I'm mildly surprised that it would exist without the totalitarian, common sense is no object, party to come up with the idea and build it.
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
I'm mildly surprised that it would exist without the totalitarian, common sense is no object, party to come up with the idea and build it.
True, but the thought of it being completed ITTL and having it be the buckle of the Baltic equivalent of the Borscht Belt, something that would give its backers IOTL a collective fit of apoplexy, was too good to let pass.
Part 88, Chapter 1363
Chapter One Thousand Three Hundred Sixty-Three
2nd March 1960
Fort Drum, New York
As a Corporal, Ritchie couldn’t get out of sentry duty, but he was in a supervisory position over the Privates who were guarding the main gate into the base. Mostly that involved keeping them from falling asleep and getting caught by the Brass. Not that Ritchie himself didn’t have trouble staying awake in the predawn hours. Sitting at the desk in the watch shack next to the space heater, he was working on his Highschool Equivalence Certificate, the proverbial Good Enough Degree. Jonny had told him that his lack of education was what was getting in the way of further promotion and while it wasn’t absolutely necessary for a man in the 1st SFG to be a Sergeant, it was certainly preferred. It was a point that Jonny had further driven home by pointing out that Parker was the only college boy in their outfit and the Brass wanted him to join them and lead a Platoon for that very reason. Ritchie could go as far as he wanted in the Army, but education was key.
Until that moment, it had never occurred to Ritchie that he had a career going forward. Joining the Army had just been a way to get out of town fast. Now, he had his mother wanting to know when he was coming home to visit. Nearly three years of unused leave was nothing to sneeze at and after spending the entire winter freezing his butt off in New York, a few weeks at his family’s house in the San Fernando Valley sounded like heaven.
Stopping his mind from wandering, Ritchie tried to focus on the math problems in the textbook in front of him but kept seeing double. Closing the book, he stood up and walked to the door. He noticed that frost had formed on the inside of the windowpanes before he opened it. The blast of icy wind that blew in was enough to make him wide awake. It was supposed to be nearly spring, from where Ritchie stood in was impossible to tell. After a couple minutes his hands were starting to hurt despite the gloves he was wearing, so he shoved them into the pockets of his coat. Oddly, if it snowed it would warm up a touch, instead it was clear and bitter cold.
When he got to the gate, he found Sparky, the Private who had been assigned sentry duty for getting caught sleeping while on KP, sound asleep in the sentry post. Some people were meant to be Privates for their entire lives, Ritchie thought to himself as he kicked Sparky awake. How was it even possible for him to have slept in KP, Ritchie couldn’t figure that one out. If he wasn’t looking at it himself, he would find it had to believe that Sparky was sleeping in an unheated sentry post in this cold if he wasn’t looking at it himself.
“What?” Sparky demanded as he woke up.
“The Canadians invaded New York” Ritchie replied, “They were able to mount a sneak attack with your snoring providing cover for their movements.”
“Real funny” Sparky said indignantly.
“Where’s Blake?” Ritchie asked.
“He said that he was going to use the latrine” Sparky answered.
Translation, Ritchie was going to find Blake sleeping in the latrine.
Checking his watch, Ritchie saw that it had only been forty-five minutes since he had left Sparky and Blake at the main gate. If he needed more motivation to take the GED test, he didn’t know what it would be.
“If I find you asleep when I get back, you’ll hate where I shove your rifle” Ritchie said, and Sparky snickered at that threat. He was the sort who would find the thought of being buggered to death with the butt of his own rifle funny. There were times when Ritchie thought that Sparky was getting more stupid at time went on. How was that even possible?
With that Richie stomped off towards the latrine, his boots crunching in the rotten snow. Cops or no cops looking to kick his ass, he was going to be on the first flight that could be arranged back to Los Angeles.
3rd March 1960
Mitte, Berlin
“I had just gotten used to it the way it was” Zella said to the mechanic in the garage of her parent’s house. Today she had arrived to discover that a mechanic from BMW had come and disassembled the engine and transmission of the R27.
“I’m sure that you’ve noticed that the first and second gears are a bit lacking when it comes to starting from a dead stop” the mechanic said, “This will improve that a bit.”
That was true enough. While Zella had found the motorcycle a bit anemic at times and the two bottom gears had been set up that way deliberately to prevent a new rider from burning out the engine. She was used to riding motorcycles with 250cc engines and that was expected. She had discovered that the R27 was good at hill climbing and flicking around turns was a lot of fun.
“Zella isn’t bothering you is she Gunter?” Emil asked as he came down the stairs. Walter was peering down from behind him. He’d just turned fourteen and was spending the Summer at the Luftwaffe Academy in Kaiserslautern. From his perspective motorcycles were Zella’s thing, Val’s hope was to fly a jet fighter one day.
