No matter what ailed you, a small glass of schnapps would take care of it at once. This particular remedy was so good my grandfather would frequently take the cure even before there was anything wrong with him.

My grandmother had a picture of herself as a close-lipped, silent, reserved individual without curiosity, who never asked personal questions. Actually, of course, she was a talkative, jolly, interminably curious woman, who loved people, and who enjoyed the personal details of their lives almost as much as they did themselves.