I thought I would share this, since I've always thought it was a very interesting encounter. I remember these guys every year on the anniversary of the Bonfire collapse. I was studying Spanish in Antigua, Guatemala in the fall of '99, my mandatory semester abroad that I needed in order to graduate with an International Studies degree. The news hit me pretty hard when I visited an Internet cafe the morning after the collapse. I skipped class that day and sat in the Internet cafe for hours. I learned later that day that a new friend of mine had lost his roommate in the collapse. My host family had heard about it, and knew that A&M was my school, and tried to talk to me about it. It was impossible to explain the significance of Bonfire in a foreign language, but they understood that it was a real tragedy. I eventually wandered down to Bavaria, my favorite local establishment, and got proper drunk.
Bavaria was a German hotel/restaurant/bar run by Klaus and Hartmut. They were obsessive "gridiron" (their term for NFL) fans. They had a dish with DirecTV and ESPN access (it was 1999), so they knew about the Aggies and had seen what happened. They fed me beers and talked to me for hours that night. They actually knew a little bit about Bonfire, and had an affinity for the state of Texas, so they always took kindly to me. The next week, they opened the bar early for me, I skipped class again, and we watched the Bonfire game together. Those big German bastards were high-fiving me and really getting into it. It was an awesome experience, to watch that game with them. We were all going fvcking apeshit when we won.
That was a great memory.
About a week or two later, as my time abroad was nearing an end, something unexpected happened. A group of older Germans had arrived to spend a few days at the hotel, and they were old friends of Klaus and Hartmut. They were pounding steins of beer and getting drunk, then started singing and including me in it, being very gregarious, boisterous, and friendly to me. Klaus pulled me aside and talked to me privately and let me know that they were going to start singing Hitler songs. He told me that I was welcome to stay, but that he didn't want to make me uncomfortable. I politely told him that I was about to leave anyway, and that I wasn't offended. I just wanted to get my ass out of there at that point.
Klaus was probably in his early 40s at the time, so he would have been born in the 50s. Hartmut was almost certainly in his 70s, so he would have been born in the 1920s. Hartmut went away twice while I was in Antigua, for a week each time. I was told he was "surfing" in Costa Rica and in Chile. Klaus was the friendlier of the two, by far, and was married to a Guatemalan woman. His kids had dark skin and huge blue-green German eyes. He was always very kind and an excellent host. I never asked what his relationship to Hartmut was (I figured Hartmut was either a father or a mentor), but Hartmut would have certainly been a member of Hitler Youth, and could have possibly served in WWII. I never went back to see them again, just figuring it was for the best, and that they would get the message.
So, whenever I remember the Bonfire collapse, I remember that Nazis helped me get through it a little more easily.
Bavaria was a German hotel/restaurant/bar run by Klaus and Hartmut. They were obsessive "gridiron" (their term for NFL) fans. They had a dish with DirecTV and ESPN access (it was 1999), so they knew about the Aggies and had seen what happened. They fed me beers and talked to me for hours that night. They actually knew a little bit about Bonfire, and had an affinity for the state of Texas, so they always took kindly to me. The next week, they opened the bar early for me, I skipped class again, and we watched the Bonfire game together. Those big German bastards were high-fiving me and really getting into it. It was an awesome experience, to watch that game with them. We were all going fvcking apeshit when we won.
That was a great memory.
About a week or two later, as my time abroad was nearing an end, something unexpected happened. A group of older Germans had arrived to spend a few days at the hotel, and they were old friends of Klaus and Hartmut. They were pounding steins of beer and getting drunk, then started singing and including me in it, being very gregarious, boisterous, and friendly to me. Klaus pulled me aside and talked to me privately and let me know that they were going to start singing Hitler songs. He told me that I was welcome to stay, but that he didn't want to make me uncomfortable. I politely told him that I was about to leave anyway, and that I wasn't offended. I just wanted to get my ass out of there at that point.
Klaus was probably in his early 40s at the time, so he would have been born in the 50s. Hartmut was almost certainly in his 70s, so he would have been born in the 1920s. Hartmut went away twice while I was in Antigua, for a week each time. I was told he was "surfing" in Costa Rica and in Chile. Klaus was the friendlier of the two, by far, and was married to a Guatemalan woman. His kids had dark skin and huge blue-green German eyes. He was always very kind and an excellent host. I never asked what his relationship to Hartmut was (I figured Hartmut was either a father or a mentor), but Hartmut would have certainly been a member of Hitler Youth, and could have possibly served in WWII. I never went back to see them again, just figuring it was for the best, and that they would get the message.
So, whenever I remember the Bonfire collapse, I remember that Nazis helped me get through it a little more easily.
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