“Hardly” The mechanic said, “Her questions have been good ones.”
Gunter Mayer had worked for BMW for twenty years, recently he had been hired to be in charge of the support staff for the tour. As she had been talking to him, Zella realized that she didn’t have a pen or her notebook. The story that she was supposed to be covering had already begun though they weren’t going to be departing until late July.
2nd March 1960
Fort Drum, New York
As a Corporal, Ritchie couldn’t get out of sentry duty, but he was in a supervisory position over the Privates who were guarding the main gate into the base. Mostly that involved keeping them from falling asleep and getting caught by the Brass. Not that Ritchie himself didn’t have trouble staying awake in the predawn hours. Sitting at the desk in the watch shack next to the space heater, he was working on his Highschool Equivalence Certificate, the proverbial Good Enough Degree. Jonny had told him that his lack of education was what was getting in the way of further promotion and while it wasn’t absolutely necessary for a man in the 1st SFG to be a Sergeant, it was certainly preferred. It was a point that Jonny had further driven home by pointing out that Parker was the only college boy in their outfit and the Brass wanted him to join them and lead a Platoon for that very reason. Ritchie could go as far as he wanted in the Army, but education was key.
Until that moment, it had never occurred to Ritchie that he had a career going forward. Joining the Army had just been a way to get out of town fast. Now, he had his mother wanting to know when he was coming home to visit. Nearly three years of unused leave was nothing to sneeze at and after spending the entire winter freezing his butt off in New York, a few weeks at his family’s house in the San Fernando Valley sounded like heaven.
Stopping his mind from wandering, Ritchie tried to focus on the math problems in the textbook in front of him but kept seeing double. Closing the book, he stood up and walked to the door. He noticed that frost had formed on the inside of the windowpanes before he opened it. The blast of icy wind that blew in was enough to make him wide awake. It was supposed to be nearly spring, from where Ritchie stood in was impossible to tell. After a couple minutes his hands were starting to hurt despite the gloves he was wearing, so he shoved them into the pockets of his coat. Oddly, if it snowed it would warm up a touch, instead it was clear and bitter cold.
When he got to the gate, he found Sparky, the Private who had been assigned sentry duty for getting caught sleeping while on KP, sound asleep in the sentry post. Some people were meant to be Privates for their entire lives, Ritchie thought to himself as he kicked Sparky awake. How was it even possible for him to have slept in KP, Ritchie couldn’t figure that one out. If he wasn’t looking at it himself, he would find it had to believe that Sparky was sleeping in an unheated sentry post in this cold if he wasn’t looking at it himself.
“What?” Sparky demanded as he woke up.
“The Canadians invaded New York” Ritchie replied, “They were able to mount a sneak attack with your snoring providing cover for their movements.”
“Real funny” Sparky said indignantly.
“Where’s Blake?” Ritchie asked.
“He said that he was going to use the latrine” Sparky answered.
Translation, Ritchie was going to find Blake sleeping in the latrine.
Checking his watch, Ritchie saw that it had only been forty-five minutes since he had left Sparky and Blake at the main gate. If he needed more motivation to take the GED test, he didn’t know what it would be.
“If I find you asleep when I get back, you’ll hate where I shove your rifle” Ritchie said, and Sparky snickered at that threat. He was the sort who would find the thought of being buggered to death with the butt of his own rifle funny. There were times when Ritchie thought that Sparky was getting more stupid at time went on. How was that even possible?
With that Richie stomped off towards the latrine, his boots crunching in the rotten snow. Cops or no cops looking to kick his ass, he was going to be on the first flight that could be arranged back to Los Angeles.
3rd March 1960
Mitte, Berlin
“I had just gotten used to it the way it was” Zella said to the mechanic in the garage of her parent’s house. Today she had arrived to discover that a mechanic from BMW had come and disassembled the engine and transmission of the R27.
“I’m sure that you’ve noticed that the first and second gears are a bit lacking when it comes to starting from a dead stop” the mechanic said, “This will improve that a bit.”
That was true enough. While Zella had found the motorcycle a bit anemic at times and the two bottom gears had been set up that way deliberately to prevent a new rider from burning out the engine. She was used to riding motorcycles with 250cc engines and that was expected. She had discovered that the R27 was good at hill climbing and flicking around turns was a lot of fun.
“Zella isn’t bothering you is she Gunter?” Emil asked as he came down the stairs. Walter was peering down from behind him. He’d just turned fourteen and was spending the Summer at the Luftwaffe Academy in Kaiserslautern. From his perspective motorcycles were Zella’s thing, Val’s hope was to fly a jet fighter one day.
