Continued from Post #2491

Hungarian is one of the most difficult languages to learn, so it only seems logical that Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies, especially No.2 in C-sharp minor, are some of the most difficult piano pieces to perform. They are based on Hungarian folk themes and composed between 1846-1853, one hundred years before The Revolution and later between 1882 and 1885. Magyar rapszódiák are a set of 19 piano solos adapted to orchestral arrangements and have enjoyed widespread popularity in cartoons, most famously in Tom and Jerry’s Academy Award winning short, “The Cat Concerto, and Bugs Bunny’s “Rhapsody Rabbit.” 

“Hungarian Rhapsody” is also a concert film of the British Rock Group, Queen, and their performance at the Nepstadion in Budapest on July 27, 1986, part of the band’s final tour with Freddy Mercury. He sang the Hungarian folk song Tavaszi Szél Vizet Áraszt (Spring Wind Floods Water) to the audience – in Hungarian, sited “as the first song that Hungarians learn and continue to cherish, as part of our culture and identity.” The concert title is a play on the Hungarian Rhapsodies and one of Queen’s most celebrated hits, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” 

Hungary like Austria has a rich tradition of classical music. Franz Liszt was a virtuoso pianist, conductor, composer, and teacher. He’s regarded as one of the greatest pianists of his times (1811-1886), born in the village of Doborján in Sopron County, Kingdom of Hungry, Austrian Empire. He weaved together the themes he had heard in native western Hungary, believed to be folk music at the tempo of verbunkos, gypsy dance, into his compositions. He died in Bayreuth, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire. 

“Two other of Hungary’s famous composers, Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, are known for using folk themes in their music. The Busójárás carnival in Mohács is a major folk music event in Hungary, formerly featuring the long-established and well-regarded Bogyiszló orchestra. Instruments traditionally used in Hungarian folk music include the citera, cimbalom, cobza, doromb, duda, kanászkürt, tárogató, tambura, tekero and ütőgardon.” 

During the era of Communist rule in Hungary (1949–1989) a Song Committee scoured and censored popular music for traces of subversion and ideological impurity. Since then, however, the Hungarian music industry has begun to recover, producing successful performers in the fields of jazz such as trumpeter Rudolf Tomsits, pianist-composer Károly Binder and, in a modernized form of Hungarian folk, Ferenc Sebő and Márta Sebestyén. The three giants of Hungarian rock: Illés, Metró, and Omega, remain very popular. 

“One of the most significant musical genres in Hungary is Romani music, with a historical presence dating back many centuries. Hungarian Romani music is an integral part of the national culture, and it has become increasingly popular throughout the country.” “The Sziget festival on the Obudai Island is one of the largest music and cultural festivals in Europe. More than 1,000 performances take place each year.” 

When it comes to popular songs, let’s logically start with the National Anthem, “Himnusz.” is the national anthem of Hungary. The refrain is from 1823 poet, Ferenc Kölcsey’s prayer, beginning with the words Isten, áldd meg a magyart, “God, bless the Hungarians.” The lyrics were written by Ferenc, a nationally renowned poet, in 1823, and the music by romantic composer Ferenc Erkel in 1844. Since there are 8-verses, I will not elaborate.  

The anthem has experienced its share of politics, beginning just after the First World War when Hungary’s Minister of Culture issued a decree stating that “according to the prayerful nature of the anthem, it can only be given on serious occasions.” Thus, the anthem was banned from being played at sporting events. If it weren’t for sports in the U.S., we would hardly ever hear our anthem. During the communist regime, the anthem was played without text, and a movement began to adopt a new one with non-religious verbiage and a more optimistic message. However, “God Bless the Hungarians,’ somehow survived to be officially adopted as the song of the Third Hungarian Republic in 1989. 

