“Gute deutsche Eiche”, my father used to say when he showed of our living room furniture that was build to last for the next, hhhhmmmm, thousand years. I used to be embarrassed when he did this and, of course, thought he was exaggerating like he always did. Well, he was right to say that it would last ‘forever’. It’s now in our German living room. As good as new. What a contrast to good auld IKEA.

I had to think about this today when we walked up to Pádraig. The hospital ground is full of huge, old, guts deutsche Eiche. Trees that have a long history in German folklore. Trees that I sheltered me during the summer thunderstorms when I was visiting my grandparents in the south of Germany. Trees that were used to build our living room furniture. Oak lasts forever.

We had our weekly meeting with Pádraig’s speech therapist who is trying to get him to breathe without the tracheostomy, which is: not through the pipe-cut in his throat, but – blocking up that valve – through his mouth and nose. Today, Pádraig tolerated the switch over from the valve to his throat really well. He was really relaxed and, like last week, made a few sounds, trying out his vocal chords. He has to get used to swallow again, so that the saliva goes down the right tube and not by his vocal chords into his wind pipe – he is already doing this quite well, but could do it more regularly. We were really really happy to see how well he managed the ‘speech valve’ for almost half an hour. Of course, we very much hope that he will continue to have this more often and for longer periods.

Thinking of our plans, of the plans one makes for life, of the things, like the oak and the oak furniture, that are supposed to go on and to last forever, I listened to a song by one of my favourite writers about the ‘inadequacy of human endeavour’. It’s similar to the saying I referred to some time ago: man makes plan and God laughs. Brecht says it in a different way:

Ja; mach nur einen Plan
sei nur ein großes Licht!
Und mach dann noch´nen zweiten Plan
gehn tun sie beide nicht.

Today, Meon Eile published ‘Tríd an Dorchadas – Pádraig Schäler‘, a short documentary about the Snámh. A good friend sent on the link. I kept watching it all afternoon, each time understanding a little more. But even with the ‘lingo’ you will get the spirit of this incredible adventure: 50 mad, young, energetic people defying what everybody would consider to be ‘good judgement’ and did something what no-one in their right mind would even be thinking of, never mind be doing. Aodhán estimates on the event’s Facebook site that the swimmers raised more than €37,000 for Pádraig. Don’t know what to say. Really. Unbelievable. Pure mad. – Seems there is a kind of friendship that is like ‘gute deutsche Eiche’, one that is incredibly strong, one that lasts forever, and gives you shelter when you need it? Oak!

Today’s German Music Tip
Berthold Brecht, Lied von der Unzulänglichkeit des menschlichen Strebens (1928) – This version is sung by Brecht himself.

Der Mensch lebt durch den Kopf
der Kopf reicht ihm nicht aus
versuch es nur; von deinem Kopf
lebt höchstens eine Laus.
Denn für dieses Leben
ist der Mensch nicht schlau genug
niemals merkt er eben
allen Lug und Trug.

Ja; mach nur einen Plan
sei nur ein großes Licht!
Und mach dann noch´nen zweiten Plan
gehn tun sie beide nicht.
Denn für dieses Leben
ist der Mensch nicht schlecht genug:
doch sein höh´res Streben
ist ein schöner Zug.

Ja; renn nur nach dem Glück
doch renne nicht zu sehr!
Denn alle rennen nach dem Glück
Das Glück rennt hinterher.
Denn für dieses Leben
ist der Mensch nicht anspruchslos genug
drum ist all sein Streben
nur ein Selbstbetrug.

Der Mensch ist gar nicht gut
drum hau ihn auf den Hut
hast du ihn auf den Hut gehaut
dann wird er vielleicht gut.
Denn für dieses Leben
ist der Mensch nicht gut genug
darum haut ihn eben
ruhig auf den Hut.
What’s hot
Talk
What’s cold
Silence
The German word/phrase/verse of the day
Triebfahrzeugführer (from a job advertisement with the Deutsche Bahn – there are four words hidden in this ‘job’, at least one you probably know from the you-know-don’t-mention-it-to-the-Germans!)