May 26thEric and Amy organized a picnic dinner in the window with Aunt Pat tonight. Pizza was ordered and we sat outside and chatted with her as she lay in bed. She is getting weaker, sleeping more and requesting more morphine.
I thought this very apropos considering Aunt Pat lived in Germany and is half Swedish. A very popular informal German expression is "Alter Schwede!" (Old Swede!).
The meaning of Alter Schwede is an "old friend" or "old chap" (for the Brits amongst you…). When Americans say "Hey Buddy!" to a friend, Germans might for instance say "Na, alter Schwede!".
Swedes have apparently earned their reputation as good friends. The expression Alter Schwede first occurred in the 17th century and is related to the Thirty Years' War. After the end of the war, Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg (elector of the Holy Roman Empire) recruited war-proven Swedish soldiers as instructors for his army. They mostly held the rank of sergeants as they were very experienced in tough military exercise (drilling). Because of that, they were soon referred to as "the old Swedes", which explains the described meaning of Alter Schwede as a buddy/friend.
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| Eric Friedland playing cribbage with his good friend "Alter Schwede" and brother-in-law Uncle Herb (Marion Cronquist's husband.) A game of cribbage was always going on when the two were together. Tom and Pat are hanging out with them at the picnic table. |
To all her 'Alter Schwedes', thank you for the phone calls, emails and visits. You mean the world to her!
Betsy xo
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