Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

[ejpsan]

Zella should add everything up real quickly in regards to Gabi as Zella knows a bit about the background of Sophie and the reason she is a ward of Kat.
But the main thing is Kat is doing Gabi's mother a favor by sending her to Zella as her profession as a parfumer is an interesting one and there is a story to tell.
As for the discussion about coffee and doughnuts in Berlin on a Sunday the question is not whether or not there are places in Berlin that are open on Sundays to get coffee and sweet breads to go but which one has the best consent quality as each individual bakery and coffee house has their own individual standards and some of them could be hit or miss depending if it is Hans day at the bakery or if it Ernst day to run the place.
The main thing chain places has going for them is that the good ones are able to enforce the same standards throughout the same branded stores and a coffee and doughnuts in Los Angeles is the same quality and taste in Racine WI, and Boston and other places.

 

[ferdi254]

There was a post where Doug was taking Pizza from an Italian restaurant maybe a decade or so ago ITTL. While OTL taking food from a restaurant home did not start before McDonalds. So way late 70s. Sometimes those glitches just happen.

 

[ferdi254]

Ejpsan if only that was the case.

 

[Salamander]

Surprised to see this kind of 'to go' culture in Berlin in the early 70s. On the one hand I'm pretty sure that the technical part of manufacturing those cups might work out at the time (PE coating, double sides - shouldn't be too difficult).
On the other hand, at least according to my perception as a non-coffee drinker from quite a bit South of Berlin, that kind of disposable take away coffee turned up in the early 2000s OTL. (Or to put it different - with the expansion of Starbucks. And unfortunately quick study of google and wikipedia early in the morning wasn't helpful getting a definite answer.)

Yeah, it would be rather unusual. Most likely they would deliver a thermos can with coffee and some sort of multi-use cups, probably some cheap ceramic (or not so cheap - assuming Kat gets the invoice, it's not like she is poor).

Waxed paper cups for use with both hot & cold drinks have been around since the 1920s. It wouldn't be too hard to develop lids for them. As for keep cups with lids, the technology existed back then too. Tupperware were making something similar in the 1970s OTL.

 

[ejpsan]

I remembered in the early70's getting both hot and cold drinks to go in wax paper cups with a,Saranwrap cover.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Two Hundred Fourteen



17th April 1973

Charlottenburg, Berlin

After having Sophie and Gabi in her apartment, Zella was happy for the quiet. There was a bit of inadvertent comedy in her trying to send Sophie home early and getting a second teenaged girl in her apartment for her troubles. It had worked out in the end though. The two girls were fun once you got past the obnoxious tendency of teenagers to make everything a large production with way too much drama. Zella’s original notion that they were sisters was confirmed by them, it seemed that they shared the same sperm donor, or at least that was how Kat had termed it after Sophie had witnessed a portion of one of Kat’s little talks which she had been having with the man. It seemed that Kat’s elevation had changed nothing about the manner in which she operated when it came to people who she felt needed to get what they deserved. Not that Zella objected too much. There was also the role that Jana had played.

The breakfast that Gabi’s mother had provided had turned out to not be entirely alien to her. She’d had similar meals in Poland, just this was Polish food that had been Americanized before those who had made it had come back to Berlin during the height of the “Kraut Scare.” That strange incident had seen the Americans chase a substantial number of their own citizens out of professions deemed too important to have someone with foreign connections occupy it. Many of those had been forced entirely out of the country just into survive. What was painfully obvious to Zella, and she was sure that it was to others as well, was that those who had been chased out first happened to be Jewish or Homosexual. Others followed who had direct connections to Germany, able to take advantage of the program that allowed those of German descent to return. There had been certain fields that had benefited mightily from that program, but there had been a lot of problems that had sprung up as a result. Zella herself had heard the term Crazy Americans thrown about to describe the behavior of those who couldn’t seem to figure out that they were no longer in the land of Big Cars, Cowboys, Gridiron Football, and Monkey Trials. It certainly made for an odd dynamic in parts of the cities where they had landed.

