Greg's diary--June 1973

This page was entered from my paper diary with additional comments from memory between 8 April 2017 and 11 April 2017. Items from memory are shown in brown. Items in italics, like this, were added at this time.

Tuesday, 5 June 1973	LB
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So now the Himmelfahrt is well vorbei, and the Babenhausenfahrt as well, in which I learnt little enough of astonishment about Marijke (except how to spell her name! Her surname is Paardekooper), except that she is a hell of a nice girl, and that she made a sufficient enough impression on me to start me smoking again. A week later, I am still trying to consolidate the relationship, the delay being more due to shyness on both parts than reticence on either. She has invited me to transport her and Yugoslav flatmate Aderijenka (?) to Heidelberg on Friday to see (free admission/she pays for the tickets) „Man of La Mancha“, with which she has something to do.

We did go to this performance, but clearly not on “Friday”, since I recorded other things there. Maybe it was a week later, and that's what I've tried to reconstruct.

But Leone - when I come to think of it, the first thing that hit me when I first saw here was “She's got to be an Aussie”, a thought which the laws of probability (only girl there) put out of my mind. But an Aussie she is, and married, bugger her. She's not beautiful, but she must be the closest person to myself that I have ever met - either she's prematurely aged or she's a good 5 years older than me (Christ, I hope to hell I'm right, or that she never reads this!).

Both happened. She was 6 years older, and she never read this (at least not before I put it online).

She is the first person here, or anywhere, regardless of sex (obviously - how many women programmers do I know?), with whom I can talk on an equal basis. She even programs in the same way as I do, and today we had a talk in which I was less intellectually frustrated than for a long time. I don't want (nor am I probably able) to take her from her husband - but you silly bitch, why the hell did you get married?

Friday, 8 June 1973	LB
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So, I come out of the Rechnzentrum with this more than attractive female from the Kassenärztliche Vereinigung, intent on finding Herrn Kaiser or some such and find Ellen St. Claire standing on the other side of 10 metres of car, arguing with the porter. Before I knew where I was, I was parking it, by which time female, whose name proves to be Ingeborg Röll (glaube ich) abgehauen war. Marijke appeared out of nowhere, as is her wont (how I wish I could disappear into nowhere from time to time!), and we both took Ellen, who was on a sightseeing tour, to meet Leone, who was busy. All got invited out to Babenhausen again for Corpus Christi (or Fronleichnam, as it is here called), and then ended up giving Ellen a guided tour of the Burgstraße. Then she off, Leone saw me again and invited me to Hamburg with her and Marijke tomorrow, which naturally suited me well enough.

Saturday, 9 June 1973	LB → Wien
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Appeared accordingly by Marijke in the Mousonstraße at the unearthly hour of 0715, but in time for a smoke before Leone should have arrived; but she didn't. In any case, talked for a while, and came to the conclusion that Marijke wasn't too keen to go to Hamburg on her own - but Wien, that was a different matter. Conjuring up thoughts of a whole weekend alone with Marijke, sleeping in Woglinde [the name I gave my Citroën Dyane] (with one reclining seat!), and just about to leave a note for Leone, when, at 0940, she arrived with daughter (she's 30/Micky, the daughter, is 10).

My recollection was that Micky (Michelle) was 12. I'm not sure which is correct.

She thought Wien was a good idea too, and so off to Wien, passing only at Langen for passports, and not even a green card. Arrived at Wien with only problems being the lack of an ~~green card and~~ Aufenthaltserlaubnis [residence permit]. Got out in the middle of town looking for the Dorotheergasse, where Marijke had an address she got in Sydney, turned out to be a typical Wiener Coffee House, and so had some beer (Marijke tatsächlich had some coffee, since she can't hold her beer). Later on ended up drinking wine, which combined with the atmosphere in the place following didn't agree with me, and finally managed to throw it up again [outside]. Bless the girls, they kept the makan I ordered and stuck it in my bag. Home, knelt on the Goethedenkmal to pray and tore my pants apart. Slept in an Autobahn layby.

