Its friday in Bietigheim, that can only mean one thing. Oma will have coffee and cake at Armin's and we'll all be going. Once were there everyone will get into the usual business of disseminating the newest local gossip. How bad the new parking laws in town are and what a catastrophe it is. Whose died over the passed week and what effect it's had on those left behind. Inevitably these topics are followed by someone saying, "Jesus mary!.." Or "its unbelievable! Or "children of men!" Ahh the German vernacular, what a gem. In small towns such as Beitighiem gossip is the original telegram. Its a system with very limited accuracy and tends to cause more issues than it solves but in the long run, its a cultural item not likely to ever fade away into antiquity. While everyone busied themselves with bread, milk, sugar, and caffeine I partook of the pineapple resting shyly on the table. Cutting it into small pieces and placing them into the bowl it previously occupied as a whole. Once the work was done, the bread and sugar were abandoned until the pineapple was no longer available, then their consumption was resumed.We talked about education in Germany and Americas failure with it in every sense of the word, or more accurately I talked about it and they listened. A situation I have successfully avoided more and more these days, in favor of listening, which is hard for me, but due to considerable gains attributed to this new skill, I have learned to bite my tongue, many times nearly biting it off in the attempt, especially if it becomes political. After this we returned home. I had made plans to go out with Sophia Green, Luisa's younger sister and a designer to be, following in her mothers foot steps. Coming along with Sophia were Jule, a tough and beautiful young lady. Also in the car were friends of Sophia's I met at a party on the Rhine last summer. My cousin Lisa and her boyfriend Manuel also joined us. The plan was to go to the Brauhause in Karlsruhe. Although we left before my cousin, and Jule was driving the backroads like a nascar driver, they arrived there before us. We ordered pizzas with Gin and tonics, and before I knew it we had left the Brauhause in a friendlier, more acquainted group. Lisa and Manuel went home and the rest of us went to a fancy bar inside of a hotel. They brought Zane and I gin and tonics but when I set my drink on an empty table right next to us and went to the bathroom it was gone when I returned. I asked the waitress where it went and she had no idea. When we all vouched for the situation she magically remembered that she had taken it and put it on her desk.My drink was then returned and we went home in the same nascar fashion that brought us to Karlsruhe and easily faded into deep sleep in the attic of Oma's cozy home.