LIEFC Christmas Party
By Gottfried Dulias and Dianna Popp

Christmas Parties always seem to lift my spirits. There are a once a year opportunity to be together with familiar faces as well as being fortunate to make new acquaintances. However, this time I was even more enthusiastic attending these events that I was in former years. That’s because this was my opportunity to finally be able to tell my friends and acquaintances that now I was indeed writing the book that they had been encouraging me to do so for many years. I also invited Dianna, the co-author, to accompany me as my date as well as being an unofficial Public Relations Representative.

Sunday morning December 14th, snow started falling about nine in the morning. We feared that the party with the Early Fliers Club would be cancelled as the snow rapidly accumulated. However, because everything was prepaid and a contract was involved, the group was not able to cancel. It was a done deal. We allowed plenty of time to drive to the Bavarian Inn in Lake Ronkonkoma. Cars were skidding to the right and left. A few emergency vehicles were zooming around with flashing lights and sirens. We proceeded with caution as we observed that this appeared to be something like a road test to see which vehicles could withstand the most hazardous conditions because, at that time, nothing had been plowed. But, we arrived safely after navigating through fog as we approached the lake area.

We made it and the party began. Hot hors d’oeuvres were served followed by a fresh fruit cup, salad and then the entrée of beef, chicken or salmon. Entertainment was also provided. The DJ’s were called Frankie B’s. They played some golden oldies with many songs I recognized. A singer was expected but she cancelled due to the weather. But it was a great party anyway. There also was a raffle, so Dianna and I made sure to buy quite a few chances.

Listening to the music in the background, I observed that people were starting to get up to dance. Well, because I wear a hearing aid, many times the music just sounds like a lot of noise and static to me. But when some slow ones came along, I asked Dianna to dance. She asked me where I learned to dance. I told her my sisters taught me after I returned from Russia. She said that in Europe, when someone asks you to dance it is usually polite to accept and dance a set of three dances. So after the first slow dance, we were the only couple that remained on the dance floor for the song that followed. After our dance, we did not stay on the floor for a third song.

So, despite the weather, everyone was having a great time. It started to rain as was predicted and the rain began to wash away the snow. So as fast as it came, it was almost as fast as it went. As the party was coming to a close, it was then time for the raffle prizes. They had many nice prizes which included wine, wrapped coins, poinsettia plants and books titled: Pioneers of Aviation. At the first drawing, Dianna won. She went to make her selection and was asked to pick for the next winner. This went on for a few minutes until I was called. Then Dianne was called for a second time and they said the "Lady in Red" because she was wearing a red dress. Then, I won a second time and then, after a few minutes, "Lady in Red" again. So that really turned out to be quite a party, quite a dance, and a quite a happy ending for an otherwise dreary day. A great time and most memorable day was had by all. (Gottfried Dulias was a German Luftwaffe pilot. Shot down, he was captured by the Russians and held prisoner for three years after the war ended.)

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© 2004 The Long Island Early Fliers Club, P.O. Box 221, Bethpage, NY 11714-0221 • info@longislandearlyfliers.org