tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post7412970870697786610..comments2024-03-15T15:16:54.518-04:00Comments on Reggie Darling: The Blossoming of Romance Under the Fascist SkyReggie Darlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04044215790585354363noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-68342337408292683612010-10-06T23:16:16.754-04:002010-10-06T23:16:16.754-04:00ADG: Thank you, that's lovely.
Hermione: I al...ADG: Thank you, that's lovely.<br /><br />Hermione: I already have one of those, ahem, "silly hats."Reggie Darlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04044215790585354363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-79079839092229982622010-10-06T20:11:00.015-04:002010-10-06T20:11:00.015-04:00Lederhosen are hot, heavy, and very unflattering. ...Lederhosen are hot, heavy, and very unflattering. They also stink from absorbed sweat, and are impossible to clean. There ARE some things that are better with modern technology. I'm with Boy and Sister on this one. If you want to connect with the yodeling/jugenvolk crowd get one of the silly hats.<br />xox,<br />HermioneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-56314483552606240022010-10-06T18:03:51.356-04:002010-10-06T18:03:51.356-04:00I just re-read this. First time I've ever comm...I just re-read this. First time I've ever commented on the same post twice. The last paragraph...regarding the sole surviving photo of your parents together..."resonated" is the wrong word and "it hit me" is too base. All I know is that I'm glad I have a box of things for my daughter,LFG. It's a box that includes pictures of her mother and father when they were hopeful about the future and sincere about their partnership. However fleeting that period was, I want her to know, through the evidence of letters, photographs and my wedding band, that it was real. Ok, I'm gonna have a cig and a martini now.ADGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16612897500610475937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-66392457497246236572010-10-06T17:42:45.214-04:002010-10-06T17:42:45.214-04:00Oh, Reggie, heed the wise Boy on the subject of le...Oh, Reggie, heed the wise Boy on the subject of lederhosen.<br /><br />MD said she got to know FD on the trip because she was always the slowest cyclist and he would keep her company.Cate Fitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12835720513248934609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-78786909828483310372010-10-04T01:07:53.075-04:002010-10-04T01:07:53.075-04:00Hello Frecky:
Yes, I do recall the lederhosen that...Hello Frecky:<br />Yes, I do recall the lederhosen that FD brought home to us from that trip in the 1960s. I was quite proud of mine. i got in to a fight with Tommy Quiggle, a classmate at Potomac School, who called me a Nazi when I wore mine to school one day in second grade! Believe it or not, I am in the market for a set of lederhosen to wear when hiking in the Catskills next summer. Boy thinks I'll look like an idiot, but I don't care . . . . <br />Your loving brother, ReggieReggie Darlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04044215790585354363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-31790286199548674562010-10-03T20:34:36.998-04:002010-10-03T20:34:36.998-04:00Reggie - Bravo. As a footnote, MD's postcard ...Reggie - Bravo. As a footnote, MD's postcard to her friend Measle recounted that she had wanted to buy a pair of leather shorts in Bavaria but they were too expensive and besides, would have looked silly. Do you recall when FD went to West Germany on Department of Defense business in the mid 1960s and returned with a pair of lederhosen for each of us? MD was right - they did look silly. Your loving brother, Frecky.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-60555248597950887702010-10-03T15:23:24.504-04:002010-10-03T15:23:24.504-04:00Thank you to everyone who commented here. It is m...Thank you to everyone who commented here. It is much appreciated. This was a meaningful post for me, and I spent a lot of time on it, getting the voice right. Telling this story helped me put some of the puzzle's pieces together in a way that I hadn't figured out before, until it came to writing this. Thank you. <br />ReggieReggie Darlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04044215790585354363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-74856326462543850182010-10-03T14:06:40.034-04:002010-10-03T14:06:40.034-04:00This might be the richest thing you've ever wr...This might be the richest thing you've ever written. Just stellar. I have a friend whose Mormon father was sent to Germany for his year of white-shirt/navy trouser...Joseph Smith evangelizing. He arrived just in time to hear Adolph Hitler spew his venom, live and in person.ADGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16612897500610475937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-9210499919386766962010-10-02T18:04:29.597-04:002010-10-02T18:04:29.597-04:00Ah