Marianne Schoenholzer

Before Otto von Crippe worked at the Schlitz factory in Milwaukee he was in the service....US Army and spent some time in Germany.   There he met the lady of his dreams, Marianne Schoenholzer.  You see Marianne worked for the military and provided housing for officers abroad,  It was when Otto was reassigned and needed housing when they first met.  You could say it was love at first sight....well at least for Otto.

Marriane wanted nothing to do with him. She had heard from  others in the commissary that Otto had a girlfriend back home in Wisconsin. Nuff said.

But Otto persisted and after two years, with the girlfriend dismissed, Marianne and he were dating. Otto being the consummate romantic, insisted they get married.  It was a grand wedding.  Otto spent his entire savings on the wedding.  Okay in this day and age there are fancier weddings, but forty years ago this was a dandy.

Otto & Marianne Wedding

But alas all good things must come to an end.  After only 10 months of marriage, Otto and Marianne decided it was best they go there own ways.  Otto got into the beer business after his discharge and Marianne stayed with the military until just last year when she moved to Florida with her black BMW 5 Series which she keeps spotless.

 Since Marianne is Billy's step mom (its the Boy she never had) both she and I are on Billy's Facebook page and when she saw that I also had a property in Florida  she contacted me via a Facebook  message and we found out we were virtual neighbors.  With the help of my GPS, I found out she was just a short drive from where I live.  Small world !

Marianne at Work

Being a good German girl, Marianne proposed that I stop by for breakfast.  Breakfast is my favorite meal so I took her up on her offer.  Marianne's  kitchen is big enough to feed an army.  She had eggs, bratwurst, shinken, weinerschnitzel, kuchen, katofel und saft. For a short instance, I thought I was teleported to one  of the colony restaurants back home.  She even provided the morning paper.  Thanks Marianne, and I will relay the message to  Billy.  I'm sure he will be excited to know.

Marianne's Kitchen

Marianne Cooking

The Sessions

Wow ...its almost been six months since I reported on Billy.  Not because I have such a busy schedule, but mostly because Billy has been secretive about what he has been doing. More about that later,

About two months ago Billy asked me to take him to a movie.  This, in and of itself, is a bit of an undertaking, especially during the cold winter months.  There is so much more to transporting the iron lung and keeping Billy warm in the process.

Billy had heard about this movie from Bob Arnold who apparently had seen it and highly recommended it. You see the movie is about a kid living in an iron lung who wants to lose his virginity.  Click HERE for a link to the movie. Helen Hunt is the professional sex surrogate.

Well I loaded up Billy in my new crossover SUV and we were off to Cedar Rapids to see the movie.   I guess it would be prudent of me to read the theatre listings more carefully as there was only one showing on this particular day and we missed it.

Now what......going shopping was out of the question.  The library is still under construction and the roller skating rink just depresses him.

Billy said he would like to go to a strip club.  I was a little shocked at his request but considering the subject matter of the movie, I guess it was a good alternative.  I called his mom to seek permission and his aunt Regina answered the phone.  She gave us the "go ahead" in a New York second and we were off to a Gentleman's Club to satisfy my friend Billy.  (Actually I didn't mind the assignment either).

I didn't want to take him to a totally nude so called "Juice Bar" because I thought we should ease into this, being it was his first time and all.....so we chose the topless bar in town which shall remain nameless.

Lo and behold it was "Kid's Day" at the club so we fit in quite well.  Of course you still needed to be of legal age to drink alcoholic beverages, but we weren't there for the drinks if you are picking up what I'm putting down.

Immediately Billy was smitten by this spinner named Rachael.  She appeared to be of Hispanic descent , but the jury is still out on that.  If she removes her 5 " stiletto heels , she might stand all of five foot......but we never saw her with her shoes off.

To say that she is a charmer would be an understatement.  She charmed the socks off of me and I was just the messenger.  Like I say, Billy is smitten.  Every time I go to visit him , he asks when can I take him back to that club so that he can see Rachael again.........Like I said, its not such a bad assignment, so sometime in 2013, I foresee a roadtrip in Billy's future. Stand by for the follow up report.

Sometimes you have to wonder how Billy's life would have changed had we gone
to the movie instead.  Or Not!

RAGBRAI 2012 Titos Style

Its RAGBRAI time again in Iowa.  It always occurs the third week of July.  This year marks the 40th anniversary of the event and it seems like it gets better every year. If you don't know what RAGBRAI is all about, CLICK HERE.

