Church Picnic

The morning began earlier than usual for Katia. She not only had breakfast to prepare but also the item she was bringing to the church picnic. She had decided on German Potato Salad.

Knowing that the first words out of Kurt's mouth would be, I'm hungry, she prepared the breakfast casserole. While it was baking, she sat an extra-large pot of water on the stove. And then she added two bags of red-skinned potatoes and heated the water to a boil; then turned down the temperature to let the potatoes simmer until a fork could easily penetrate the cooked potatoes.

Up in the master-suite, the couple was once again awakened by the sun shining in their window. This wasn't a morning for marital activity; they kissed before Maria spoke.

"I'm going to get dressed and see if I can help Katia this morning."

"I'll be down shortly."

Maria quietly walked the hall to the stairs. "Good morning, Katia. What can I do to help?"

"The biscuit dough is ready to be cut into biscuits; here's the round cutter I found. I'll take the casserole out and adjust the temperature for the biscuits."

Katia then tested the potatoes to see if they were cooked. She found they were and carefully poured the water and the potatoes into a colander she had placed in the sink. She let them cool while she fried thick bacon. In the fat from the bacon she cooked the cut up onion.

After the onion was tender, Katia added vinegar, sugar and soup broth; it was simmered for a few minutes. Now her task was cutting all the potatoes into bite-size piece.

They were placed in a large bowl and the onion mixture was drizzled over the potatoes and mixed thoroughly. It was all placed in a large oblong dish and placed in the refrigerator to meld the flavors and cool.

When she turned around, she saw Kurt. "Do I smell cooked bacon?"

"You do. It's for our food for the church picnic. Our breakfast casserole is cooked and the biscuits are almost finished baking. You can tell your brother and sisters to take their seats in the dining room."

Katia found Franz and asked that he carry the breakfast casserole to the table. He asked about smell of fried bacon too. She told him the same thing she had told Kurt.

Everything Katia had prepared was eaten; hardly a crumb was left. Now the group began to discuss the picnic and the parade.

"Dad, do you anything about the parade we will watch?"

"Not really, Friedrich. This is all new to me too."

"Mommy." "Yes Gretl."

"Will the picnic have food I will like?"

"I'm sure it will sweetie."

And Louisa asked. "Can we go to the playground for awhile?"

"Yes, as soon as the dishes are washed and put away we can go there."

"Liesl and I will help so we can leave soon."

Georg smiled at his maturing daughter. And it really didn't take long before they were leaving for the park. They didn't find many children there; still they had fun. When they returned, it was almost eleven o'clock.

"Georg, I'll take the big bowl of potato salad to the church now. I'm sure the ladies would like all the food there by the time everyone arrives for the picnic."

"Thank you, Franz. You can wait for us to arrive. I'm sure the children will want to be among the first to arrive."

"Very well, I'll watch for you."

And Georg whispered to Maria. "I want to ask Father Mike to bless our marriage."

"I want that too."

The couple shared a rather romantic kiss and then heard the "ahems" from their children. "You better get used to seeing us kiss; it's one way to a long and happy marriage."

"Dad, I want to get to the picnic before all the food is gone."

"Kurt, I'm sure that won't happen. We'll leave here in a few minutes."

"Come on everyone. Let's get to leave."

The couple smiled and shook their heads. "Georg, he'll grow out of this when he gets older."

"I certainly hope so."

By now Kurt stood in front of the door to the portico. Soon all the others were behind him. Stefan and Phillip led; Maria and Georg were last behind Marta and Gretl. Even they walked faster than usual.

Once they turned onto the street with their church, they immediately heard voices. As they came closer, Georg heard his name spoken by his navy friend, Paul Adams.

"Come sit with us Georg."

"Daddy, can we sit by Rosemary and Rita?"

"Of course you can."

He whispered to Maria. "I'm still amazed they friends so quickly."

"Same for me."

Next to speak was Maryann. "Everyone, the men will tell us when it's our turn to get our food. That way it's not bedlam."

Kurt was not pleased but he didn't speak. He was happy when very soon it was their turn.

When they saw all the food, Louisa spoke. "See Kurt, there's plenty of food."

And one of the ladies of the church also spoke. "There are even more dishes of food to bring out; we've never run out of food." Kurt smiled at the lady.

Soon the food dishes were replaced by a huge cake. Everyone received a piece cake and a square of ice cream with three different flavors, vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. This kind of ice cream had the name Neapolitan; a name which reflected the Italian origin of the ice cream. The colors resembled the Italian flag.

No one was in a hurry to leave. Maria commented. "The picnic is wonderful. The Mass is very important but so is social time; God is smiling. He loves to see a happy church."

Father Mike heard her. "A perfect description, Maria, God does want us to be happy."

Georg joined the conversation. "Father Mike, Maria and I were married on the ship. We want to have our marriage blessed."

"No problem. I can perform the short ceremony at the end of Mass next Sunday."

"Thank you."

Father Mike used his loud voice to announce. "As soon as the food table is cleared everyone can walk towards the main street. The parade will begin soon."

Paul spoke to them. "Let's go find a good place to stand so our children can see everything."

The street was void of all cars; none were on the street nor parked by the curb. The children were very anxious for the parade to begin. They didn't wait very long. They soon saw a squad of policemen on motorcycles flashing their red lights and riding in the shape of a "V."

And right behind them was a military band being led by men carrying flags. The lead flag bearer carried a large flag with red and white stripes and in a corner a patch of blue with stars.

Paul whispered. "That's the flag of America. Out of respect we military men salute it; everyone else places their right hand over their heart. The band will play our National Anthem, the Star Spangled Banner."

The Austrian family heard this music whose notes formed a melody which arouses a sense of pride and patriotism for the country. They would all eventually learn its words which told the story of how the flag flew during a battle with the British in 1812 and how it now represents the land of the free and the home of the brave.

After the band finished playing the song, it marched on playing another patriotic tune.

Louisa asked. "How can play and march at the same time?"

Paul answered her. "It takes practice; lot's of practice. You may hear them early in the morning at your home."

The parade continued with big trucks pulling a platform with displays of all kinds of things which represented the pride Americans had in the men who built this great country. The town's high school band ended the parade.

The crowd began to disperse. And this Austrian group of people knew they were very lucky to be living in America.