Our female betta-fish Minus has not really won our hearts. First she fought with her male partner Plus, who was deadly injured and then she killed her companion, our snail Schneck. This was too much brutality in such a small area for us beginners. We somehow sensed, that we may have contributed to this tragedy due to our incomplete knowledge. Read More »
Tag: My Blog
What is the moral of this story?
Lisa was clever. Perhaps not the best in her class, but always close to the top. She was small and thin. In her puberty she was not an object of desire for her male fellow students. That gnawed at her self-confidence. The few, not to say the only one, who had showed any interest her, she didn’t like at all and those she liked had no eyes for her.Read More »
The death announcement
Cemeteries somehow attract me. There is only one reason for this. On a small surface there are numerous fascinating human stories. No-one tells them, they are the gravestones with names, dates and sometimes photos, which drive my fantasy at full throttle. Wherever I am on this earth, I visit a cemetery in order to feel the cultural differences and think up stories that are unknown to me. Recently my youngest has accompanied me more and more frequently and together we think about people we haven’t known, but who seem so exciting that it seems worthwhile occupying oneself with them.Read More »
The bank parties
Ida was jobbing. This was the only way she could earn the money she needed for her studies. The restaurant, where she worked, was situated idyllically at the edge of town, with a breath-taking view, surrounded by woods, meadows and vegetable gardens. It was a popular excursion site for the townspeople.
But it wasn’t exclusive. For the tenants of the restaurant sustainability and authenticity were more important than profit and luxury. All of this created a unique atmosphere, where at Sunday brunch scarcely two plates were identical, and where all leftovers were processed or given away. Ida loved her job, although it was really backbreaking. One joked and flirted with the guests, one laughed a lot and valued the mutual honesty.Read More »
Wadu has a problem
Until yesterday the world was still in order. But today his girlfriend came to him and said that she wanted a child. Wadu likes children, but he doesn’t want any of his own. That’s what they agreed 6 years ago when they moved in together.
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Barcelona in November
The first snow down to 1,000 m was forecast in Switzerland for Sunday. It will be cold. But this week I had the good fortune to be working in Barcelona and there for a mid-European there is no autumn to be felt.
Every morning, as soon as it was light, I ran along the shore. It was terrific. The ideal temperature for running, a light breeze, the beach empty. Every morning I saw the man with the metal detector, searching the beach for coins and jewellery. Every morning I saw the homeless, wrapped up in their sleeping bags. And every morning I made an irritating observation, which didn’t fit the idyll, like the well-dressed man, who sorted through the rubbish bins. As soon as he found an empty alcohol bottle, he smashed it on the ground into a thousand pieces with frightening fervour. I was also irritated by the old woman, who all alone and naked had swum far out into the sea.
After my run I also went for a swim, after all it was 20 degrees. But, aware of the risks, I swam only close to the beach and properly dressed.
The only really disturbing experience in Barcelona was the two youths in the room next to mine, who at half past four in the morning, quite drunk, tried to break open the connecting door between our rooms. They didn’t succeed, but, with all the noise, sleep was impossible and, until the hotel security had finally succeeded in talking sense into them, it was almost time to go for a run.
Image source: Wolfang Dirscherl / pixelio.de
Corina is 13 soon
I sat next to Corina. In December she will be 13. Corina is very pretty, with striking eyebrows. She told me that this was now very „in“, which of course was new to me.
She had a perfect skin and long, straight hair. I sat next to her at dinner. Corina scarcely touched the food and apart from a few leaves of salad ate nothing. Read More »
A quota for women
My daughter is not in favour of a quota for women. She is still very young and naïve in these matters, I was also. I tried to explain to her why I had to change sides on this issue.Read More »
Charity run on the Platzspitz
I am convinced that people need movement just as they need food. Without movement one becomes weak and it is no longer possible to function. Without food one dies, as one also does without movement, only perhaps it takes a bit longer than 3 weeks.
My youngest was 10 years old
My youngest was 10 years old. Then one notices how fast time passes. I feel as if it was only yesterday when I brought him home the first time.
Now he has wished for a larger children’s birthday party. The list of the children he wanted to invite grew longer and longer and finished up with 25. Despite the help I knew I could call on, a group of 25 under-10s seemed to be a heavy responsibility and I negotiated him down to 10 children.Read More »
Michaela Merz 