Collection Complete

My son's Europe collection is now complete and he can bid a fond farewell to the experience.

His final sword just arrived.

This one is much more elegant and detailed than the Lionheart sword. It is another heavy weapon, but came with its own wall plaque.

Thank God it also came with its own mounts and brackets. Another wall in his man cave is going to hate me very soon.

This one is a Robin of Locksley weapon (also known as the Earl of Huntington - better known as Robin Hood) and sports a pretty red crystal embedded in the pommel. The blade is etched with elegant runes and the hilt is decorated with two eagles' heads. It's a lovely specimen. No wonder it cost a bit more than the first.

The store also included a large brochure (in German, of course) that included examples of many other swords, specifically swords of kaisers and those of historic German nobility. My son visually devoured it and found several additional swords that hadn't been on display when he'd been in the shop. He's already making a mental list of those he'd like to have, though he wants to wait until he goes back (if he chooses to do so) because the group received nice discounts for purchasing in the local stores. How considerate of him. Hmmm...

Just a glance at the website reveals that they received some very good discounts indeed. He did good.

Now if he decides to return in two years...

Slaying the Snowman and Other Sword Tales

The deliveryman just came bearing a gift.

My son finally received one of his swords purchased in Rothenburg, Germany during his Europe travels.

Comparatively speaking, it's actually rather lightweight for as long as it is. The medallion at the cap of the handle sports the familiar symbol of Richard the Lionheart. It's a nice rendition of a medieval knights sword.

The sword quickly found its place on my son's sword rack in his man cave. It's a good thing the sword was a little lighter than some of the other ones because I don't know how much more weight the wall can hold. Now there are only two open slots left on the rack.

The remaining sword to arrive has a home ready for it unless it comes with a separate hanging plaque. Another wall in his man cave already sports Anduril from the Lord of the Rings, but it hangs on it's own plaque. Had to buy special mounts to screw into the wall before hanging it because THAT, my friends, is one heavy sword (not to mention the thing is loooong!). That poor wall would kill me if we tried to hang another sword on it.

Never realized my son's penchant for swordplay until he was four. I bought him a cute little plastic sword, with which he summarily slayed a snowman and broke the tip off into it. We finally found the tip when the snow melted, but that poor sword didn't last long no matter how much superglue we used. Then he received another larger plastic sword as part of a costume a few years later.

Then came fencing classes when he received his first "real" sword, an electronic rapier weapon. He's been collecting various swords ever since, including two from the Final Fantasy movie sitting on his bedroom dresser. Sometimes I forget about those.

Of course, I have a tendency to support his fascination when birthdays and Christmas come around. Fantasy is my favorite genre remember.

For now we'll await the next brave deliveryman to grace our doorway, once again bearing a gift from the Old World to the New.

Knowing

Well I was wrong. My son didn't buy a sword in Germany.

He bought two.

Like I said, I know my son. Smart kid though, because instead of trying to pack the swords and carry them through customs, he arranged to have them mailed directly from the store. They should arrive in two to eight weeks.

It's so good to have him home, even though he's still messed up a bit from the time change. Waking up too early and so tired during the day. But this too shall pass.

Kinda funny - when the plane pulled up to the gate, there was a massive swarm of family and friends around the glass. I'd planned appropriately and grabbed one of only two chairs early on at the window so I could watch their approach in relative comfort.

Even though he looked tired, his eyes were bright from the experience as he made his way though the crowd.

He even reached out to hug me first. :-) Usually I'm the one having to squeeze in a hug here or there, because he IS too old now for those affectionate moments, but this time it was him initiating the affection.

What more could a mother want?

Up until about the halfway mark driving home, he chattered along incessantly about different things that happened on the trip, the antics he and the guys participated in at times, his favorite parts of the excursion, the things he didn't like - you name it.

Then suddenly the car was quiet. I looked over to see his head lolled back and his mouth wide open - fast asleep without a moment's notice.

For the next hour and twenty I had a touch of trouble staying awake but knew we'd be just fine. The Lord had answered my prayers with a resounding "yes" that he would have a great experience, he'd make some great friendships, and that this would continue the growth he's had over the past year.

Amen, and amen on all accounts.

Now if he can just get his swords as quickly as possible, he will feel complete.

The Time Has Come

Well this is going to be my last post on my son's Europe adventures until his return. I'm leaving this afternoon to go up to Kansas City to pick him up tomorrow night.

My old choir buddy has lived in Kansas City for almost two years, and she's invited me to spend the night tonight and hang out tomorrow until my son arrives Saturday evening. It's going to be so nice to have time to chill and talk about life in general. I've really missed her.

We used to wreak havoc together in choir, but in a good way. Sometimes church needs a little pick-me-up of energy and excitement. She and I rather bounced off of each other that way when we got to going. Always so much fun and rambunctious. There's really no one else right now that I can do that with in the soprano section, so I'm on my own except when she comes for a weekend visit.

So anyway, I'll be staying with her until time to go pick up my son at the airport. My goodness, it is so hard to believe that sixteen days have almost been wiped off the calendar already. The time has flown this week especially.

Last we left off, they just spent an absolutely fantastic and glorious day in Venice, Italy. Thursday they awakened to prepare for another departure into Germany. On their way to their respective village, they stopped off for a couple of hours at the Dachau Concentration Camp and Museum. What a sobering experience that had to be. Quite a change from the previous day's excursion in Venice.

