Upon rejoining the assembled group already savoring the delicacies, Martin began a speech in German, part of which was translated, but I think the jist was: a warm welcome to all, Mrs Edelman came to see the farm where her father had been, and was happy to meet the neighbors. I was seated between cousin Immo Fischer, and Mr Spindler who did his best to keep up with the many conversations. Mr. Spindler petitioned me to decide which cream cake was better, the local Freiberg version, or the Dresden creation. Plying my plate with the contestants, why would I be so impolite to refuse such a challenge?
Which cake is the best?
Mr. Spindler, Petra, Nina, Immo and Hans-Jorg Fischer
Mr. And Mrs. Kiank
Rich, Nancy, and Jim took photos and videos with the cameras, iPads and phones. Two of the women, Petra and Mrs Kiank bestowed me with a most generous gift of two books recently printed about Linda. One is about the old houses, the other about the village. If I understood correctly, Martin was involved in this writing project for the several surrounding towns under his jurisdiction. Of course they are in German, so, will need to be translated. The Fischer farm is included.
The atmosphere in the room was comfortable, celebratory and jovial. The neighbors chatted and laughed, and seemed to enjoy the speeches by the mayor. It was unclear how many of them knew him previously, but by the end of the afternoon, all were friends. Immo knew two of the older gentlemen, but not many of the others, I believe. I am not sure Mr. Spindler knew, or remembered any of the guests, as his career as an academic translator took him other places. In fact, Mayor Martin had only met him recently. As explained to me earlier, the fact that almost no one knew English was due to the fact that Linda was in what had been East Germany, where Russian would have been the second language. But we know that before the war, as Karl told Max at their first meeting, everyone learned English in school.
Then it was my turn to book talk. As Mr. Spindler was the only one who had read the book, and the mayor was the only one I had related the outline of story to, the others really had no idea of the events, except that I was the daughter of one of the Americans. It was important to me that they knew I felt positive about seeing the farm, and that the book was about a special friendship between two young men, one a German, and one an American and a Jew. This may have been a surprise for some.
I soon realized that interpreting a reading would be cumbersome. I selected the pivotal paragraph, how the two friends met for the first time, for Mr Spindler to translate. I thought I heard a few chuckles at how Max described seeing a "Teutonic" looking young man. Then I slowly told the bare outline of the next events; the invitation to play chess, lifting the fence at midnight, and Karl's idea to escape together. I told them how Karl's grandmother kissed Max and told him to take care of their son. I love that part of the story, and I felt the guests did as well. I continued to relate how the two remained friends over the years and showed them the photo from my IPad of their last tearful meeting.
There were a few questions, some about Karl's plane crash, and how Karl ended up in the barn. The mayor tried to formulate their questions in English, but because of the language barrier, I was not sure if all their questions were answered.
I relayed Tom Kirschner's sentiments at how pleased he was to know there was a soccer field on the former farm field, and that his son is an avid soccer player and would someday love to play there.
The lovely afternoon continued for hours. More cake, more tea, and then the round of beer, of course. People did not want to leave! I had time to enjoy Karla's photo album which contained pictures of the buildings before, during, and after renovation. I had one she didn't have, the one of the group of little boys in lederhosen in front of the house, which I will email to her. Slowly people started leaving, and we realized it was getting dark. We might have enjoyed each other's company into the night, but even if the mayor didn't have a meeting to attend, we had been sitting for hours. The innkeeper and his wife were most accommodating throughout the afternoon, and I suspect that they too enjoyed the out-of-the-ordinary gathering. 
It was hard to say goodbye amidst hearty handshakes, hugs, and spirited good wishes ( emphatic "gutta, gutta") until the last person to leave was the mayor. We tip our hats to him. He took this extracurricular project on without hesitation, and creatively fashioned his "program" to offer what he could to fulfill my requests. He was under no obligation to respond in any way, but did so with panache and enthusiasm, which helped touch all of us. It would not have happened without him. Everyone he involved will no doubt be talking about the visit by "the daughter" who came back to see where her father met his friend from Linda.
Richard and Nina Edelman, Mayor Martin Antonow, Nancy and Jim Youngerman
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