My recollection was that we were some distance from any traffic. It was quite warm, and Leone and Marijke slept out on the ground, while Micky and I slept in the car.

Sunday, 10 June 1973	Wien → Budapest
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My suggestion that Budapest was too near to give a miss met with great enthusiasm, so thither. Gave a Magyar solder a lift do Budapest, but he found capitalistic decadence zum Kotzen and had to get out. To Curso [spelling ?], where I was last year, had a beaut makan. Some bastard has turned my name on the bog wall into a Zeichenstring. Later to a gypsy keller, where the greasy 1st fiddle tried to seduce Marijke, inspiring suppressed jealousy on my part.

Monday, 11 June 1973	Budapest → Frankfurt
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I forget where we spent the night, but...

Feeling rather dirty, so off to look for the city baths. Were we in luck! It seems that Budapest has some of the most impressive baths in the world. I was led through a large area with Turkish baths and large pools to a private bathroom, where I had a bath and then out to meet the girls.

But they didn't come. After quite some time Micky arrived, told me that they were in a sauna, and returned again. I must have had to wait a couple of hours for them.

At the border, car was starting sluggishly, so we pushed it.

There was quite a queue, and the car didn't start well. We would have had to start the car 20 or 30 times, and we weren't sure it would make that. Since the terrain was level, pushing (a few metres at a time) made perfect sense.

Suggestions that it might be on the blink gave us the idea to push it the 2 miles to the border post in Austria, which we did joyfully and singing obscene and appropriate versions of Australian songs. An action to remember - how many people have pushed a car across the iron curtain?

When we got to the other side, a couple of border guards offered to help. They were rather surprised when we just got into the car, started it and drove off.

Friday, 15 June 1973	LB → Heidelberg → LB
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I have some difficulty with this date. On the one hand, I have the entry of 5 June, which was written at the time, and this would have been the first opportunity for it to really happen, but on the other hand Marita was still with me, and everything that happened since 5 June suggests that we had already broken up. Has my memory played tricks on me, and I really broke up with Marita on another occasion?

Off to Heidelberg today with a whole lot of women: Marita, Marijke, Leone and Jatranka, Marijke's flat mate. It proved that Marijke's connection to the play “Man of La Mancha” was her friend Leslie Spears, one of the most obese women I had ever seen. She was playing some part in the play.

It wasn't an easy day. Marita was insanely jealous of Marijke and Leone (not without cause) and when we got home she left me. Jatranka couldn't understand anything we said (in English), and I had to take her to the railway station so that she could return home. I can't recall much of the play except that it was in some building of Heidelberg Castle.

Tuesday, 19 June 1973	LB
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So Marijke and Leone chickened out of the chinese makan I had organised for tonight, which suited me: I had this Ingeborg Röll woman all to myself - and we talked - computers! Promised to try to arrange a visit to the UCT tomorrow.

The UCT was an old tabulator machine (it seems that UCT stands for “UNIVAC Card Tabulator”), something that I didn't know at the time. There was one somewhere in Frankfurt, but in the end I think I never saw it. It's also very difficult to find anything about it online in 2017.

Wednesday, 20 June 1973	LB
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In Marijke's office today, basically looking for her, but immediately reading „Stern“, when in comes a pair of tits, nipples at eye level, very well formed, and proving to belong to Jatranka, Marijke's friend - obviously braless. Approved and discovered she didn't know where she was either. Then to the punch, where Rosetti came and asked what I knew about America, as she hadn't turned up. Proved to be Marijke he was talking about, and ended up driving round town with Jatranka looking for Marijke, who was nowhere to be found, while Jatranka spoke about her absence of bra, and hoped it didn't offend me (!). She seemed more worried that Marijke had spent a dirty day with “him” than her personal safety.

Part of the search ended up at her flat, where she lay down on some cushions in a corner and invited me to join her. In my usual obtuse way, I didn't.

