Life: Idiotropic

Last year on April 30th, we had just had guests arrive that day jetlagged and ready to sleep when the tractors sounded off all night. The following morning our guests awoke grumbling about our loud "alarm clock."

This year we went to the May Day party downtown with some German friends and saw a lot of the craziness first hand.

May Day is two things - first, it's German Labor Day, a day off for most people which is great because many are hung over that morning. Second, it's, well, some old-fashioned mating ritual that involves beer and uglified trees.

So we met our friends just before 9pm and walked to downtown Geilenkirchen to the market square where the party was going on. We went first for some vorspeisen (appetizers) at a little restaurant right on the markt and people watched. Kids and adults of all ages were out and about walking around and enjoying the evening. We shared a large table with another couple outside. Just 10 feet from us a group of 8 young boys were sitting on benches with1-2 6-packs of beer each, drinking and having a good time. A couple large trucks (not Ford - think large farming work truck that can hold several tons of sugar beats or about 20 drunk boys) went by full of drunk boys and music. One had a party ball spinning in the back. It was shocking to see young boys drinking openly like that. Even our German friends shook their heads frustrated by the abuse of alcohol and drugs that is becoming a growing problem among the youth here.

After our snack, we paid our 3 Euro entrance fee into the party area - a fenced off area with a big stage, live music, and tons of food. There we could buy tickets for drinks and great food cooked on a giant hanging grill. I had bratkartofeln (tiny round potatoes cooked with bacon and onions). My friend had pork and saurkraut. It was crowded - the kind of crowded where you really have to push your way to get anywhere. Again, these things are reminders of personal space rules and the lack of them here with people brushing past without even a glance. We ate a little, got something to drink, then got up close to the band and watched.

The band was amazing. A Night In Paris has 4 lead singers! Each had a distinct voice and a range of styles he/she could do. They all took turns singing American, British, and German music from the 60's until now and they nailed each one. Most of the time I tried hard to catch a mistake and couldn't even tell they were German singers. Then one song came on that was so wrong, it was laughable. I can't now remember the title, but I knew it and started to sing along only to find that the singer was singing completely wrong lyrics. We all laughed. The local hits, of course, got the crowd singing along.

There was dancing up front and the oddest mix of people. Our friends' 10 year-old daughter was walking in with a group of friends after 11pm as we were walking out. Kids were there. Older folks in their 60's were there. It was a crazy mix with everyone singing and having a good time.

As we entered our village driving home, I saw a large (12') birch tree walking down the side of the road. It was horizontal, elevated above the ground, and had two sets of legs whose bodies were completely covered with branches. A truck was parked further up.

Families are warned to put potted plants in and BBQ's. The groups of boys start around 11 cutting off large birch limbs or cutting down entire smaller birch trees and filling their trucks driving around all night long with loud music, flags waving, and disco balls swirling. To me, it seems very American redneck - drunk guys in the back of a tractor or truck waving flags and cutting down trees. Silly. But, it's here. We heard them go by several times in the night.

I was awakened at 0630 with more loud music that wouldn't go away. They were parked across the street. I watched them unload a couple large branches, tie crepe paper streamers onto them, then hoist them up Paul Bunyon style and carry them down the street towards some poor girl's house with friends behind carrying ladders and rope. They put the tree by the house - I saw some sitting in the top of chimneys, some tied to pipes on the side of the house, some up on the top floor, some sitting on the ground, some tied to other trees making them look like they were also planted. They were all big and garishly decorated with streamers.

Our friends also have a 15-year old daughter. She'd been out to a party that night. She expected several trees and hearts at her house. Her mom said she had to get up early to cook breakfast for all the boys. I asked how many and she didn't know. This won't ever happen at my house. There is no way that I'm going to get up at the crack of dawn to cook breakfast for a bunch of hungover hoodlems who just happen to have a crush on my daughter - no way.

This morning coming home I saw three girls dragging a large decorated birch down the street behind them. The trees and hearts will be up for about a month as will the giant May Poles in most town centers.