Hungarian pop is the pop music scene of Hungary, and often associated with Rezső Seress’s song, “Gloomy Sunday,” which was covered by numerous artists. The most notable artists include Zsuzsa Koncz, Locomotiv GT, Omega, Karthago, Zsuzsa Cserháti, Kati Kovács, Judit Szűcs, Péter Máté, Neoton Família, and Jimmy Zámbó.  

I also found a website, quora.com, that identified 50 tunes, in no particular order, believed to be what an overwhelming majority of the Hungarian population could hum the words along if forced to remember. I had them translated into English, but they are just as foreign to me:

• “Even they say it does not fit”
• “They load the fire, yet it goes out”
• “Crispy cherries ripen”
• “My boots are new, they are hung on the nail”
• “Once upon a time a prince”
• “Stars, stars, shine beautifully”
• “I went to the fair”
• “Gerencséri Street”
• “Plums fall from the tree”
• “The grapes ripen, bend the cane”
•  
• “Hej The wind blows from the Danube”
• “Graze from the wind”
• “Under the shore”
• “The world burns at a wedge of flowers”
• “Bered lad, load your cart well”
• “Little girl from Komárom”
• “A little piglet volley, volley, vole”
• “Spring wind floods water”
• “Hej Vargan, cooking cabbage”
• “Come with me Anna Molnár”
•  
• “Forest, forest, forest, round forest of Marosszék”
• “Two sprigs of peonies, bent out onto the road”
• “Who does not act at the same time”
• “Chain, chain, lathe chain”
• “Marry cricket”
• “Paul, Kate, Peter”
• “Small ducks bathe”
• “Trench jumped by mosquito”
• “I lost my handkerchief”
• “Hide-and-seek green branch”
•  
• “There is a witch”
• “Hosted by, Alphabet”
• “For the good cavalry soldier”
• “Bridge horse end”
• “My baby is ploughed”
• “Madárka, madárka” (emigration song)
• “Hope Julian, Hope Mariska”
• “The present hussar is doing well”
• “The two girls went to pick up a mirage”
• “By I would go, I on the Tisza ladik”

• “Hey rozmaring, rozmaring”
• “I’m leaving, I’m going”
• “Oh, but I’m sick”
• “Lajos Kossuth said:”
• “Bride, groom, but beautiful both”
• “May the Lord God grant to this farmer”
• “I’m a poor lad”
• “Deep forest violet blossom”
• “Dry lake on wet shore”
• “Where are you going, little rabbit”

Although we weren’t a family of talented musicians, it wasn’t from the lack of opportunity. My parents bought a used piano in West Windsor, New Jersey, and I took lessons for about four years. The piano was eventually passed along to Jill and I when we moved to Shamong. Both Adam and Neil took lessons and still play today. We gave the piano to Neil after he bought a home in Southampton, New Jersey, so that all three grandchildren could continue the tradition. My parents did like to sing and dance, as I’m sure they did in the comfortable setting of the Hungarian Club and in the comfort of their friends’ homes. They enjoyed listening to music and would gather together with friends to sing some of the familiar Hungarian favorites. 

The Phoenixville Hungarian Club, although I rarely got to go inside, had the bar downstairs and dining room on the main floor. There was a small stage and a piano in the corner, as I recall, and loud voices echoing up the stairway as the bar crowd talked over each other. My mom always liked to dress up, so this was her opportunity to let loose. Hungarians are good at that! 

My dad loved gypsy inspired music and hired an authentic band for our wedding. It was a group that he would go see when he was working in New York City. I remember our trip back to Hungary in May of 1981. Jill was five months pregnant with Adam when she met my godfather, Kalmar, for the first time. My dad got up from our restaurant table and summoned the gypsy band to play for us. He requested some old favorite Hungary songs and some Mozart in between. He was definitely in his element, as the band played on. “Can I have this dance, Jill?” 

Wikipedia research pointed out that “some well-known Gypsy music styles include Flamenco (Spain), Manouche Jazz (France) and Balkan Brass (Eastern Europe). Each style showcases the diversity and adaptability of Gypsy music, blending local traditions with the rich musical heritage of the Romani people.” 

