Re: Life must be good in Germany

Posted by Mark - IN. on January 04, 2012 at 18:46:44 from (98.213.183.6):

In Reply to: Life must be good in Germany posted by John in La on January 04, 2012 at 16:57:46:

John,

I was stationed there from 1984 through 1985, would have been 1986 but saved 3 months leave and left the Army on terminal leave. When I left Ft. Hood, TX, is no way I wanted to go to Germany. When I got to Germany, I loved it. I was there when there was still a West and East Germany, and a West and East Berlin. At that time, it was 4 Duetzmarks to 1 U.S. Dollar, and since our Army (government) checks were in U.S. Dollars, we were doing pretty well over there. I had an apartment on the economy (downtown Mannheim) that I was paying $100 U.S. Dollars for each month, with our government picking up additional amounts for through COLA and something else, but I forget now. I was dating a very nice and pretty widow almost twice my age that took care of just about everything that I needed taken care of. We visted much of Europe, but not the communist countries because although I could have, like my native Poland, I would have had to surrender my top secret security clearance afterwards, and that just wasn't worth it to me, especially since I had never met or talked to any of my first generation cousins in Poland, if I had gone to visit them, I wouldn't have known if I was actually meeting them or a government plant playing them, me. The whole time all of that was going on and I was living the time of my life, on a daily basis I was reading story after story in one of our Times, Army or Air Force about law after law being written back home in America of my fellow Americans losing liberty after liberty, at the same time in Germany, they were building their angers and might to TEAR DOWN THAT WALL, which they did, after I left.

There I was in Germany, watching my fellow Americans losing rights, freedoms, and liberties, the whole time that I was watching Germans making strides to gain everything lost back home, AND as I was getting ready to leave, ETS from the Army, I had ITT courting me to stay there working for them maintaining some very sophisticated communications equipment as a GSA or GSE, "Government Service...something or other". I was going to do it too. Single American guy making major $$$ in Germany and loving it, but there was one problem. My three years of built up leave meant that I hadn't visted or seen my family in three years as well. I told ITT, they had a deal, AFTER I went back home to America to see my family. I came back home to Indiana, saw my family and friends that I hadn't seen in years and fell in love with home and them because we still had more freedoms than Germany. Do we now? After becoming so complacent and used to being lazy and fat and not having to fight or scrounge for much since most is or was available to us just by walking out the door, I don't know that we are as free anymore. Maybe we are, and maybe we aren't, but I do still have my family and friends, and no one in DC will ever take that away from me, unless its over my dead, cold body.

Much good luck to you and your family, and if you can ever get a chance to visit them, do it while they are there and can show you around. Spend a week trying to learn to speak German first, and when confronted by Germans in Germany, do your best to try and speak their language in their nation to them, and you would surprised at how well they will begin speaking English to you because they will be greatful that you will have enough respect for them to try, like me, you will no doubt butcher their language, which will be more than they can take, so they will say "En Aglaise bitte...", to which you will ask, "Vo es derbanhauf, der gasthouse, ein dopplebach, and der hot chicks?". Do it in the Summer time when you can stroll around the lakes. You will be simply amazed at the beautiful sites around the lakes, in public. Just beautiful, trust me. If you're married, don't take the wife on those strolls. Trust me on that too.

Good luck, and Happy New Year.

Mark

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