Posted By Les Conklin on Oct 31, 2016

Summer Fun Write Stuff Contest judges agree, no matter where it is found,  fellowship and learning are worth fostering and preserving.

My Pinnacle Peak Stammtisch

by Robert G. Rogers

We Americans think our language, English, has a lock on all there is for us to say to one another. We’re a bit smug this way.

Truth be known, there’s much that some languages capture more poignantly than ours.

One instance is with the German word “Stammtisch.”

A old-fashioned German Stammtisch.

There is no English counterpart to this noun. It denotes an informal group meeting held on a regular basis, as well as the table at which participants in these meetings sit.

“Will I see you at Stammtisch?” one Bavarian may ask another. “Natürlich…of course I’ll be at Stammtisch.”

Germans, of course, aren’t the only ones who regularly gather around tables to engage in spirited conversation. Stop in the early morning at coffee shops throughout the world and one will find, day after day, the same small cliques convening at the same time, sitting in the same places, sipping coffee, kibitzing about the affairs of the day. Most people outside Germany don’t call their get-togethers a Stammtisch, but that’s what they are.

The uniqueness of the word Stammtisch came to mind as I was challenged to describe a time and place when and at which I most comfortably felt part of a particular group of people.

Of course, I’ve always been a member of groups. I’m a social animal, a part of an ever-evolving number of groups. A list of them could go on and on.

In all likelihood, however, the most fulfilling group with which I’ve been a part is my Tuesday morning Pinnacle Peak-area Stammtisch.

I was an original member of this group, which began a decade ago with 11 other retired men whose backgrounds, like mine, included experience or interests outside the United States. That was our common denominator. Additionally, we all lived near or were members of Pinnacle Peak Country Club, which is where we meet.

We organized as a discussion group affiliated with the Foreign Policy Association’s annual “Great Decisions” program. Our intention was to meet once a week each year for nine weeks to discuss nine subjects designated by the Association for consideration.

One member of our group leads each week’s discussion. The topics are far-ranging and typically include specific countries, specific regions, and particular global challenges.
These sessions are enlightening because of the depth of understanding my colleagues and I gain on world issues. Equally important for me is the personal interaction that occurs in our meetings, the leadership skills exhibited, the wisdom with which my colleagues react to and ask questions about what we learn, and, particularly, how we react to, deflect, or counter differing points of view.

At the conclusion of our first nine-week “Great Decisions” program my colleagues and I realized how much we enjoyed the camaraderie of our group and agreed to continue to meet throughout the year to simply enjoy one another’s company, discuss matters of the day, and, as had become our wont, to retire following our discussion to the nearby Pinnacle Peak General Store for breakfast and more back-and-forth, good-natured banter. We have been following this pattern for the past nine years.

Pinnacle Peak “Great Decisions” Group

A main reason I enjoy this group so much is the extent to which we talk about “things.” For a long time, I have missed the one-on-one talk about real-life thoughts and feelings – subjective sentiments – that, at one point in my life, occurred between a best friend and me. Perhaps I’m speaking of men, particularly, or just myself, but it occurs to me that as we age we lose these close relationships or the proclivity we once had to stare at stars and talk long into the night with another about that which stirs, troubles, and enlivens us.

Don’t get me wrong. My Stammtisch colleagues and I are not sitting around talking about our sex lives or matters extraterrestrial. What we do, however, is challenge each other to voice our feelings about a variety of subjects. In short, we express ourselves aloud, and we permit each other to do so unafraid to be frank, off the wall, a little zany. We’re not judging one another. And so, every Tuesday morning we live a kind of freedom that is missing in the course of our normal workaday schedules.

As a result of this freedom, members of our group have grown close. We’re fraternal not because we signed onto something together, but rather because we’ve chosen to live with one another in a milieu comparable to the confines of comfortable soldier-like trenches.

There are tremendous benefits to taking part in my Tuesday Stammtisch. One has to do with the art of debate. Making one’s point concisely is critical to involvement in my Stammtisch, and this requirement has conditioned me to improve my effectiveness in other deliberative settings. I’ve learned to make points that I want to get across less by thinking them through aloud and more by organizing my thoughts and expressing them as quickly and convincingly as possible. Also, I’ve conditioned myself to hear others out, stay with the train of whatever discussion or conversation is transpiring, and, yes, to not interrupt.

Related Articles

Write Stuff Contest Winners

Robert G. Rogers Wins 2016 Summer Fun Write Stuff Contest Grand Prize   – Published November 2016 issue of The Peak

First “Snowbirds” in the Foothills by Kraig Nelson – Published November Update 2016 issue of The Peak

Rosa of the Desert by Barb Owens – Published December 2016 issue of The Peak

Vanishing Breed by Stephanie Bradley – Published December Update 2016 issue of The Peak

Contest Information

Annual Summer Fun Photo & Write Stuff Contests End Friday, Oct. 21st  – Published October 2016 issue of The Peak