Dad explained that most of the Gypsies in Europe are Roma (Romani), the country’s largest ethnic minority believed to have migrated from Northern India to Hungary in the 10th or 11th century. They reportedly make up about 3.2 percent of the total population. To call them “Hungarian Gypsies” is considered a racial slur. 

It’s disturbing to note that following Hungarian independence in 1919, the Hungarian government carried out a series of anti-Roma policies. In addition, tens of thousands of Hungarian Romani were murdered by the Nazis, in conjunction with the Hungarian authorities. 

My dad saw their music as magical (majiks), citing artists like Kesha, Neon Hitch, Cher Lloyd, Jerry Mason, and Django Reinhardt. Most of us associate them with tarot cards, crystal balls, fortune-telling tents, and maybe even witchcraft. From early on, the Romani have certainly been connected with singing, dancing, and acting. Literature is full of stories of their magical arts. Regardless of how magical they may be, they are very much misunderstood.

To be Continued…

Continued from Post #2487

Mom and dad moved to North Fort Myers in 2000 where they purchased a new house in a gated community (Herons Glen). They loved the Clubhouse, and my dad was especially fond of the heated pool. That dump truck must have seemed like a bad dream, considering all the luxuries they enjoyed in life. 

Mom had also purchased a house near Jill and I in New Jersey, a retirement community, where they would fly up for the summers, so we’d see them quite often. 

Dad was getting itchy to do business again, after 10-years of retirement and ended up buying 8 properties on intercoastal canals in Florida after the housing market collapse. He established a company and worked with a builder over the years to construct 3 homes that he sold for a profit. He also sold the rest of his property investments in later years. 

At some point dad convinced Emmi to move down to Florida. She settled about a half-hour north of us in Port Charlotte. They were both long time loyalists to the Smirnoff brand of vodka. Manci, Miki and Emmi visited each other during the course each week. They enjoyed each other’s company and had “kicsi (a little vodka), and bor (wine) here and there” when they got together to reminisce. 

Jill and I would also fly down to Florida and visit them as often as we could, Mom would always be extremely happy and in her element cooking up a storm of al the great Hungarian dishes for us. They liked to eat early, by 4pm, and if we were on the road and got back late she would be upset at us. 

I was honored to celebrate their lives with friends and family on April 14, 2018. My son Adam, at age 36, had prepared a video, pictures set to music, of their lives. It brought back many memories of my parents, their flight to freedom, and the opportunities that they gave me. These were my closing remarks:

“Mom and dad had a wonderful and full life always appreciating the freedom and opportunities this country offered. While not without hardship, they always managed to come out stronger and move forward. We miss them both very much. Special thanks go to two very special people, particularly during the last five years of dad’s life.” 

“Inna Piper was my dad’s caregiver ever since he moved back to the house in the fall of 2013. Inna provided excellent care for a ‘tough cookie,’ like my dad. She learned how to cook many Hungarian dishes from the “Master Chief,” and faithfully escorted him to the pool, doctor appointments, and, of course, to monthly visits with the German butcher. AND…” 

“To Jill, my wonderful wife, for all her help, support and patience throughout. Most importantly, for putting up with a ‘hot headed’ Hungarian husband, at times.” 

Rest in Peace, 

MOM 3/15/2013 – 87 Years old 

DAD 7/31/2017 – 89 Years old

To Be Continued

Continued from Post #2483

Dad left RCA in 1968 for a VP job in NYC with a man named Norman who owned a small publishing company. I can’t remember his last name. We moved to West Windsor (15 Darvel Dr.) and dad would take the train from Princeton Junction to NYC. 

On several occasions my mom would get a call to pick my dad up in Trenton because he missed his stop. I wonder why? Could it have been the bar car or the taverns in Trenton? 