Found her not; when we got back she had rung Rosetti and said she was sick, which news overjoyed Jatranka. Looked for her again at lunch, ended up eating together, which she explained that her tits sagged because of the pill, and she suspected that Marijke was running around with some man. Arranged to look after work; in the meantime, she started to call me “Du”. After work, the same round yet again, but whistling “I'm having a bit tonight”; I invited her round to my place. On this search it eventuated that she thought that Marijke was sleeping with her boyfriend, which whom she lives, this being the main cause of her anger. Finally persuaded her to come round to my place and leave Marijke where she was, and on the way she started asking me about signs of the Zodiac - she is Taurus (27.IV.1951), and thought that went with Waage. Asked her about Marijke (16.IX.46) and she made some pun about Jungfrau [Virgo or virgin], which I did not catch, but was obviously meant to ask whether I had slept with her. Back home - I think this girl thinks she's missing out - and was (predictably) in bed with her within 40 minutes, my first good fuck this year - lasted the best part of an hour.

I don't know why I wrote that. She wasn't nearly as good in bed as Marita, and the whole experience was a little frustrating. I'm left wondering whether there was something selfish about Marita's love-making. It took so long because Jatranka was relatively unresponsive.

Wore out her poor, of late unused, Isabel (cunt), but we spent a very pleasant evening of Zärtlichkeiten - she is experienced enough not to be in a hurry. Back, and found Marijke in bed - was sworn to secrecy to not tell Marijke anything about it. Marijke was pissed off with both of us, and left poor, confused Jatranka even more upset. Promised to ring me on Friday.

Thursday, 21 June 1973	LB ⇄ Babenhausen
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Again to Ellens, picking Marijke and Leslie up, and told Marijke selected excerpts of yesterday, including Jatranka's joke about virgins, which proved not to be such a joke: Marijke is one, and is rather complicated by the fact.

In other words, she had a complex as a result.

I am apparently the first man and only the 4th person she told about it.

Somehow in the evening she got to ride on horse, bareback, first time in 3 years, doing quite well, and on return ended up in each other's arms on the sofa - possibly an earlier session with me in women's clothing - and fast stark naked, thanks to Leslie's insistence ++ to Ellens obvious pleasure, and Leslie's more obvious jealousy. On the way back got even more passionate: this could become something, just as obviously as Jatranka could possibly not. She may be a virgin, but she kisses well. And who knows about the virginity? She wants to get rid of it. And Jatranka looked like being on the horizon when I get frustrated. How about balancing 2 women who know each other? Jatranka is OK - she won't tell Marijke - bat umgekehrt?

Friday, 22 June 1973	LB.
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Marijke took a sickie today, damn her, and didn't find her until 1700, when I was sitting at the Spear's place, having just had a row with Leslie. Off to pick up Jatranka for a driving lesson, and Marijke offered to let me drive to the PX parking lot, where I decided to show off and put the thing into a skid, with the result that the bloody thing tipped over - going slowly on a dead flat surface. Jatranka knocked around, and shocked a bit, and Marijke finding it all vaguely amusing and not at all annoyed. Took them out for a steak after the hospital had verified that Jatranka was all right, and then took Marijke back home, and stayed with her until 0330, during which time she proved she a) was randy, b) was more than a little repressed, poor kid, and c) has the most beautiful tits I have ever seen. Arranged to meet her Sunday. She still has an intact hymen!

Saturday, 23 June 1973	LB.
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Rang up Spears this evening: Marijke not there, or didn't want to talk to me, and Gayle said she (Marijke) didn't want to see me before Monday. Oh Marijke, Marijke, my love, my heart feels broken like not for years, and I've only known you 3 weeks. Don't chicken out now: there's so much ahead of us if you could only überwind your complexes. Very upset, into town, did nothing and came back again.

2330 h +3 par. Ellen's confidence cheers me. There's something about that woman which transcends breeding or her own consciousness: she's done it before, with this work permit jazz, and she might be right again. Oh, the agony of waiting! But if anyone will work a miracle, it will be Ellen. Still, she doesn't know Marijke a) is a virgin or b) on the pill (which, but for Mecky, I would call an impossible combination: in this case it's not for complexion, though). Marijke, you're the first eligible girl since Sue Fortescue - how come your birthday is 16.XI?