“Hardly” The mechanic said, “Her questions have been good ones.”
Gunter Mayer had worked for BMW for twenty years, recently he had been hired to be in charge of the support staff for the tour. As she had been talking to him, Zella realized that she didn’t have a pen or her notebook. The story that she was supposed to be covering had already begun though they weren’t going to be departing until late July.
Last edited:
There just might be a correspondent somewhere in that brain.
This is where Valens finds Blake dead or close to it from hypothermia and everyone learns a tough lesson on cold weather survival, and yet another reason why you should stay awake on guard duty.
Part 88, Chapter 1364
Chapter One Thousand Three Hundred Sixty-Four
7th March 1960
Moscow, Russia
It was a bit of a surprise, but Georgy had just made a move on the Chessboard that Fyodor did not expect. The Czar’s game had been improving of late, which was also a bit of a surprise. If Fyodor had to guess, the relative peace that Russia was currently enjoying had enabled Georgy to have more time to think about matters as frivolous as his Chess game. It didn’t help that it was Fyodor who was a bit distracted at this time.
“I believe that it is checkmate in three moves” Georgy said as Fyodor scowled at the board. “And I didn’t get the impression that you just let me win as you occasionally do.”
Fyodor hated it when people knew him well enough to read him like that.
“Women” Fyodor replied, “Try as I might I never seem to be able to understand them.”
“I take it that you are referring to one woman in particular?” Georgy asked. Fyodor knew that he was on dangerous ground here, Georgy would know full well that the woman in question would be Jehane Alexandra, his cousin and possibly the most maddening woman who Fyodor had ever met.
“I thought that the two of you were getting along smashingly?” Georgy asked as he got up from the Chess game though Fyodor had not conceded it. Who was Fyodor kidding? If even the Czar knew that the game was over, then it really was over. Still though, Fyodor stared at the board while Georgy poured himself a celebratory drink, trying to see if there was a way to get out of his current predicament. He could see any. Fyodor had been attending social functions with Sasha as she had gone about being the Princess Royal of Russia, Patroness of the Arts and caretaker of the charities that were her mother’s legacy.
“I thought so too” Fyodor said, “Then things got strange and she stopped returning my calls.”
“When you asked my permission to court my cousin, I warned you that she was complicated” Georgy said handing Fyodor a glass, “What do you know about hemophilia?”
Fyodor just shrugged. A hereditary illness, then he remembered that it had infected Sasha’s family and the role that it had played in the fall of the Romanovs and the upheavals that had followed.
“Jehane has been frightened that she is a carrier of that disease for most of her life and could pass it on to her children” Georgy said, “Any man she has feelings for represents the possibility that she could inadvertently do so.”
“How certain is she that might happen?” Fyodor asked.
“Medical science says that it’s unlikely” Georgy replied, “But this is one of those cases where even the most learned Doctor might say that it is in God’s hands.”
“I see” Fyodor said, “So, you really think that lovely Sasha has feelings for me?”
“She hasn’t ordered you shot for bothering her” Georgy said, “Your being away on official business most of the time has helped with that, of course.”
“Of course,” Fyodor repeated. That wasn’t exactly high praise.
Fort Drum, New York
Keeping Blake and Sparky awake and not having frozen to death was a full-time job. A few nights earlier, Ritchie had discovered that Blake was in no danger of freezing to death when he had caught him in the latrine with a girly magazine. It was a visual that Ritchie figured he would never be able to get out of his head and he had to spend the rest of the week basically babysitting the two Privates.
Mercifully, the week ended and someone else had the privilege of keeping those two morons on task. When Ritchie asked Jonny about it, he said that Ritchie being present to get the gate open if the Brass showed up would keep them out of trouble. Other than that, they were in Upstate New York and it was late winter. That was a nearly perfect example of it being a place where nothing really happened. Oddly, Jonny had repeated the joke about the Canucks invading, which was all they were actually guarding against here. As for Sparky and Blake, even in a place like Fort Drum there were those who had only joined the Army for nothing more than three meals a day and a place to sleep. Ritchie needed to make sure he wasn’t one of them. When asked about their real mission, Jonny had told him that it wasn’t an accident that the 1st SFG was recruiting as many Spanish speakers as they could. What did that tell him?
Tempelhof, Berlin
The recreation room was silent this late at night, but Kiki had come here because she had been unable to sleep and didn’t want to bother Vanesa. Sitting on the vinyl couch hugging her knees, she was just worried. Was she making poor decisions? Had she alienated her friends by volunteering over the summer? Had she been too impulsive? What exactly was the glue that held their friendship together? And would it last over the summer? Because in her absence, everyone was going their separate ways.
