Part 126, Chapter 2135
Chapter Two Thousand One Hundred Thirty-Five
5th April 1972
Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport
Zella had come to the airport to see John Cleese and Graham Chapman off. This year they had come to assist her with the annual April Fool’s broadcast on ARD, mostly because they were looking to play to a German Audience. The trouble they had run into was that much of their humor didn’t translate well. A sketch they had done involving “Joke Warfare” in the trenches of the First World War that involved British Soldiers shouting German sounding gibberish, for example, would basically be picking a fight. A sketch making fun of news reports had been suggested by Chapman, he had already done one that was a serious sounding interview segment about men choosing to have the lifestyle of rodents. Zella was quite familiar with it and though it was quite hilarious, it had already been done.
It was to Cleese and Chapman’s surprise that Zella was familiar with everything they had done. The question was, if Monty Python didn’t translate well, how did a German woman like Zella come to love them so much? Zella had pointed out that she had originally come from Australia. Eventually, they settled on the appalling state of the rivers that flowed through the city of Berlin, according to Cleese the River Thames in London was just as bad, if not worse. A silly story about the Reichstag being attacked by giant mutant fish was what they had settled on. Getting an interview with the Chancellor who had swiftly realized that he was the straight man in a comedy bit had played along was the best part by far.
It had been during the conversation afterwards when they had discussed the cultural differences that were at issue over drinks. Zella had mentioned that there was a rich history of comedy on German television, the sketch shows that had poked fun at Kiki’s father or Dinner for One which was broadcast every New Year’s Eve. Then Cleese had questions. Just who was Kiki and what was this sketch that Zella was describing. Yuri had told him almost word for word the sketch about the former Emperor on the S-Bahn that had aired almost a decade earlier which had depicted Louis Ferdinand stuck in a train car alone with two men at opposite extremes of the political spectrum, chaos ensued.
That was when Zella made the mistake of saying that the writers had nailed how Louis Ferdinand could be at times. Picking a fight by agreeing and disagreeing in equal turns would not be something she would put past him. Chapman had asked how she was so familiar with Louis Ferdinand, and she had told the truth, that she had been an official friend and companion of Princess Kristina. So, she had spent the next few hours telling them about her unique experiences as a teenager, practically living with Kiki and her family. As she had done it, Zella had realized that while she had told other people’s stories her entire adult life, she had never told her own.
It wasn’t until Zella had dropped Chapman and Cleese off at the airport that it had occurred to her that John Cleese may have been paying a bit too much attention. She figured that nothing would come of it, but as Zella herself had experienced with the tabloid press you could never tell what they would try to blow up into a story. Kiki’s room looking like a tornado had hit it when she was teenager or Zella’s efforts to chase Ben Hirsch off were more than a decade in the past. Kiki didn’t deserve for those things to become someone’s cheap entertainment.
Tempelhof
It was all Kat could do not to curse aloud at being held to her promises this time. Sophie had told her that she just wanted a simple birthday party with friends and family, but then she had asked for something unexpected. Sophie wanted to know if she had other family out there beyond her estranged mother. When Kat asked what had prompted this, Sophie had mentioned that she had a chance meeting with a girl who looked a lot like her outside a clothier in the Central Shopping District of Berlin. She said that she had attempted to find this other girl on her own but had swiftly discovered that she didn’t have the first clue as to how go about doing that. Her friend Ziska had suggested that she ask Kat who would either have the answers or else would definitely know how go about finding one person in a city of millions.
The trouble was that Kat knew that it wasn’t just one person. It was three that she knew of. Sophie had a half-sister who lived in Mitte and another who lived in Karlsfeld outside of Munich, as well as a brother in Bautzen. Kat had only her own experiences to go by. Stefan, Ilse, and Heinrich were all wonderful people, Bruno wanted nothing to do with Kat, so she hardly knew anything about him, finally there was Urban who had proven to be an even worse monster than their father had been. A quick phone call had confirmed that it had been Gabriele Scharnhorst that Sophie had a chance encounter with. Listening to Jana Scharnhorst’s quivering voice over the phone apologizing for what she swore was an accident didn’t help matters. Reiner Blum had treated that poor woman like a doormat. Kat suspected that he had only married Jana because her family had money, only discovering after he married her that Jana’s father controlled the purse-strings. Kat also had to face up to how her suspicions about if Jana were somehow enabling her husband had probably played a role in Jana being absolutely terrified of her, even now.
For Kat it posed quite a problem until she had discussed the matter with Doug. His answer was simple and to the point, he had told kat that it wasn’t her choice to make, and it had already been made. All she could do is facilitate it and hope for the best.
