Religious Irreverence and White Asparagus

In May of 1973  I left everything I knew and was comfortable with and boarded a plane bound, indirectly, for Munich, Germany. 

As this was well before cell phones, Skype, and email, to finalize the details of my arrival I went to the home of one of my good friends in Los Angeles.  He was Jewish and his mother’s family had been decimated by the Nazis.  But she spoke German and was able to confirm my trip details by phone. I boarded the flight with confidence that my boyfriend would indeed, meet me in Munich.

The plane landed in Paris and for some reason there was a screw up with my connecting flight.  This resulted in me being upgraded to first class on Air France.  I still remember the meal that included aspic and liqueurs.  The man next to me was intent on pointing out the Starnberger See and other Munich landmarks. 

My first night in Germany was spent in a Catholic rectory surrounded by priests.  One smoked a cigarette with his thumb and forefinger (and we all know what that means.) I was in Regensburg for the summer before heading to graduate school in Stockholm.

Early summer was in full Bavarian bloom and one day we drove out into the countryside for a meal. It was Christi Himmelfahrt---ascension.  Although my grandfather was a noted minister, but not Catholic, this holiday had passed me by.  I’m afraid that the visual I got of Jesus farting up to Heaven ( Himmel) was quite irreligious.  I still find the name of the holiday amusing.  Call me irreverent.

We stopped at a small inn and ordered lunch.  I had never heard of white asparagus, let alone eaten it.  It was quite special.  Every time I see it in a store, I buy it and remember that day.  But it’s never quite as good as it was that first time.  I have heard the same about heroin.

One day, many years later in my 20th Century America class, I was using white asparagus as an example of something that was a rarity and would be priced higher. Supply and demand.  The next day one of my favorite students brought  a gift jar of white asparagus that she'd found in her kitchen.