In many ways Kiki’s worst fear was that she would lose the friendships that were so important to her. Without Zella pressing her forward and Aurora to be the voice of reason where would that leave her? Going back to being the lonely little girl who lived inside the books she read? That was exactly who Kiki had been before she had convinced her parents that she should go to school. The difference was that now she knew what it was like to have friends and that made her worried that she had made a huge mistake.
7th March 1960
Moscow, Russia
It was a bit of a surprise, but Georgy had just made a move on the Chessboard that Fyodor did not expect. The Czar’s game had been improving of late, which was also a bit of a surprise. If Fyodor had to guess, the relative peace that Russia was currently enjoying had enabled Georgy to have more time to think about matters as frivolous as his Chess game. It didn’t help that it was Fyodor who was a bit distracted at this time.
“I believe that it is checkmate in three moves” Georgy said as Fyodor scowled at the board. “And I didn’t get the impression that you just let me win as you occasionally do.”
Fyodor hated it when people knew him well enough to read him like that.
“Women” Fyodor replied, “Try as I might I never seem to be able to understand them.”
“I take it that you are referring to one woman in particular?” Georgy asked. Fyodor knew that he was on dangerous ground here, Georgy would know full well that the woman in question would be Jehane Alexandra, his cousin and possibly the most maddening woman who Fyodor had ever met.
“I thought that the two of you were getting along smashingly?” Georgy asked as he got up from the Chess game though Fyodor had not conceded it. Who was Fyodor kidding? If even the Czar knew that the game was over, then it really was over. Still though, Fyodor stared at the board while Georgy poured himself a celebratory drink, trying to see if there was a way to get out of his current predicament. He could see any. Fyodor had been attending social functions with Sasha as she had gone about being the Princess Royal of Russia, Patroness of the Arts and caretaker of the charities that were her mother’s legacy.
“I thought so too” Fyodor said, “Then things got strange and she stopped returning my calls.”
“When you asked my permission to court my cousin, I warned you that she was complicated” Georgy said handing Fyodor a glass, “What do you know about hemophilia?”
Fyodor just shrugged. A hereditary illness, then he remembered that it had infected Sasha’s family and the role that it had played in the fall of the Romanovs and the upheavals that had followed.
“Jehane has been frightened that she is a carrier of that disease for most of her life and could pass it on to her children” Georgy said, “Any man she has feelings for represents the possibility that she could inadvertently do so.”
“How certain is she that might happen?” Fyodor asked.
“Medical science says that it’s unlikely” Georgy replied, “But this is one of those cases where even the most learned Doctor might say that it is in God’s hands.”
“I see” Fyodor said, “So, you really think that lovely Sasha has feelings for me?”
“She hasn’t ordered you shot for bothering her” Georgy said, “Your being away on official business most of the time has helped with that, of course.”
“Of course,” Fyodor repeated. That wasn’t exactly high praise.
Fort Drum, New York
Keeping Blake and Sparky awake and not having frozen to death was a full-time job. A few nights earlier, Ritchie had discovered that Blake was in no danger of freezing to death when he had caught him in the latrine with a girly magazine. It was a visual that Ritchie figured he would never be able to get out of his head and he had to spend the rest of the week basically babysitting the two Privates.
Mercifully, the week ended and someone else had the privilege of keeping those two morons on task. When Ritchie asked Jonny about it, he said that Ritchie being present to get the gate open if the Brass showed up would keep them out of trouble. Other than that, they were in Upstate New York and it was late winter. That was a nearly perfect example of it being a place where nothing really happened. Oddly, Jonny had repeated the joke about the Canucks invading, which was all they were actually guarding against here. As for Sparky and Blake, even in a place like Fort Drum there were those who had only joined the Army for nothing more than three meals a day and a place to sleep. Ritchie needed to make sure he wasn’t one of them. When asked about their real mission, Jonny had told him that it wasn’t an accident that the 1st SFG was recruiting as many Spanish speakers as they could. What did that tell him?
Tempelhof, Berlin
The recreation room was silent this late at night, but Kiki had come here because she had been unable to sleep and didn’t want to bother Vanesa. Sitting on the vinyl couch hugging her knees, she was just worried. Was she making poor decisions? Had she alienated her friends by volunteering over the summer? Had she been too impulsive? What exactly was the glue that held their friendship together? And would it last over the summer? Because in her absence, everyone was going their separate ways.