In the case of the shop that Jana had gone to, they made what they dubbed authentic New York bagels in a dozen different varieties. The family that owned to shop had run a similar establishment in the Lower East Side of Manhattan before they figured that it was better to jump rather than be pushed as a result of rising tensions within New York. While Zella had no way to know if it was truly authentic or not, one of their bagels with smoked salmon, cream cheese, a slice of fresh tomato that they had somehow found this time of year, and onion was something to behold.

Getting out of bed, Zella looked across the roof of the department store at the predawn skyline of the city. It was going to be a cold rainy day today and unlike yesterday, there was no way that she would be able to avoid her Supervisor. ARD was prepared to be quite generous with her, but that was dependent upon her producing material that they could air. Just playing the role of a News Reader alone wasn’t going to cut it, so Zella needed to produce something that she could pitch to her Supervisor who could then tell the Board of Directors what she was up to. The trouble was that Zella didn’t have anything just yet. This summer, Kiki was planning on going through with her long-delayed trip to Russia and Zella only needed to ask for a berth aboard the Epione. She would need a couple more projects to work on in the meantime and that was where the trouble started.

Pulling on an oversized sweatshirt, Zella padded on bare feet to the bathroom. Looking at herself, only half awake, Zella was happy to open the medicine cabinet so as not to see herself. There were three pills she was required to take daily. The first two were dietary supplements; iron and calcium which she had been advised to take. The third was an oral contraceptive pill that was packaged in thirty-one-day increments. As Zella swallowed the pills with a double handful of water from the sink, she thought about how Kiki had recently told her about Sigi, Kiki’s aunt who was oddly close to her in age and her little accident. Funny how that accident had worked out quite well for Sigi herself. If one were suspicious minded, they might think that particular accident wasn’t an accident at all. Kiki had replied that it was mean to suggest that Sigi might have done such a thing. Zella made sure that she was religious about taking this pill though. The only way that Zella was having an accident like that was over her dead body.

Still lacking for ideas, Zella went back to her bedroom knowing that she had a couple hours left before she would need to go into work. Opening a drawer on the nightstand, Zella removed a pack labeled goldener Drache Zigaretten followed by some Vietnamese script and a lighter. She had acquired these from a specialty shop that sold Vietnamese exports. They contained no tobacco which Zella found disgusting. Rather, they were made of the finest cannabis produced in South-East Asia.

A few minutes later, laying back on her bed, Zella allowed her mind to drift a little as she heard Yuri wake up. “Getting an early start aren’t you, Zee?” Yuri asked, having smelled what she was up to.

“It’s going to be one of those days” Zella replied.

“Anything I can do to improve it?”

“I don’t know” Zella said, aware of where he had just placed his hand, which she didn’t mind, not after last night when they had made the most of having the place to themselves. She had her boundaries, but Yuri was someone she trusted within them. “ARD wants to know what I am doing for my latest documentary.”

“What are you going to tell them?” Yuri asked.

 

[ejpsan]

As a suggestion for Zella her next documentary could be about the “Americanization” of German from entertainment coming from there to how the expat American community is diverse and is mixing different cultural items together.
You can show how St. Patrick’s Day was exclusively celebrated by Irish expats in Berlin now you have the American expats despite having little to no Irish heritage celebrating the Day over at Leary’s Tavern being led by an American with German and Irish parents who is named Tom Hagen.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

As a suggestion for Zella her next documentary could be about the “Americanization” of German from entertainment coming from there to how the expat American community is diverse and is mixing different cultural items together.

That is kind of the point. She has several ideas bouncing around in her head, just hasn't realized that they are there quite yet.

 

[Dan]

Funny how that accident had worked out quite well for Sigi herself. If one were suspicious minded, they might think that particular accident wasn’t an accident at all. Kiki had replied that it was mean to suggest that Sigi might have done such a thing. Zella made sure that she was religious about taking this pill though. The only way that Zella was having an accident like that was over her dead body...

...They contained no tobacco which Zella found disgusting. Rather, they were made of the finest cannabis produced in South-East Asia...



...“What are you going to tell them?” Yuri asked...

Well, in a few months, probably how unreliable contraceptive pills are if you also take narcotics maybe?