Mom through the years became a “wire woman”, who soldered components onto computer circuit boards. She took a job with Base Ten in the Trenton area and really enjoyed working there. She also helped my dad’s company solder the AW computer boards in the later years. 

I attended Princeton High School for four years, where I ran the 400-yard and 800-yard dashes and played basketball. I tried to live up to my “Speedy” nickname, but I was but an average athlete. My two sons, Adam and Neil, became great medium and distance runners thanks to their Hungarian genes and desire to escape from anyone that was chasing them. 

We continued going to Phoenixville as often as possible, especially when there were events at the Hungarian Club. The club always remained the main connection between their past and current lives. It allowed them to bond with other Hungarians, and probably was a safe place to practice their English and talk about what was going on in their native land. There were affordable meals served and a friendly bar. It was always the center of their lives. 

After graduating from high school in 1971, I went back to Hungary for the second time and visited with my godfather and other relatives, including my mom’s divorced middle sister Kati and her two sons, Tibi and Lazsi that never left Hungary. Tibi’s two sons, Peter and Gabi, now live together in London. Judzsi, the youngest sister, and her husband Miki Sr. escaped from Hungary to Toronto, Canada and raised a son, Kis Miki. 

The trip back to Budapest was a graduation gift from my parents and was planned for eight weeks so I could also see some of Europe. My best friend from high school, Bob Woodside, planned to join me on this adventure, but did not expect to find me in a Budapest hospital having my appendix removed. I was once again fortunate to have Kalmar Laszlo’s godfatherly guidance, who somehow found an English-speaking surgeon to perform my operation. He was always more like a second father to me, stepping in as the primary male figurehead, particularly when I was separated from my real father for those four long years. His first wife has passed away since I left Budapest for America, but he remarried to a woman named Elizabeth and became a stepfather to her two daughters. They were planning a trip to Dubrovnik and wondered if we wanted to join them. Regardless, he was once again there in a time of need to rescue me from a difficult situation. 

My parents of course were worried back in The States, so my father made the long flight to faithfully be by my side in recovery. He had also decided, even before this emergency, to have us share a car with his cousin, Edith, in Munich. We agreed to split the $2,000 cost of purchasing a used, red VW Beetle, so we would have a vehicle to tour Europe. The car would then stay with her when we returned home. I flew into Munich and picked up the car keys from Edith. Part of the deal was that I would come back to Munich and pick up her son, Rudy, for the last two weeks of the trip. I started to make my way to Budapest. However, on the fast-moving Autobahn, the 4-cylinder engine suddenly became three. 

After my time in Hungary, I returned with Bob, and picked up Rudy as we headed towards Venice, Italy for starters. Rudy wanted to make too many stops for food and museums, so he quickly became a hinderance. After several arguments, we gladly dropped him off at the Venice train station, never to be seen again by the two of us. Bob and I caught a ferry to Split, before driving the winding roads to Dubrovnik in search of my godfather and his wife. 

The two of us wandered from campground to youth hostel on our limited budget. We never did find my godfather. The car limped its way over the mountainous pass, and we soon realized that another slow-moving passenger car, an older Fiat, was giving us hand signals to assist in navigating our way through the truck traffic on the twisty, single-lane, highway along the coast. They were a newly-wed couple and turned out to be very friendly, so we stopped and had lunch with them in Split– their treat – a step up from the usual bread, salami, and cheese diet that provided our inexpensive, daily nutrition. We were no longer Hungry in Hungary – or in this case, Yugoslavia. 

We somehow got the VW back to the ferry stop in Venice and then back to Munich. My father’s cousin was disappointed in us for both abandoning her son Rudy and damaging the car’s engine. We flew out of Munich for home. I would be next headed to Air Defense Artillery School in El Paso, where I would train for 3-months on handheld, heat-seeking rockets. It was good to see Jill again after all this time apart. Our relationship was getting more serious. She was about to graduate from Montclair State in New Jersey with a Physical Education degree. 