Reggie, this one is simply perfect, for so many...Ah Reggie, this one is simply perfect, for so many reasons. The formal photo of your mother captures the essence of life for those privileged (and or cursed, depending upon one's point of view) few engaged in a formal coming out, but the Life picture seems to capture the essence of MD. I too marvel at the specter of the carefree (?) pedaling in Europe at that time, good gracious. <br /><br />I'm thinking that our parents knew many of the same people, belonged to many of the same clubs, attended many of the same functions. It all seems very "long ago and far away," doesn't it? <br /><br />Thank you for sharing such a lovely series of events, and people. <br /><br />Sending you a smile,<br />tpThe Preppy Princesshttp://thepreppyprincess.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-37313732749053535062010-10-01T17:59:56.074-04:002010-10-01T17:59:56.074-04:00So interesting and so personal a story. My MIL we...So interesting and so personal a story. My MIL went back to her home in Austria/Germany in the 30's. We have some postcards and a few pictures but I wish she were here to tell us more. She came to the US alone at 16 to meet up with her mother. It was a more innocent time, even with the war clouds on the horizon.Pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10525827614519839073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-38777452200446005692010-10-01T15:31:50.235-04:002010-10-01T15:31:50.235-04:00Reggie: This story truly hits home: my parents we...Reggie: This story truly hits home: my parents were married in 1945, just before the end of the War and spent their "honeymoon" on a train with hundreds of GI's, on the way to California. My father was a pilot and had been on many bombing raids in Northern Italy/Albania but was due to go to the Pacific. The war ended and they returned to Philadelphia.<br />They too had a few happy years, though not very many, but remained married for 30 years before my father left and divorced my mother in a nasty divorce. I was the oldest so I do remember many good, happy times. But my brother who is 14 years younger doesn't know about those times....<br />Their wedding, also, was only attended by maybe 50 people and there are very few pictures. And I too treasure a blurry black and white of them both cutting the wedding cake!<br />Thanks for the touching post!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-50700535589457993672010-10-01T13:48:14.621-04:002010-10-01T13:48:14.621-04:00RD - what a wonderful story. There's always a ...RD - what a wonderful story. There's always a feeling of kinship among those of us of divorced parents; how it mars are childhood and then stays with us the rest of our lives. You always hope though that they were happy and maybe truly in love for a time. A sweet and lovely read while I'm in hiding from the monsoon raging outside. Thank you so much.Michele from Bostonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-49050051670294078012010-10-01T01:01:59.482-04:002010-10-01T01:01:59.482-04:00This post is really quite perfect.This post is really quite perfect.Nick Heywoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205328234745575843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-16915988824929408582010-09-30T22:23:56.226-04:002010-09-30T22:23:56.226-04:00Isn't it interesting how we get insights after...Isn't it interesting how we get insights after loved ones are gone? I discovered that my mother kept a box of favorite quotations, neatly transcribed onto index cards. I had to smile to myself when I saw colorful limericks mixed in with inspirational quotations. You are a great storyteller - thanks for sharing. - MarkMark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-30486898572367868932010-09-30T19:53:42.144-04:002010-09-30T19:53:42.144-04:00Riveted, start to finish. Some writing professor f...Riveted, start to finish. Some writing professor from your bygone days has surely leapt from the grave to award you A+ for the deft handling of the said, and the unsaid. Reading the comments posted herewith, I'd come to a similar conclusion as that of lindaraxa. Indeed, to my mind, she offers a summation equal to yours. I thank you both. F.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-29744446007141815312010-09-30T17:16:32.096-04:002010-09-30T17:16:32.096-04:00Thank you for sharing this poignant story with us,...Thank you for sharing this poignant story with us, Reggie. My heart hurts for the boy who saw his parents' marriage unravel. That could not have been easy, and I appreciate you sharing their story with us. I hung on every word. So glad you managed to save that picture of the two of them in happier times.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-66905677679718760422010-09-30T16:13:28.514-04:002010-09-30T16:13:28.514-04:00Dear Reggie, What a wonderful story of romance and...Dear Reggie, What a wonderful story of romance and determination in a time of such upheaval and change. It must surely be so that the world was never the same again after the 1940s, before which there did indeed seem to be an innocence about people and events which never returned.