 

[Tamarind77]

She should do a food tour! Like, compare things like bagels vs pretzels, American hotdogs vs bratwurst, etc, etc.

If there's anything that watching hours upon hours of people making street food on youtube has taught me, it is that competent people making and explaining food is mesmerising.

 

[FickleCrossroad]

She should do a food tour! Like, compare things like bagels vs pretzels, American hotdogs vs bratwurst, etc, etc.

If there's anything that watching hours upon hours of people making street food on youtube has taught me, it is that competent people making and explaining food is mesmerising.

A true test of love for Yuri:

"Zella vs. Food."

Zella as ITTL's Adam Richman would be hilarious.

 

[baldipaul]

She should do a food tour! Like, compare things like bagels vs pretzels, American hotdogs vs bratwurst, etc, etc.

If there's anything that watching hours upon hours of people making street food on youtube has taught me, it is that competent people making and explaining food is mesmerising.

Seeing as Germany has interests in South Africa ITTL, has Boerie Roll made it to Berlin yet. (Braaied (BBQ) spicy beef sausage (Boerewors sausage) in a hot dog bun).

 

[Dan]

Seeing as Germany has interests in South Africa ITTL, has Boerie Roll made it to Berlin yet. (Braaied (BBQ) spicy beef sausage (Boerewors sausage) in a hot dog bun).

That's ideal street food. Something sort of familiar, (sausage in bread), but with the exotic African twist.

 

[baldipaul]

That's ideal street food. Something sort of familiar, (sausage in bread), but with the exotic African twist.

Yep it's great, we went on holiday to the Durban area in South Africa last week and we had a Boerie Roll on the beach, with a bottle of red wine delicious. Pre Covid19 our church youth group used to sell them after Mass on the first Sunday of the month to raise money for charity.

 

[ferdi254]

TTL kitchen will be largely influenced as OTL by the people coming to Germany to seek work. And of course it was the 70s OTL when the first Michelin restaurants appeared in Germany.
We have not had many economic updates but the whole take away/ street food/ restaurant development of OTL depended largely on the general raise in available income paired with food prices going down in the 60 s and 70s.

Before that it was the Henkelmann (sort of army type food container) for most of the people for lunch plus some bread for dinner.

 

[ferdi254]

For children that arrive despite the woman being on the pill under dubious circumstances there is an abbreviation in Germany: Tropi.

Meaning trotz Pille (despite pill).

Even in the 90s it was fascinating how many women had had an accident with the pill shortly after their friend made it from student to first well paid position.

Or an announced restructuring in companies would see a lot of pills „failing“.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Two Hundred Fifteen



21st April 1973

Plänterwald, Berlin

There were eight of them which meant that Rauchbier was hopelessly outnumbered. The trouble was that they were unable to coordinate their attack, so the result was pure anarchy. To Rauchbier’s credit, he feigned fear and went low to earth so that they wouldn’t have a difficult time getting at him. The Whippet puppies finally managed to swarm him and with a great deal of tolerance, Rauchbier lay there as his offspring were playfully tugging at his ears and climbing all over him. Blue, the Dam of these pups watched warily from a few meters away.

A mistake that people often made was to ascribe human emotions onto animals. Still, a mother’s behavior when it came to their children was the same regardless. For both Rauchbier and the pups, they saw each other as their own kind and extremely fun to play with. Of the eight of them, seven were black & white like their Sire while only one female was the rare blue of their Dam. Bianka, who owned Blue felt that was to be expected, she had told Kiki that a few of them were probably going to be good for show regardless. She had tried to explain all of that to Kiki, but Kiki had found the entire thing boring. In her mind, gawking at dogs who were bred to look pretty wasn’t as interesting as those who served a purpose. Rauchbier had spent considerable time in Swabia with the Kennel Master of the Hohenzollern Castle helping rid farm fields of pests and Kiki had felt that time was good for him. Still, regardless of Bianka’s intentions the pups needed to be properly socialized because Kiki knew that homes would eventually be found for most of them. Playing with Nina and Rauchbier was key to that. Not that Nina minded. She had been running around the field outside Kiki’s cottage with the puppies chasing after her until they had all fallen over from exhaustion.