I joined Army ROTC during my sophomore year at Rutgers. Junior year I spent at least six weeks at Ft. Bragg for basic training, then six more in El Paso. They tried to send me to both Turkey and Germany as an Air Defense Munitions Officer, but Jill refused to go with me. Finally, my superiors agreed to Wilkes-Barre, North Carolina. In all, I spent two years in the Service and four years in the Reserves. 

Around 1974 my dad and Chuck Welch, who I call “the technical genius,” started AW Computer Systems (Ambrus and Welch) with the help of Louis Nemeth, Sr. getting them their first project with Basco. My dad had met Chuck when they both worked at RCA in Cherry Hill, while Mr. Nemeth knew the head of Basco, a fellow Hungarian, and went so far as to arrange for AW to use the available space above their jewelry store at 818 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia for the initial offices. The Basco Showrooms thus became the market for AW’s primary product, a computer system that allowed clerks to tell a customer instantly whether the wanted item was in stock, complete the sales transaction, and send an electronic packing slip to a bank of printers in the warehouse. 

In 1975, Mom and Dad bought their dream house in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Dad always said that someday he wanted to purchase a house in this neighborhood that, if you’ll remember, was part of his surveying job when he first moved to Phoenixville. It was the perfect home for all of us, including the “In-law House” for Granny who was ready for some privacy and personal space. She particularly enjoyed the peaceful surroundings where she could do yard work and garden. The famous Valley Forge National Memorial Arch was within walking distance. Early the next year, I went on active duty with the Army, and soon moved to Wilkes-Barre, North Carolina. 

To start my computer career, I went to work part time at AW as an overnight programmer with plans to settle down. Jill Laabs and I got married on July 9, 1977. We first met at Great Gorge Mountain Ski Resort that is currently known as Mountain Creek Resort. It’s the largest ski area in New Jersey. I was in the bar with two buddies and offered to buy her a Whiskey Sour, not realizing that her boyfriend was still out on the mountain. She told me where she went to school and that she resided in Bone Hall but didn’t give me her last name. I looked up several Jills at Montclair State before I found her. Soon after, we went on a double date to a Rutgers basketball game and out for pizza. 

Within a year or two after founding AW, my dad was finding unprecedented success. He and mom had the pool and landscaping added with a heated Jacuzzi. Dad always loved the water and liked to swim. Mom liked to get her toes wet and sunbathe. I was officially released from active duty, while Jill and I rented a place in Sherwood Village, Eastampton, New Jersey. I also accepted a night Computer Operator job with Basco, my dad’s AW client, who then hired me as a programmer in 1979.

With a steady job, Jill and I bought our first house at 22 Stonegate Drive in Eastampton and began to plan a family. A son, Adam Ambrus, was born on September 5,1982, but just a year later, in the Spring of 1983, our family moved to Wembley, England, so I could assist, train, and learn from our AW client, MFI Furniture Centres, Ltd. Their School of Advanced Programming issued this report (SERIOUSLY): 

THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT P. AMBRUS HAS COMPLETED HIS INITIAL TRAINING PERIOD AND HAS PASSED WITH MERIT IN THE FOLLOWING: 

USE OF ENGLISH: GRADE B (WOULD HAVE BEEN GRADE A BUT INSISTED ON CALLING PAVEMENTS SIDEWALKS. 

DRIVING: GRADE C (WOULD HAVE BEEN GRADE A BUT PERSISTED ON DRIVING ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE SIDEWALK).

DRINKING: GRADE B (WOULD HAVE BEEN GRADE A BUT INSISTED ON PUTTING ICE IN HIS BEER).

PROGRAMMING: UNABLE TO JUDGE – NEVER SAW ANY CODE.

MAKING FRIENDS: GRADE A+ (COULDN’T BE BETTER, WILL BE MISSED BY ALL HIS FRIENDS AT MFI).

