newspaper and frost

a newspaper and frost The winter of 1947 was very cold, the country was exhausted, the German army that had given employment to civilians, had surrendered and taken the train home Mother was not one for sitting still, she secured two newspaper rounds, I was her little helper, so she could keep an eye on me. In a courtyard, a man sat on the stone steps into his home, he sat very still and had ice on his eyebrows I called Mother, and she said the man was dead of frost She left to find a shop with a telephone and, a few people had phones back then. The police came, rang the doorbell, and a woman opened the asked her if she knew this man, she did, it was her husband, he had been drunk, she wouldn't let him in Well, he is sober, they said and carried him into a green van that still has military markings on it. Why didn't they put the man by the fireside so he could thaw and come back to life? I asked, my mother. She said, the man's heart had frozen too and his soul had left the body What is a soul, do I have one? I asked Yes, you have, like when you tell me lies, but insist it is true and when you go to bed, the inner voice tells you you had lied, if you ignore that voice your heart will will be hard and you will end up like this dead man Mother was not a pedagog We're not a religious household, but Mother said Jesus was the first outspoken socialist, the priest didn't like him and complained to the Roman consul, who had Jesus put down The consul's name was Pontious Pilatus they regretted his decision and when on a skiing holiday in the Swiss Alps threw himself off a cliff what do I know? She also said, Santa Claus, was an errand boy for big business, making us poor, buying what we didn't need.