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| 6214. Guerre 1914. LYON - Les canons allemands place Bellecour |
The image on this postcard is the same as G.072.03
To: Monsieur Gustaf Ekman, Backa, Brålanda, Suède (Sweden)
From: Gerda (Lyon, 31.1.1915)
Lyon d. 31 Jan. 1915. Käre bror! Tack så mycke för brev, som jag just nu fick. Roligt höra från dig. Tack för papperet som du sände. Jag skall tänka på det. Kanske för sent till den 15 Feb. men till april skall jag försöka. Jag har inget hört om vi [?] hade tur eller ej. Kära häls. / syster Gerda
Lyon 31 Jan 1915. Dear brother, many thanks for your letter, which I just received. Good to hear from you. Thanks for the paper that you sent. I will think about it. It may be too late for 15 Feb. but I will try for April. I haven't heard if we [?] were lucky or not. Love, sister Gerda
Nu har vi det kallt här också, 6 gr. kallt idag men ingen snö.
Kanske jag kommer hem is[t]ället för America.
It's cold here too now, -6°C today but no snow.
Maybe I'll come home instead of America.
Kanske jag sände dig detta förut, jag minns ej.
Skall skriva brev sedan. Ditt brev hade tagit 11 dar på vägen hit.
Det skulle vara roligt komma hem till Vestergötland nu igen.
Jag kanske stannar här tills i höst, men då kanske jag kommer hem.
Maybe I sent you this [card] before, I don't remember.
I will write a letter later. Your letter took 11 days to get here.
It would be nice to get home to Västergötland again.
Maybe I'll stay here until autumn, but then maybe I'll come home.
***
...MAYBE...
Six months into the war, and Gerda's messages on this postcard (written all over both the front and the back of the card) are full of "maybes". She is using a card with a war image she has already sent Gustaf before - but she has probably sent so many of those that she can't quite remember to whom.
Like on the previous card from December, the date the 15th is mentioned again - in February, and then also in April, it seems. And again connected with "luck". Gustaf also seems to have sent Gerda some kind of paper (not a newspaper, but maybe some kind of leaflet). Maybe he has asked his sister to consider a joint venture - buying a lottery ticket together with him? And maybe that's what they did back in December as well? - as Gerda also comments here that "I haven't heard if we were lucky or not". With the delivery of post being so unreliable now, Gerda seems to think that anyway it's too late to agree to it for February; but she will think about it for April.
It also seems that Gerda is, or has been, considering going to America. I'm thinking that maybe her current 'travelling lady' employer is American, hoping to be able to go back to America, and if possible take Gerda with her?
On the other hand, Gerda is obviously also longing to see Sweden again, and her brothers and sisters. So she's also thinking that maybe she'll try to go back to Sweden instead of to America.
With the war as background, nothing is certain. Every idea comes with a "maybe"!
***
...KANSKE...
6 månader in i kriget, och ovisshet om framtiden slår igenom i Gerdas meddelanden, skrivna kors och tvärs över både fram- och baksida på vykortet - en bild på de beslagtagna tyska kanonerna i Lyon, som hon vid det här laget har skickat till så många att hon inte längre minns till vem.
Liksom på föregående vykort från 15 december, så refereras här återigen till datumet den 15 och "tur" - närmast i februari, och därefter tydligen i april. Om det handlar om ett lotteri, så verkar det vara ett med dragning varannan månad. Gustaf har tydligen också sänt Gerda något "papper" med sitt brev. Kanske handlar det om lotteriet? Kanske föreslår han att de köper en lott gemensamt? Och att döma av hennes kommentar att hon inte hört "om vi hade tur eller ej", så kanske det även var så med den förra lotten, i december, att de satsat tillsammans?
Det verkar också som om Gerda antingen funderar på, eller har funderat på, att resa till Amerika. Kanske är hennes nuvarande arbetsgivare därifrån, och tänker försöka ta sig tillbaka hem - och eventuellt få med sig Gerda?
Men en längtan hos Gerda att återse hemlandet och sina syskon finns uppenbarligen också. Med kriget som bakgrund är livet fullt av osäkerhet, och inget säkrare besked kan ges än "kanske".
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Linking to Sepia Saturday 602
May the New Year be Happy and Healthy for all of us!
Such interesting family history. You're lucky to have all these postcards.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading. Yes, the more I've explored these cards, the more I feel I'm getting to know these people that I never even met in real life!
DeleteIt's amazing how many questions this card provokes, despite its brevity. To me Gerda's frenetic scrawl and her numerous use of "maybe" suggest stress from anxiety or even agitation. And what could this mysterious "luck" be about? Perhaps it is nothing and she only wrote this card hastily while riding a train or on a tram. But it certainly adds an intriguing dramatic tension to your family story.
ReplyDeleteMike, it seems to be Gerda's habit to write postcards in a hurry when she's too busy to write a whole letter, and she often fills most of the writing space with phrases like saying thanks for a letter or card, hoping the other person is well, and saying she'll write a letter soon. And then she thinks of something else and puts that in PSs upside down and along the sides and on the front and wherever there's some space left... As for "the 15th" this is the third card to her brother on which this date turns up connected with hope of luck... It has to be a regular thing (like a lottery).
ReplyDelete