BACK THEN: When I was in the Army, my first assignment to Heidelberg, Germany, was a blessing, but getting a second assignment there was nothing short of a miracle. Heidelberg holds a special place in my heart. I have fond memories of that charming little town nestled along the banks of the Neckar River. Back…
MY MEDICAL EMERGENCY AT 2:00 a.m.
I had a bad habit of eating dinner late at night. And being from New Orleans, spicy seasonings remained a constant companion in preparing my meals. I never eased up on eating spicy foods, even as I got older. Late one night at my home in Germany, I had finished a delicious meal of spicy…
HANNELORE IN MOURNING
A few years ago, during the lively festivities of the Fasching season, Hannelore, a cherished friend and coworker, suffered a profound loss when her father passed away. At the time, Germany was in the middle of Fasching, a carnival frenzy of revelry that precedes Lent. But, this holiday was not the time for Hannelore to…
YOUNG DANIEL: Tutoring a child with ADHD
After serving 22 years in the U.S. Army and enduring tough, challenging deployments in Germany, Bosnia, and Hungary, I retired in Vilseck, Germany, a tranquil Bavarian village in eastern Germany near the Czech border. Vilseck includes Rose Barracks, a sprawling U.S. Army training area. My once fast-paced, hectic military life ended in this serene Bavarian…
GETTING MY LOST WALLET BACK!
I went to Penny Mart, one of my favorite stores in my town. After parking my car, I took my blue wallet out of my purse to get a one-euro coin for a shopping cart. Then, with my blue wallet in hand, I went into the store to shop. As I browsed items in the…
DEFENDING A KKK CARD CARRIER IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY
It was 1991, and at the time, I was a Staff Sergeant and a Counterintelligence Agent in the United States Army. My unit was located in Germany. Job-wise, I had a full plate. I conducted security clearance background investigations, scheduled interviews for security clearances, and wrote intelligence reports. I also investigated security violations and conducted…
THE HOLIDAY SENIOR SOCIAL IN MY TOWN
The mayor of my town, Niedernhausen, Germany, had his staff organize a Christmas social for all the senior citizens in our town and from other towns and villages in the surrounding areas. A few weeks before the event, I received a letter which announced that they would hand out jars of honey to all who…
THE TRAIN CRASH THAT NEVER HAPPENED, PART 1
I must be honest. Life can be a wicked witch. And like me, I am sure you have experienced the best and the worst of it. Occasionally, life has taken the form of an innocent little lamb, luring me into sticky situations. And I was oblivious to impending danger because I was living my life,…
Sharing my Love of Living in Germany 