That's what I wrote. In fact it's 16.IX, as I knew.

And how come hardened lady-killer I get so uptight about it? I think Jatranka has had 2nd thoughts, but that, despite being previously a bird in the hand, gave me no worry. Oh God, am I making too much of it again?

Sunday, 24 June 1973	LB.
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What a day! I thought I had grown out of the like. Having gestern abend decided that I would under no circumstances visit Marijke today, I got up at about 1100 and went straight into town to find Marijke, who was not there, and so off with intention of pouring out my sorrows to Leone, who, when she appeared at the door, appeared to have come straight from bed, and seemed not in the slightest interested in me or my problems, so off, feeling despised and rejected of men (not too bad; at least you feel in good company), and back home to feel more than ever desolated, made some progress with the Steroanlage, but kept regressing into a state of utter self-pity made worse by the knowledge that I've been such a bastard.

Monday, 25 June 1973	LB.
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She loves me! but she doesn't know it. Oh, Marijke, my love, what wouldn't do for you right now. After a couple of futile attempts to drag her out of bed this morning, finally found her in her office round the 0900 mark, where I discovered that she still loves me; obviously she's been upset, but not to the extent of wanting to do without me. On Saturday she was feeling crook - not, apparently, as the result of the prolonged good-night kiss, but of the accident (oder? Oh Greg, don't get yourself upset about nothing again). Had a talk to Leone, very apologetic for yesterday - what the hell, I'd react the same way. Talked to her about the weekend - bless Leone, she's the only other sane person here. Leone, I've channeled my affections away from you - but why the fuck couldn't you be 8 years younger and eligible?

System Generation course - could have been interesting, but I was feeling crook as hell (delayed shock? Jatranka didn't turn up today, nor even rang in, so Uwe Thyssen), and left for home after the end.

Thursday, 28 June 1973	LB.
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While I've been doing my system generation course, Bernd Doroschan, the Diplominformatiker, has been doing simpler stuff. Advantage: lots of interesting females from UNIVAC customers on the course. Today was the last full day of the course, so they went out to a pub in Sachsenhausen, and Bernd suggested I came along.

Based on my previous experience with this kind of pub—which proved to be valid—and based on Australian tradition, ordered 3 beers, much to the confusion of the waitress. There were three girls from Thyssen Niederrhein, all quite nice and sitting together to my right: Ingrid Schmidt, Ulli Lappe and Doris Pischke. At one point I decided I wanted to kiss one of them. Ingrid: no, thanks. Ulli: no, thanks. Doris: why not?

Took her back alone to her hotel, with a bit of fumbling in the car. After all the big-titted girls I've met this year, Doris is a complete change. Still, she's nice, and she'll be back next week, so made a date for Tuesday.

Saturday, 30 June 1973	LB.
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Now 'tis Saturday, finally my Stereoanlage is complete, and to the Brandenburg 6 I read Hesse's „Demian“, which reminds me of an incident yesterday [Friday]. Herr Essam is to mir gekommen, and asked after my welfare. I offered him a smoke, and he expressed surprise that I smoked - he remember from 2 months ago that I did not : „Ich habe mich sehr intensiv mit Ihrem Fall befaßt“. Is he my Demian? Here sit I, halb betrunken wie Sinclair zu diesem Punkt in der Geschichte, und frage mich: warum hat sich der Essam, der bestimmt viel Wichtigeres zu tun hatte, mit meinem „Fall“ so intensiv befaßt? Is it nothing more than the fact that we both have the same speech deformity? So has the Krefting, but that doesn't seem to have made much difference. It is not as if he is some minderwertiger Typ, but somebody whom I can durchaus respect, and it both puzzles and pleases me that he considers me so important. Must invite him to makan some night and get to know him better. Maybe Marijke will leist mir Beistand bei such an occasion.

Do I want Marijke to come so that she can here Essam praise me, or for moral support?