Lodge Memory*

This memory is directly related to Lt. Schaefers Staffel Entertainment

The room looks like a lodge room with a large stone fireplace in the center of the wall. The room has many long windows and lots of tables and chairs. It almost looks like some modern restaurants. The floor is dark, perhaps woods or a dark carpet. The tables and chairs are all wood. Some tables are round while others are like picnic tables and benches. One of the rectangular picnic style tables is near the fireplace and there is a young man with a guitar sitting or leaning on the edge of the table.

The fire is burning and it is late afternoon. The sky is overcast with white clouds and I get the impression that it is cold outside. No snow or rain though just cold. Perhaps fog. The room has wood paneling and I get the impression that this large room is attached to a much larger building and we are downstairs. I can't seem to focus on what is outside of the windows, but I think it is trees and landscape.

The place is filled with officers (pilots) and we are drinking and laughing. I am sitting at a place in the room where I can see everyone. A women comes in once n a while and brings more beer. She is dressed in the tradition outfit that a German barmaid would wear. She has dark hair, nice figure, about in her late teens. I am surprised that no one is making passes at her. Maybe they are and I am not noticing it. Her dark hair is pulled back and braided. The long braid hangs behind her with a dark blue ribbon. I seem to remember more about her as I think about her. Her apron is white and the dress she is wearing is mostly shades of blue. Dark blue skirt and light blue top with white lace and a white apron. She seems pretty serious and intent on her work. I think I try and make her smile when she comes over to me. She seems to be nice but she has too much work to do to stop and be friendly with us. I also get an impression that her father or uncle runs the lodge.

She and I make eye contact. She is definitely not available or in the mood to have fun. I turn my attention back to the men and our entertainment. I believe Emil starts his bawdy song and the contest has begun to out do his song. After a couple of people try, the men want me to try and I really don't want to. I am feeling one of my bashful moments that hit me once and a while. They know that I can put together silly lyrics at the drop of a hat, but not right now. Someone else volunteers and the contest continues. I get the impression that some of the singing is quite bad and so are the lyrics.

The dark beer flows on throughout the evening until it gets dark and we are all either drunk or passed out. I am still seated in the corner chair but now I have my feet up on another chair. Luckily the chair has armrests to keep me from falling off. I can see the nice warm glow from the fireplace. The pitch in the burning wood snaps and crackles. Another young barmaid walks in quietly. It must be late. I can hear men snoring. And several people have their heads resting on the table and are asleep. This blonde little barmaid with two golden braids is tending the fire. She looks over at me and I think I smile at her. She walks over, so I must be the only one awake.

She asks me if I going to stay in the chair and I tell her I think I am too drunk to walk back to my room by myself. She chuckles quietly and asks if I want help. I tell I would greatly appreciate any help, but she is too small to help me. She was a very petite and attractive young woman. She tells me that she is much stronger than she looks and can help me find my way to my lodge room. I try and move my feet off the chair and there is this horrible scraping noise of the feet against the floor! It seems so loud! A few of the sleeping men stir from their drunken slumber but go back to sleep. She helps me up and I put my arm over her shoulder and she starts to guide me past my "fallen comrades." With my arm around her I can see her very closely. She is pretty. Her hair is really a yellow gold color and she is about 20 or so years old. As we walk through the room past the big fireplace, I can see someone sleeping on one of the benches and I am surprised that he has not fallen off. He must have good balance I thought. I even had the evil thought of shaking the bench a bit to see if he would fall off, but I was in no condition to cause mischief. We go to the other side of the room and up a short staircase that led into some kind of lobby. There are more stairs and a hallway. The place is all wood. No one is around. She asks if I am upstairs or downstairs. I don't think I can remember and ask her where her room is.

She gives me that "look" and tells me that I am in no condition for that sort of thing. And I reply that I can always do that sort of thing and she is welcome to test my truthfulness. She just shakes her head and asks me if I have a key. The thought "Oh ja, duh!" comes to mind and I start digging in my pockets and since I have it in my right pocket I let go of her and have started swaying a bit. She grabs a hold of me tightly and doesn't want me to fall on the stone(?) floor. Now I am face to face with this little maiden that is holding onto me so rather tightly. (Her arms are around my body.) I stare at her and she stares at me. She is about five inches shorter than me. I try to kiss her and she tells me that I smell like smoke and beer. I must of reacted funny because she is now apologizing to me and trying to keep me from moving away from her. Then she says, "Look, I don't know you. And I don't sleep around, especially with men I don't even know." I turn to her and say, "Mein Name ist Manfred, und sie sind? (the grammar may not be correct here) She replied to my question with Rachel. She says, "Come on Manfred, you are going to bed" and she takes my key. She looks at the key and then says something like Gott in Himmel and we start for the stairway going up. We make our way up the stairway very slowly with my arm over her shoulder and her instructing me to hold tightly onto the railing. We make it up and then go down the hallway. She finds the door that matches the key.

I pull her body close to me and ask if she will come into the room with me. And her reply is something to the effect that "You are a horny one, aren't you." Part of the shock in her voice is that I am very aroused and I have pressed my groin up against hers. She tells me to stop it and that she will open the door for me, but she is not sleeping with me. I let go and she opens the door and I turn to her and say I don't think I'll be able to get my boots off and if she will help me. She raises an eyebrow and says that I am worse than a child. I just smile at her.

Either she thinks I am cute or she feels sorry for me, she helps me get my boots and tunic coat off. She may have actually got me completely tucked into bed because all the rest that I can remember is her turning off the light and shutting the door and I am safely in bed about to fall fast asleep.

* This memory is not in the manuscript