5th April 1972
Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport
Zella had come to the airport to see John Cleese and Graham Chapman off. This year they had come to assist her with the annual April Fool’s broadcast on ARD, mostly because they were looking to play to a German Audience. The trouble they had run into was that much of their humor didn’t translate well. A sketch they had done involving “Joke Warfare” in the trenches of the First World War that involved British Soldiers shouting German sounding gibberish, for example, would basically be picking a fight. A sketch making fun of news reports had been suggested by Chapman, he had already done one that was a serious sounding interview segment about men choosing to have the lifestyle of rodents. Zella was quite familiar with it and though it was quite hilarious, it had already been done.
It was to Cleese and Chapman’s surprise that Zella was familiar with everything they had done. The question was, if Monty Python didn’t translate well, how did a German woman like Zella come to love them so much? Zella had pointed out that she had originally come from Australia. Eventually, they settled on the appalling state of the rivers that flowed through the city of Berlin, according to Cleese the River Thames in London was just as bad, if not worse. A silly story about the Reichstag being attacked by giant mutant fish was what they had settled on. Getting an interview with the Chancellor who had swiftly realized that he was the straight man in a comedy bit had played along was the best part by far.
It had been during the conversation afterwards when they had discussed the cultural differences that were at issue over drinks. Zella had mentioned that there was a rich history of comedy on German television, the sketch shows that had poked fun at Kiki’s father or Dinner for One which was broadcast every New Year’s Eve. Then Cleese had questions. Just who was Kiki and what was this sketch that Zella was describing. Yuri had told him almost word for word the sketch about the former Emperor on the S-Bahn that had aired almost a decade earlier which had depicted Louis Ferdinand stuck in a train car alone with two men at opposite extremes of the political spectrum, chaos ensued.
That was when Zella made the mistake of saying that the writers had nailed how Louis Ferdinand could be at times. Picking a fight by agreeing and disagreeing in equal turns would not be something she would put past him. Chapman had asked how she was so familiar with Louis Ferdinand, and she had told the truth, that she had been an official friend and companion of Princess Kristina. So, she had spent the next few hours telling them about her unique experiences as a teenager, practically living with Kiki and her family. As she had done it, Zella had realized that while she had told other people’s stories her entire adult life, she had never told her own.
It wasn’t until Zella had dropped Chapman and Cleese off at the airport that it had occurred to her that John Cleese may have been paying a bit too much attention. She figured that nothing would come of it, but as Zella herself had experienced with the tabloid press you could never tell what they would try to blow up into a story. Kiki’s room looking like a tornado had hit it when she was teenager or Zella’s efforts to chase Ben Hirsch off were more than a decade in the past. Kiki didn’t deserve for those things to become someone’s cheap entertainment.
Tempelhof
It was all Kat could do not to curse aloud at being held to her promises this time. Sophie had told her that she just wanted a simple birthday party with friends and family, but then she had asked for something unexpected. Sophie wanted to know if she had other family out there beyond her estranged mother. When Kat asked what had prompted this, Sophie had mentioned that she had a chance meeting with a girl who looked a lot like her outside a clothier in the Central Shopping District of Berlin. She said that she had attempted to find this other girl on her own but had swiftly discovered that she didn’t have the first clue as to how go about doing that. Her friend Ziska had suggested that she ask Kat who would either have the answers or else would definitely know how go about finding one person in a city of millions.
The trouble was that Kat knew that it wasn’t just one person. It was three that she knew of. Sophie had a half-sister who lived in Mitte and another who lived in Karlsfeld outside of Munich, as well as a brother in Bautzen. Kat had only her own experiences to go by. Stefan, Ilse, and Heinrich were all wonderful people, Bruno wanted nothing to do with Kat, so she hardly knew anything about him, finally there was Urban who had proven to be an even worse monster than their father had been. A quick phone call had confirmed that it had been Gabriele Scharnhorst that Sophie had a chance encounter with. Listening to Jana Scharnhorst’s quivering voice over the phone apologizing for what she swore was an accident didn’t help matters. Reiner Blum had treated that poor woman like a doormat. Kat suspected that he had only married Jana because her family had money, only discovering after he married her that Jana’s father controlled the purse-strings. Kat also had to face up to how her suspicions about if Jana were somehow enabling her husband had probably played a role in Jana being absolutely terrified of her, even now.
For Kat it posed quite a problem until she had discussed the matter with Doug. His answer was simple and to the point, he had told kat that it wasn’t her choice to make, and it had already been made. All she could do is facilitate it and hope for the best.
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