A man who had not seen Herrn K. for a long time, greeted him with the words: “You have not changed a bit.” – “Oh!” said Mr. K. and turned pale. – Bertholt Brecht, The Reunion (Das Wiedersehen). – It’s one of those very short stories the fabulous Brecht wrote about Herrn K., raising in them and with them questions at the core of the human reason of being. It’s one of the few stories I remember from my German classes, and it’s one that came back to me recently. Herr K. was shocked and went pale when an old acquaintance who he had not seen for a long time told him that he had not changed at all. If you are over fifty, you would probably look at this remark as a compliment – on first sight. When I first read this story as a teenager, however, I fully endorsed it: I just wanted to get older, being able to do more things, being able to change, to grow, to experiment with life. The last thing I wanted was to remain the one I was.

Today, a friend came for a visit who had been away for more than two years. He had followed Pádraig’s journey since the accident from a distance and had regularly sent his best wishes and thought, but he had not been able to visit him until today. With him, during the first few minutes of the visit, I think we all lived through the horror once again. The horror of someone dependent on technology for survival, that someone being someone you had seen last time as someone full of life and energy. But then, something amazing happened when we talked about the fantastic times they had spent together: there was no doubt, absolutely no doubt whatsoever that Pádraig would one day be back right into the middle of where the action is. If there had been any doubt in my mind before, after this conversation full of conviction and determinedness there could not have been any doubt left over, doubt on Pádraig’s rehabilitation.

Sunday is a quiet day in hospitals, Germany included. No sitting out today, no therapy. But he was keeping well and was delighted to see is old pal from downunder. As it happens, his aunt, also from downunder, also arrived today. It’s great to see how Pádraig’s friends are staying with him. Didn’t have the time yet, but will put up pictures and videos a friend send on soon to the website.

Both Pádraig and his friend know that they and there relationship to each other had changed quite a bit since they last met. At the same time, they would never ever have expected that next time they’d meet, circumstances would be so dramatically different. – At the end of the day, what matters is the feeling of being together again, planning the next card games and outings. What a wonderful afternoon this has been!

Today’s German Music Tip
Turns out that Hamburg is the country’s capital for indie distributors, among them Soulfood, Indigo, Edel and Broken Silence; together with Indie-Labels like Buback, Grand Hotel van Cleef, Audiolith and Tapete. Here is an example of the music they are producing:
Alcest, Shelter (2014).
Have to find out more about this…

Remember yesterday’s mention of the bar in Garding? The owner is a singer/song-writer. He is looking for venues, he says that he wants to tour Germany, but who knows… http://rainermartens.de

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