked together."
"No problem, Phillip. The lecture begins at ten o'clock."
"And Chris, I already have plans for today."
"What did you find to do, Uncle Max?"
"Liesl, I'm going to be listening to some American music. You children may have the opportunity to sing in America just as you did in England and I want to add some American songs to your program."
Maria and Georg had stood quietly and listen to all this. Georg responded to Max. "The Prime Minister told me something similar."
"Georg, this may all be a part of God's plan for all of us. Perhaps they could sing for people on the ship."
Paul addressed Maria and Georg. "There are people on board who escaped to England with very little. They could use a little cheer."
The couple looked at each other. Their facial expression told the other they both agreed the children should sing. Max noticed.
"Children, you can sing some of the songs you already know."
And Paul said. "I'll arrange your first performance for this afternoon. Is that too soon?"
"No, the children can practice right after lunch."
Right after breakfast, the group scattered to their activity. Georg and Maria went with the children to the Ping-Pong room. And afterwards took a walk on the top deck all the way around the ship. They then did some window shopping on the passageway with all the fancy stores.
The afternoon preceded as Max planned. After lunch, the children practiced their songs in a small sitting room near their apartments. Around two-thirty Paul found them.
"Down on the lower deck, there's a large group of people waiting to hear you sing."
"We're ready, Paul. My brothers and sisters and I are anxious to sing for them." Friedrich told him.
"Good, follow me."
They found a group of about forty people crowded into a small room. A space had been saved for the children. They lined as they had on their English tour; Liesl, Friedrich, Kurt and Louisa made up the back row; Marta, Brigitta and Gretl were in the front row.
Some small children were sitting in the first row. They heard. "Look mama, they're as small as we are."
"I see girls. We're close enough; we will be able to hear their voices."
Gretl and Marta smiled at them. Max had his pitch-pipe. He sounded the first note of the first song. He had added a line of verse to the Favorite Things song. The group heard them sing.
When you're sad or scared you can think about your favorite things. Pussy-willows, puppy dogs and rabbits are among our favorite things.
The children saw them smile as they sang about all their favorite thingswhich helped them not to feel so bad. After listening to loud applause, they began to sing a short version of the Do-Re-Me song.
They heard one of the moms say. "What a wonderful song to teach children the singing notes of a scale."
The children and their mothers were very pleased. They applauded loudly after each song. And one mother was brave enough to ask. "Will you sing again for us sometime?"
Max answered for the children. "I'm sure they can."
They left this small room full of smiles. Maria commented to them. "God is smiling too. You have brought joy and hope to those who had very little."
"Father, can we sing for them tomorrow?"
"Yes Liesl, I saw their smiles too."
The ladies, Isabel, Katia and Rosemary didn't hear them sing. After lunch they had returned to where they were preparing the American holiday meal. That evening they sat in a private dining room to enjoy it.
"Kurt, I see you ate everything on your plate."
"Katia, this was very good. Do you think there will be other new foods in America?"
"I don't know Kurt. But I'm sure you will never go hungry. And tomorrow we three want to hear you sing."
"And I think we need to take a walk. I know I feel stuffed."
"I agree with your mother. It's a nice evening. Maybe after walking in the enclosed Promenade we could view the sunset from that space around the outdoor swimming pool."
"Yes, Father. I've read sunsets are particularly beautiful at sea."
"They are Brigitta. Everyone should use the bathroom before we go there."
This group ended their walk. Georg remembered where to find the stairs to the pool. Michael had taken them to see this swimming pool during one of their other walks. These stairs took them down to another door which opened onto a small space in front of this small swimming pool.
"Our timing is perfect, children. And I believe you are going to see a spectacular sunset. Those clouds, the sun has almost reached, will help produce the most beautiful colors."
Everyone's eyes were glued on the sun. They watched the bright yellow sun slip behind the fluffy clouds and the entire cloud became bright yellow. After it emerged from the cloud's bottom edge they saw it change from yellow to orange and in seconds became red. Soon the sky around it was also red and then pink, then lilac and soon it was a deep shade of purple.
Very soon the sun fully disappeared as the ocean seemed to welcome the sun into its waters. And soon the sky grew darker; night had fallen.
"Father, this was simply breath-taking."
"It was and always is Brigitta. A navy man never tires of seeing them or sunrises; they too can be spectacular."
"And Georg I believe a sunset at sea is more spectacular than those I've seen when the sun sets behind a mountain. We must also remember; God created all this."
"And Mother, that's why we like the song, For the Beauty of the Earth. And Uncle Max, we should sing it tomorrow."
"Yes, Louisa we should include it. Now we should return to our apartments. We've had a very busy day. You can all read awhile before you go to sleep."
"Good idea, Max. Children your mother and I will make the rounds of your apartments soon; we want to turn in early too."
Georg squeezed Maria's hand; a signal he had other things planned besides reading. And Maria returned his squeeze.
By the time Georg and Maria visited each apartment, the children were in bed reading. They told the boys and Brigitta and Louisa not to read too long.
And they found Liesl was reading her own book and Marta and Gretl were reading as well. "Are you girls getting too old to be read to?"
"No Mother, we both found these books at the library. We discovered we knew all the words and could read them by ourselves. We know we need to learn how to read big girl school books."
"Yes, you do. Your father is very proud of you. But sometime snuggle up with your mother and have her read to you. She'd like that."
"We will." They said together. "Can we still have our kiss?"
"Of course you can." Maria said as she bent over each and drew their face close to give a bedtime kiss. Both little girls giggled.
Georg gave each a kiss on the forehead with his goodnight.
The couple left with parental glow. Once out of the room Georg drew Maria close. "I'm certain God pick you to be their mother."
"And I enjoy being their mother. But our activity before we go to sleep will be the highlight of my day."
"Let's hurry so I can undress you and get started."
They hurried there and Georg began the moment he closed the door. They soon lay close feeling totally shrouded in the others love. They slept well.