Cornelia Thorspecken and her daughter Nini came from Germany to visit the Thorspecken’s of America. Terry and I met Cornelia in Germany when Nini was just a baby. I had done a boat load of family history research at the New York Public Library and found the boat manifests for Dr. Augustus Thorspecken who arrived in America in 1854. He left Germany from the port in Bremen, so I searched for modern day Thorspecken’s there. I got in contact with Herbert Thorspecken who was about the age of my dad, and he sent me all the family history notes he had. Herbert was my cousin, and we were related because Dr Augustus left while another brother, stayed in Germany. Herbert was a descendant of the brother who stayed and I’m descended from the Doctor who left. Terry and I visited every living Thorspecken we could find in Germany including Cornelia. Facebook made it easy for Cornelia to do the same in America.
The biggest adventure on the drive up to Blue Spring (2100 W. French Avenue Orange City, FL) was getting gas for Cornelia’s rental car. Cornelia expressed her concern that she couldn’t remember her code for her credit card. The jerk behind the counter gave her a hard time. We drove across the street and the charming Indian clerk asked Cornelia about Germany and explained what her own name meant. It was a good lesson in how intolerance and a power hungry idiot can be quickly out shined by a caring, compassionate and fun clerk.
In Blue Spring, there were a couple of Manatees in the spring. Now that it is so much colder, the Manatees return to the spring in hoards or is it herds? No, actually a group of manatees is called an aggression, which makes little sense since these graceful mammals are never aggressive. Rather aggressive humans are endangering manatees by ripping through peaceful waters with power boats that then cut open the backs of manatees with their props. Most every manatee I have ever seen had multiple lacerations and scars. The manatees return to Blues Spring when it is cold because the spring water is always a balmy 72 degrees as it rises from the earth.
On this sunny day there was a gaggle of humans sunning themselves on the lawn. No a group of humans must be a horde, a huddle, or a crowd. Anyway it was a relaxing afternoon that gave me a chance to learn more about my German cousins. The first thing Nini wanted to do in Orlando was find a Taco Bell. Terry and I were glad to oblige, but its kind of sad that this is the culture that the rest of the world expects from America.