They had a special Jewish song in their repertoire to commemorate their visit to Dachau. What a haunting moment that must have been to stand in the gallows of hell and sing the song of the Jewish peoples who were snuffed out there. Gives me goosebumps just to think about it.

That evening they arrived in the village of Rothenburg, an ancient walled city of Germany where portions of the old wall still stand today. Wow! Their hotel was in the heart of the old city near these ancient ramparts. After dinner they had time to explore the history of their final stop-off on their European voyage.

Today they've presented an early afternoon concert in historic Rothenburg Market Square, and at this very moment they are finishing their late afternoon final concert at the Franziskanerkirche (Franciscan Church). I wonder how it feels to be giving their absolutely last concert of the tour. Makes me feel a little sad just thinking about it, though I'm sure there are many who are ready to get it over with and come home.

Market Square is where their famous "Christkindlmarkt" or Christmas Village is located, a spectacular area that is Christmas year-round (I hope he plans to purchase a memento from here, we do love our Christmas after all). Another interesting tidbit of Rothenburg is that it was a defensive position, built high upon a plateau above the Tauber River. Therefore there are numerous ancient fountains and wells dug around town. One sounds especially interesting - St. George's Fountain. Located near where their early afternoon concert took place, this fountain has supplied water since 1446, topped with a figure of St. George complete with a dragon.

I remember that movie about St. George and the Dragon! How funny that he goes to the village where this fabled event took place. :-)

Shortly after dinner tonight, they'll be having their last Farewell to Europe party at the town hall. Will they dance the night away, or will they be so tired that they'll just go back to their hotels and crash? For tomorrow, they load up the coaches one last time to transport to the airport in Frankfurt. Then it's back home to Kansas.

I'll be anxiously waiting for that first glance of recognition.

Observations on Valkyrie

This evening we went to see a movie that's been out for awhile. It will most likely be the last we go see until I am again gainfully employed.

The choice of our excursion was "Valkyrie". I left there sobbing.

If you aren't yet aware of the nature of the story, it is based upon the July 20 final attack attempt on Adolf Hitler toward the end of World War II. Colonel Stauffenberg joins and then leads the military members of a resistance to assassinate Hitler with the assistance of political allies within the Nazi party.

As we all know from history, they were sadly unsuccessful.

The movie was shot at several actual locations around Germany, including the Berghof, Hitler's palatial retreat home.

Though the scenery and costumery were stunning at times, I left there sobbing because of one thing.

Some days it seems we do not understand what true heroism actually is anymore. These men and women - politicians, military, and civilians - risked everything, EVERYTHING, to try and save their country and countrymen. They saw the evil for what Hitler was and knew they had to act to stand against it.

By their mere associations, much more their involvement, they knew they were putting their own lives and also their families' and friends' lives at stake. In the end they may have lost their lives, but they also gained so many more things that were vitally most precious. By standing against evil they regained their dignity, their honor, their pride, their country, their memory, and their souls.

How many politicians can claim that now days? How many of us would be willing to do the same if we were in similiar circumstances?

We look at our lives and think we are suffering. We think our days are full of evil.

What a mockery.

We don't know the meaning of sacrifice. We don't know the meaning of suffering.

And we have no clue what true evil really is.

Why else do we call a dying generation the greatest generation there ever was? Because they faced evil...and stood it down.

Before that generation is completely lost to our time, we need to do everything we can to learn from that history they hold.

Otherwise we are doomed to repeat it.

Shining Through

Well tonight was pizza and a movie. Normally we'd be going to my hometown this weekend for the Neewollah festival in Independence, but with the schedule lately and the fact that my son is trying to get a job, I need all the at home time right now I can get.

So tonight we ordered Pizza Hut pizza and watched "Shining Through". It's the only rated R movie I've ever let my son see (we skip the brief sex scene) because of the content of the movie. With my mind back in the forties and World War II, I thought it was about time to get that one back out again, get a feel for the era and study the clothes.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies. It tells the story of an older woman recalling to a BBC reporter her experiences as an American spy planted in Germany during the war. Funny thing about it - she's a Jew seeking to go into the country that is rounding up and killing Jews or sending them to concentration camps. Due to her ability to speak fluent German, but against the wishes of her superior, she volunteers for the project when their double-agent is discovered and murdered.

They plant her behind enemy lines to act as a domestic cook to a wealthy and influential officer of the Third Reich. She was to dazzle them with her cooking skills. Problem was, she arrived with only two hours to prepare. The dinner was a disaster and she was summarily dismissed.

Walking home, she is picked up by the highest ranking officer in attendance at the dinner party. In desperate need of a nanny for his two children after the death of his wife, he encourages her to accept the post so he doesn't have to go through the endless paperwork to clear someone else (thinking she'd already been through a proper Gestapo check). She sees a briefcase with important papers sticking out and makes a critical decision.

That night she fell off the radar of the American spy network and accepted the position. For two months she watches and searches and waits until the right moment. The secret room in the basement finally shows itself and she secures the pictures of a German production facility developing self-propelled rockets and tracking systems in Peenemunde.

The problem - how does she get out of Germany with the information? The American network doesn't know where she is. Worse, could a friend have betrayed her? Will she be discovered before she can get safely away from the Nazis? Will it be the death of her and those she loves?

Yes, it's an older movie from the 80's (if I remember correctly) but an incredible movie about the sacrifices so many people were willing to make for freedom and the heartbreak and chaos caused when evil is allowed to run unchecked.

And just think - real people actually fought to keep not only America free but to give freedom back to those from whom it had been stripped.