In many ways Kiki’s worst fear was that she would lose the friendships that were so important to her. Without Zella pressing her forward and Aurora to be the voice of reason where would that leave her? Going back to being the lonely little girl who lived inside the books she read? That was exactly who Kiki had been before she had convinced her parents that she should go to school. The difference was that now she knew what it was like to have friends and that made her worried that she had made a huge mistake.
Last edited:
It seems that the trip that Emil and Zella is taking is not just a simple trip across America but a promotional tour for BMW
That means they are going to need someone to liaison with various local officials, also one of the things that Emil is going to have to do is make promotional stops at the top dealerships and make public appearances at them, he is going to need a set speech like telling how he ran the Red Baron off the road on his BMW cycle.
One of the things that BMW wants to promote is that the motorcycle is for the most discerning, the most serious rider who knows what he wants and won't settle for less, and as a way to show that, BMW is going to have some top stars and up and comers like Steve McQueen riding the latest models.
That means they are going to need someone to liaison with various local officials, also one of the things that Emil is going to have to do is make promotional stops at the top dealerships and make public appearances at them, he is going to need a set speech like telling how he ran the Red Baron off the road on his BMW cycle.
One of the things that BMW wants to promote is that the motorcycle is for the most discerning, the most serious rider who knows what he wants and won't settle for less, and as a way to show that, BMW is going to have some top stars and up and comers like Steve McQueen riding the latest models.
So BMW is trying to attract people with their high quality motorbikes by promoting their reliability? "If you want a serious bike, choose the one that has shown it's long term reliability in the service of the Heer. Look we even have the former head of our best soldiers endorsing us."
I can see Zella's travelogue in the BT being syndicated by newspapers all around the world as both a human interest story and something for the gearheads. The human interest part would appeal to the run-of-the-mill papers in the countries they're currently traversing.
I have the feeling that the support staff will be well-armed.
Not only far more inclusive, but spread. The sight of the legendary and recently retired leader of the Green Devils on a trip with his DAUGHTER across the continents in Bikes, would certainly further erase notions of what its proper or "improper" not only for girls, but for parents to do.
Not only that, but i can imagine that BMW's higher ups will be a bit bewildered but otherwise in sheer ecstasy as the sells of BMW just explode after the trip. Wouldn't be rare that the R27 becomes the icon of the 60's generation, for not talk of an item very bought for Girls as a symbol of independence.......
Women bikers, adopting the Green Devils' markings after Emil's and Zella's trip. Hell's Angels?
Without the OTL WW II veterans buying surplus motorcycles the motorcycle culture is much different in the United States.
The Hells Angels were formed in 1948 by veterans so that is probably butterflied away, no 1947 Hollister riot which won't lead to the 1953 film The Wild One staring Maroon Brando being made, so I can see the motorcycle culture as more of a niche subculture populated by "Daredevils" and thrillseekers.
Emil's tour could see a shift in the United States towards motorcycles as an affordable luxury leisure item that is enjoyed by people on the weekends or as a practical way to move around in the city.
If there are motorcycle clubs formed after the tour, I can see the name Green Devils being used.
My father always had said that in the early fifties that he could have bought a surplus 1945 Indian motorcycle still in the crate for $100.00 and if he was able to keep it in storage and still in the crate it would have been very valuable to collectors but he was not able to see in the future so that is why none of us kids were able to go to Harvard.
The Hells Angels were formed in 1948 by veterans so that is probably butterflied away, no 1947 Hollister riot which won't lead to the 1953 film The Wild One staring Maroon Brando being made, so I can see the motorcycle culture as more of a niche subculture populated by "Daredevils" and thrillseekers.
Emil's tour could see a shift in the United States towards motorcycles as an affordable luxury leisure item that is enjoyed by people on the weekends or as a practical way to move around in the city.
If there are motorcycle clubs formed after the tour, I can see the name Green Devils being used.
My father always had said that in the early fifties that he could have bought a surplus 1945 Indian motorcycle still in the crate for $100.00 and if he was able to keep it in storage and still in the crate it would have been very valuable to collectors but he was not able to see in the future so that is why none of us kids were able to go to Harvard.
Sleeping on guard duty is a very bad idea. Getting CAUGHT asleep on guard duty, yeah, that's worse.
And if someone who is a officer and not a NCO catches you, God have mercy on your soul. You'll need it. Guard duty is very essential, and leaving your post or neglecting it is very bad news.
Yep, hiring Emil and making the bike part of the signing bonus will have a ridiculous return on investment thanks to his daughter.
On an unrelated note, what's the Western world's approach to tobacco at this time? OTL, everywhere was basically a chimney flue worth of smoke at this time.