PROF. C. MILLER

PRINCIPAL LETCHERER 

As the “Report Card” indicates, Hungarians like me are very friendly and gregarious. To know us is to love us! 

Jill, Adam, and I returned to Eastampton in the Spring of 1984. Actually, since Jill was pregnant, there were really four of us on the flight back. At last, on U.S. soil, I was able to drive on the RIGHT side, just like they do in Hungary. Neil Ambrus, our second son, was born on October 11, 1984. Another U.S. citizen! 

1982 was a tough year for AW Computer Systems. A major change in the industry had dried up business while prospects grew limited. My dad was quoted in The News stating, “For six months we didn’t make a sale to anyone. We almost couldn’t get anyone on the phone. It was a real futility around here.” The event that nearly put them out of business was the sale of the Basco chain to Best Products, Inc. However, my dad had faced adversity all his life and within a few years secured a contract with Montgomery Ward and had negotiations underway with H.H. Macy & Co and the Marshall’s Inc. division of Melville, Corp. He had once again made a great escape. 

By the mid 80’s, AW had established itself in the Point of Sale (POS) retail industry as a vendor and had grown this operation to more than 40 employees. Best Products ended up buying Basco and 36 percent of AW. Most of my dad’s time was spent growing the AW customer base as well as our product base. He retired at age 62 in 1990. 

In the late 1980s, mom and dad also bought a place in South Beach, Miami, on the 16^th floor of a high rise and used it for 10 years. They enjoyed it for the great beaches, restaurants and of course the Florida weather, but it became very expensive when AW started to again have troubles. Our family of four moved to 7 Princeton Drive, Shamong, New Jersey. 

With dad’s retirement, the company was having difficulty adapting to the changes in the retail industry. Without Nicholas to “keep Chuck in check,” the company put too much focus on vision technology. In fact, experts were hired from the University of Pennsylvania. Chuck Welch’s vision was to build a self-serve check-out system, like what we see today in major retail outlets, but the idea was a few years premature. He began to experiment with the Winn-Dixie chain of 1200 stores. However, identifying products and avoiding substitution tricks by using color cameras to scan rather than weigh items to be purchased put costs out of line. In retrospect, less expensive black & white cameras would have sufficed. It’s complicated but not quite as difficult as trying to escape from Communist-occupied Hungary! 

At that time, AW was located at 9000A Commerce Parkway in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. A brochure, identifying IBM and Microsoft as “partners” detailed what the company called “Vision Technology.” The cover page stated the following:

“The Checker Productivity Analyzer System (CPA) is a real time security system that protects supermarkets against losses due to theft and accuracy at checkout. It is designed to be in constant communication with the POS system, “listening to” register transactions as they are sent over the register loop. Scan or keyed item information is used to obtain product descriptions known to the system. Visual images of products are captured by cameras at the check stand and converted to a form that enables comparison. When the system determines there is a mismatch between the camera data and data base representations of the product descriptions, an event is alarmed.” 

Chuck was all about technology and didn’t have the business sense of my father, so AW eventually terminated operations on March 10th, 1998. Sadly, it also severed their friendship. 

Without a connection to AW, I began to seek other opportunities. In January of 1998, I became System Manager for Pep Boys. The boys were in their teens, so Jill began a career in Special Education. In 2004, I began to consult as a project manager, made management stops at Bearing Point, AC Moore, and finally landed at WAWA as IT QA Lab Coordinator. As you can see, It was a steady climb up the ladder of success from AW to WAWA! I retired ten years later, with plans to continue consulting for a few more years. In 2022, we moved to the resort community, Islandwalk, in Venice, FL, while keeping our “second home on wheels” in a R,V. storage facility. 

With the help of a neighbor, I finally got around to telling this incredible story, seven years after my father passed away. It’s interesting to recount how we followed in their footsteps from Budapest to New Jersey, the surrounding states, and ultimately Florida.

To Be Continued