For Kiki herself, it was a welcome distraction after working long hours in Emergency Department and out in the field. Ben had told her that she was getting the Epione out of storage just in time because it seemed to him that her job was starting to wear her down. She had originally wanted to go to Russia last year, but events had forced her to drop those plans. This year was different though. Zella had already offered to make the journey with Kiki and her family, something that Zella’s employers would doubtlessly be celebrating. Still, for Kiki knew that having Zella along would be just like when they had been teenagers, long summer days spent chasing their fancy. The difference was that Kiki would have Ben and Nina along as well. She had told Zella that Yuri could come along as well, but Zella’s reaction to that had been strange. It went far beyond Zella merely being Zella. She had also invited Aurora so it would be the three of them again and Aurora had declined the offer. She had told Kiki that even if she did not have a busy summer ahead of her, Russia was a rather unfriendly place for people like her these days. As soon as Aurora had said that Kiki had realized how thoughtless she had been and had tried to apologize. Aurora had told her not to worry about it and had thanked her for the invitation. Perhaps next year, Kiki could go to the South of France or Italy. That would be fun.



Washington D.C.

No offense, but you couldn’t pay me enough to go anywhere near the United States at this time. So, you should consider the business we were involved with when you worked with the ACLU a closed matter. You have an opportunity to change not just the United States, but the World for the better. I would suggest that you make the most of it.

That was how the letter which had been unsigned concluded. The man once known as Martin L. King had no interest in getting his life back though Nixon had the power to do so. King had been used as a scapegoat back in the Fifties, blamed for starting and continuing the tit for tat terrorism that had punctuated that decade. Oddly, Nixon had known full well that King had already fled the country when the vast majority of the violence had occurred when no one else did and he could prove it. He had said as much when he had reached out to King through back-channels weeks earlier. King’s response was to basically tell him not to bother. At this time, the truth was just too destructive. And did Nixon really think that he would live long enough to be exonerated if he stepped out of the shadows? No, he’d be killed before that was allowed to happen.

Nixon would have been tempted to call King’s letter cynical if he were not aware that it was probably a realistic take on the situation. Whatever King, or whatever he was calling himself, was doing these days, he was clearly in a position to stay informed.

Putting aside the letter, which had oddly been mailed from Toronto, Canada. Nixon looked with annoyance at a memo outlining the latest battle that was shaping up in the House. The prior Administration had left a number of headaches and landmines when they had left in January, not the least of which had been Nelson Rockefeller vetoing the Defense Appropriations Bill on his way out the door. That had been an entirely symbolic act, but it had thrown the process open again and Congress had seen the opportunity to engage in all manner of tomfoolery.

 

[ejpsan]

It is customary for the owner of the sire to have the pick of the litter as part of the stud fee so guess which puppy will be selected?
Most likely after the puppy is weaned, house broken, and trained in simple tricks it will be sent to the kennel master at Hohenzollern Castle to learn the fine art of being a whippet.

Nixon is to be well advised by MLK to leave things alone as the only crime committed by King was the car bombing of Gov. Talmedge and there is no evidence to link King to the bombing.
The main thorn is the side of Nixon is going to be Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson (D-Boeing) who first wants a massive defense spending increase to match the quality the Germany has and because of the rising anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe especially in Russia, Sen Jackson is pressuring the British to increase the number of Jews allowed to resettle in the Palestine Mandate that they control.

 

[ferdi254]

The most common way is that there is only a one time payment. After all nobody knows how many sellable pups will come out of it. If the male dog has a record of being successful then the money goes up.

 

[ejpsan]

The most common way is that there is only a one time payment. After all nobody knows how many sellable pups will come out of it. If the male dog has a record of being successful then the money goes up.

It all depends on any agreement that was reached on stud fees.
Kiki in previous posts was not concerned about any monetary payments but took a shine on the dam Blue looks and wanted a puppy that looked like Blue.
So instead of collecting a cash fee for Rauchbier services Kiki will take her pick of the litter instead if that is agreeable to Blue’s owner.