The Deutschland Gang

Saturday morning OK Cap, Jilly Moose, and I got some coffee and then hit the road to Milwaukee for German Fest, which bills itself as “the original haus party.” Luxuli had thought about going with us but then decided there were some things she wanted to get done in town, so she asked us to call her at six. German Fest claimed you could not enter with a backpack, but I did just that and the little old ladies in dirndls at the front gate didn’t say a thing. Then we found Tiffy and wandered around, stopping to eat and drink beer and watch folk dancers. While Germans have created some of the most beautiful music ever (think of Bach and Schuetz), all the music at German Fest was oompah stuff, as if Germans only listened to polkas. As we walked along, we heard competing oompah bands. These ethnic fests are always like a cartoon version of what it means to be that ethnicity, but while OK Cap, Jilly Moose, and Tiffy all have German surnames, they don’t particularly like polkas. Anyway, when I think of German music, I think of techno. One thing that was crazy entertaining was a bunch of guys acting like they were part of a giant cuckoo clock.

We called Luxuli at six and she said she didn’t think she would be coming, but not long after that she called to say she was at the bus station and would be there about nine or so. When she arrived, we all bought matching newsboy caps that are red, yellow and black. We also had matching tattoos (temporary, of course) and gold, red, and black Mardi Gras beads, so Tiffy said we looked like a gang. The Deutschland Gang! Since I was wearing my Famous Hat, I just put my Deutschland cap on top of it. Not the first time I have worn two hats at once. We saw lots of crazy headware at German Fest, including WWI helmets. We even saw a guy who was dressed up like the Kaiser. Then we got some more beer, bought an edelweiss plant for Richard Bonomo’s garden, and watched the fireworks that closed the festival.

All of us slept over at Tiffy’s house, then in the morning we went to Mass together and then got some breakfast. Jilly Moose, OK Cap, and Luxuli went to tour a jelly bean warehouse and a hardware store while Tiffy and I just hung out in the pool, then we all went down to the lakeside in our matching hats. There was an Italian Fest going on down there, but we were fested out, so we headed home after dinner. In the car Luxuli had me call Richard Bonomo to ask how his party on Saturday had gone, and OK Cap and Jilly Moose were very amused by the way she was telling me what questions to ask him. I said, “Do you want to talk to him yourself?” and she said, “No, you’re doing a fine job of translating.” Then we had to stop at Wal-Mart to see the kettle bells, and Luxuli demonstrated how to use them. We each ended up buying a kettle bell. Guess I will use mine tonight so it isn’t a total waste of money. The Deutschland Gang might as well be fit!

Famous Hat