Billy particularly likes the ride.  He enjoys meeting people along the way.  Pulling him along in the iron lung is no simple task.  First of all he becomes a very heavy load on the uphill portions of the ride.  Anyone who does RAGBRAI will attest that Iowa is not flat.  The other logistics nightmare is keeping Billy cool.  With temps of over 100F this would be a challenge.  We are talking power packs, misters, and lots of batteries.  Consequently, we had to scratch Billy from the ride after we saw the forecast from a Conrad Johnson talkalike.  Probably was a good thing, because if we were doing the ride, we might not have bumped into the Tito's Girls.

The Tito's Girls transcended upon Parlor City Pub with cases of Tito's Handmade Vodka and they were passing it out like so much candy to babies.  This contingent of babes came out from Chicago to promote their spirits and promote they did. Billy immediately fell in love with Barbara, the Las Vegas Realtor by day and Bartender when called upon. (Billy wanted to be Facebook friends, but since Barbara has over 5000 friends already he has subscribed to her public status updates instead.)  After going through many bottles of the Handmade Loudmouth Soup, we were invited into the vintage Airstream trailer they use for their promotions. Eric, Tasha and Rosie were formidable hosts as they continued the hospitality.  Billy picked up a visor which he now wears constantly.

I wonder if Billy's landlord, Wally has a visor.  Wally is a big Tito's fan and has several cases tucked away, but alas, Wally quit drinking Vodka about 8 months ago.  I wonder what he is planning on doing with his stockpile?  I guess time will tell.  

Billy sometimes asks me about the good old days.  He loves to hear my stories.  The other day, while we were discussing the price of a cup of coffee I reminisced about when I was part of the good old boys network in Amana.  Pretty much every day except for Sunday, we would meet at the Colony Inn before our work day started.  Sort of an early FaceBook concept.  Of course Al Gore had not yet invented the internet so this was Face to Face networking.

On any given day you would see the likes of Paul Oehl, Art Baumgartel, Ramon Goerler, Bill Hess, Jake Roemig ,Paul Hursh,  Leonard Kloubec and me.  ( Click HERE for more info on Kloubec)   Of course there were others...some of them sporadic attendees and others who I have forgotten their name.

Walt Schuerer was the proprietor of the inn and dispensed the coffee to us.  Jake Roemig* was the owner of the building and that title gave him priority seating at the  head table.  He would shake his cane at anyone who  sat in his reserved seat announcing that "he owned the joint" and "so and so better find another place to sit".  It was always a hoot when one of the regulars brought someone new to the table and urged him to sit in that empty chair.  We looked forward to Jake coming in  to roust him from his perch.  Another benefit of being the building owner was that he received complimentary coffee for life.  However on the 3rd of every month, Jake would reach into his wallet and remove enough cash to pick up the tab.  You see , it was the third of the month....the day his Social Security check would arrive at the post office.   Since we were all working stiffs, he figured we were supplying his "paycheck" and thus lavishly rewarded us once each month.

Coffee was 25 cents per cup with unlimited refills.  Everyone, but Bill Hess would participate in a gambling game which had the loser pick up the tab for all the coffee.  Even if the place was packed with 10 guys the bill was only 2.50.....but Bill Hess chose to pay for his coffee with a shiny quarter prior to being seated.  This prepay maneuver  kept him safe from "the Flip".

Of all the names mentioned, only two remain....Walt Schuerer and me....Walt is 91 and doesn't move too fast any more......come to think about it......I don't move so fast anymore either.




* JACOB ROEMIG was born on 16 Jun 1893 in AMANA, IOWA. He died on 29 Aug 1975 in AMANA, IOWA

Billy Wants a Tat

I stopped in to visit with Billy as I usually do at least once a week. Billy calls me Uncle Bruce. Maybe he calls me that because I am a frequent visitor to his two story walk up apartment or maybe its because I was serious with his aunt Regina for awhile a few years back....at any rate I don't mind being referred to as Uncle Bruce.

Coincidentally, his Aunt Regina still shares their small apartment with Billy's mom and dad. My heart

flutters a little when I catch a glimpse of her.

Aunt Regina has a "tramp stamp" and now Billy wants a tat too....as in also.

If any readers aren't familiar with "Tramp Stamps".. Click HERERegina"s tramp stamp is in the shape of handlebars.

Billy wants the logo for the Cincinnati Bengals for his

tat. You see the Bengals Logo is the letter "B" for Billy and it is done in his favorite colors...orange and black.

The only one he knows with a link to Cincinnati is Bruce Hop. He calls him Uncle Bruce Number Two. So he has asked the Hopper to help him get the artwork for his tat.

Stay tuned.