KORDULA

When I was a kid, age 8 to 12 I would spend every summer vacation in Feistritz an der Drau, a small town in Upper Carinthia. My mother's mother lived there in a small house, a garden with various fruit trees in the back, a small brook running past it and on the other side of the brook, once you crossed a small wooden bridge, there lived my Grand Uncle. He had a carpentry store and a small farm. 
A loving Grandmother, fruit trees in the garden, a brook, a Grand Uncle, the smells of fresh wood, two horses in a stable and some cows. Isn't this close to Paradise for a small boy?

I loved everybody there. But the person I loved most was my Cousin Kordula, the daughter of my Aunt Elsa. 

"Kordi" was five years older than I was and naturally I considered her pretty "grown up".
When you are 10 years of age, a 15 year old is "all grown up", No?

Kordi even then was a very funny girl. I sought her out every chance I got and listened to her tell stories. When Kordi told a story, you just could not stop laughing. She was "a riot."
She knew a hundred or more "Gschtanzln" which are short dialect songs, mostly 4 liners and all funny, some of them a little risque. I learnt a lot of those from her.
As we grew older we met only rarely, both of us having all consuming interests of our own. But now and then, at a birthday celebration of one of our family, I would meet Kordi again. Once, I remember, my brother Sigurd and Kordi were there and double- handedly entertained the whole party. All Assembled were in absolute stitches.

Once I tried to call my sister Inge from Canada, but her line was always busy. Finally I reached her and said: "I've tried to reach you for almost an hour, but got nothing but a busy signal"
"Yes", my sister answered, "for the last hour I've been chatting with Kordi and I have not laughed so much in a long time."

Since 2009 I've been living in Bleiburg, in Lower Carinthia, and Kordi lived in Spittal. This means we were only about 200km from each other. In all this time I saw Kordi but 5 or 6 times and I will always regret this neglect of an old friendship.

Several months ago I visited her for the last time. She had come down with a serious illness which prevented her from swallowing and robbed her of the power of speech. But we still had a good time. I did most of the talking and she used a paper and pencil for her questions or comments.

The illness was not able to rob her of her will to enjoy life nor of her sense of humor.

Well, today, just about an hour ago, I've returned from Kordi's funeral.
She had passed away on 31st July and I am certain she did so with a smile on her face and maybe she still whispered a "Gschtanzl"....

Bertstravels