<br /><br />You write with much sadness about your parent's divorce which was obviously at a very formative time for you. Clearly the bitterness which ensued has left a lasting impression.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-68570526887198158872010-09-30T12:21:52.018-04:002010-09-30T12:21:52.018-04:00Wonderful story - thank you so much for bringing y...Wonderful story - thank you so much for bringing your parents to life for us. <br /><br />I've been checking the backs of all the old photos at my parent's house to make sure my mother has noted who the people are and what year the photo was taken, while we are still lucky enough to have her around :-)<br /><br />I grew up down the street from Sarah Lawrence.Patsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02840629057159581688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-55486008671751122132010-09-30T10:37:01.477-04:002010-09-30T10:37:01.477-04:00Dearest Reggie,
I think the fact that she kept tha...Dearest Reggie,<br />I think the fact that she kept that photo of the two of them hidden in her jewelry box until the day she died says a lot. This is definitely RD at his best. Very beautiful and exquisitely well written.lindaraxahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15721286284279902181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-58568285874626884402010-09-30T10:35:19.148-04:002010-09-30T10:35:19.148-04:00Thank your for the lovely post that brightened one...Thank your for the lovely post that brightened one's gray rainy morning. Your father was dashing and your mother lovely. A carefree youthful bicycle trip through Italy and Germany before the war erupted sounds like the beginning of a great novel. Thanks for poignant share. Always enjoy your posts. JDHAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-22978984076025417942010-09-30T09:51:42.916-04:002010-09-30T09:51:42.916-04:00This story reads like a lovely and bittersweet nov...This story reads like a lovely and bittersweet novel. One that I would hope were to be made into a movie. (Thinking of Atonement...) Your parents even look like they are straight from the pages of Old Hollywood. I was so touched by all of this.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11519235927578584348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-91050548543197367262010-09-30T07:52:06.730-04:002010-09-30T07:52:06.730-04:00I truly enjoyed your story. Your parents were a ha...I truly enjoyed your story. Your parents were a handsome couple and you can see in their vibrant and glowing faces of these photos around the time they met, that they were in love. How wonderful to have these bits and pieces from their interesting history.Acanthus and Acornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08603547994268012876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-79027270571792604532010-09-30T01:04:46.436-04:002010-09-30T01:04:46.436-04:00Your mother has a striking resemblance to Annette ...Your mother has a striking resemblance to Annette Bening in her Debs of Detroit photo. I am touched by the sadness you obviously felt at your parents' divorce, and the clinging on to photos of them in happier times. I know what you mean about wanting to ring and ask them about events in their lives. My father still lives, but my mother died 8 years ago, and there are many things I would like to ask her, but no longer can.<br /><br />Regarding Fascism in the 30s, it is surprising how the world ignored the horrors of the collaboration between Stalin and Hitler, and for example bought the grain from the Soviet Union in 1933 that had been denied to Ukraine, and which resulted in the death from starvation of 7 million from that soviet alone.columnisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03764365428633038329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-26650218140291089782010-09-30T00:57:46.403-04:002010-09-30T00:57:46.403-04:00Reggie Darling, so bittersweet and perfect- so muc...Reggie Darling, so bittersweet and perfect- so much of what our life and relationships are about. the photographs capture that exuberant youth that is sometimes hard to imagine in our parents. MD- was well, darling. how easy it must have been for FD to fall for her-and likewise. xo,pgtP.Gaye Tapp at Little Auguryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15115534755711063462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044541580633294348.post-6256488030000539092010-09-29T23:33:37.286-04:002010-09-29T23:33:37.286-04:00This post breaks my heart, and makes me thankful f...This post breaks my heart, and makes me thankful for so many things. Thank you for writing this.Daniel Shigohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12736080550398734909noreply@blogger.com