Oompapa: The great sounds of the base horn or tuba is recognized world wide as the opening of Oktoberfest. But it didn’t begin with just a renown celebration of music, food and beer, it began as a simple celebration of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (later crowned King Ludwig I) to announce his coming marriage to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810.
He invited countrymen from far and near to enjoy music, beer gardens and horse racing. That tradition continues until this day almost world wide but with the merriment at hand, the horse racing was eventually discontinued in favor of music and serious beer drinking as only the Germans would know.
After World War II, a couple of unsuspecting soldiers in the U. S. Army stationed in France, heard of the Oktoberfest celebration in the Bavarian Alps. With a three day pass in their pockets, a short train ride took them to the first major tent which housed the most elaborate beer garden they had ever seen. Steins of beer were on hand for all and the two young soldiers seemed to fit right in with the festivities except they knew not one word of German.
While hoisting the second stein a robust German joined the pair that set the style of the day. Complete with a neatly trimmed white beard, lederhosen attire (short leather pants, tall socks, suspenders and wool hat adorned with a grouse feather) the huge man insisted on starting a conversation only in German. One of the soldiers was a slight man hardly five feet tall and small stature totally unlike his new German friend of a huge build. But the soldier had almost a cherub smile and a likeable demeanor.
The German giant would tell a story in German and the soldiers would laugh. Then they would tell a story and the German would laugh only to be accented by a huge slap on the back of the tiny soldier. And the beat went on and so the story of Oktoberfest.
IN CONTRAST: October is the month of great mysteries not to belittle the classical stories of Halloween and weird tales of goblins and murder. One of those stories out of many has been handed down for generations. It is the bizarre story of The Tell Tale Heart.
Long after the manservant had murdered his master, he could still hear the beating of the poor man’s heart though that would seem impossible. To dispose of the remains, he had lifted the boards of the floor and placed parts of the dissected body so it couldn’t be found, hopefully.
However, a neighbor called the police because she heard the muffled scream of the dying man being smothered by the servant. The servant had a very unusual calmness about him and invited the detectives into the room in which the crime was committed. In fact, he seated them in chairs placed on the very boards under which the deceased was laid.
Continued investigations were about when it was determined that the manservant had an obsession about his master’s unusual eye. In his mind the eye was clouded but appeared to be the staring eye of a vulture. It was constantly staring at the manservant which tormented him to plan such a murder.
As time went on, the manservant continued to hear the beating of the heart of the deceased beneath the floor. However no one else heard it. Maybe it was the clicking of flesh eating beetles beneath the floor that caused his eventual confession of the murder. Accordingly, the manservant met his own fate in the hands of the executioner.
Of course, this October short story is in its classical setting of early 1848 and was written into a play that is still performed in this country around October. The short story/poet author is well known today. He was Edgar Allen Poe (Jan. 19, 1809-October 7, 1849)
Bob Jamison is a columnist and book author and still thinks history and literature is exciting.
jbobalong@yahoo.com
