Today I met a man, German, Atheist, WWII survivor...

Today I went for a run at Lewisville.  It is my favorite place to run and over time I have come to recognize some familiar faces but familiar or not everyone smiles and waves as we pass each other.  We are all there to exercise so no time for anything more than a smile and a wave as we pass each other, me with my red face and sweaty brow...

Today as I was on my second lap I noticed a tree had fallen over the path since the 15 min or so I had been there.  Just after noticing that I looked up to see a nice looking older gentlemen walking up from the opposite direction and I commented that we better watch out because the trees were falling.

As he began talking to me I noticed his accent - I suspected German and not being able to help myself I asked where he was from...he smiled and said "Battle Ground" I smiled at his response and asked where his accent was from?  He fessed up and said Germany - always happy for an opportunity to discuss travel I was quick to share that I had been to Germany.  He asked where I told him the various cities I had visited and he began to tell me that he was from Berlin.  That he was 8 years old when Berlin fell to the Soviets and the war ended.  He told me in his near perfect English (he moved here in 1997) that he didn't have the language to describe the horror he witnessed as a child in Berlin during and after the war.  I was spellbound, sweat was running down my back and I was beginning to get chilled but nothing was going to move me down the trail....

He shared that teenagers by the thousands killed themselves after the communists came.  He said with raw emotion in his eyes that as a child he was payed along with the other neighborhood children to go find decaying bodies and report their location to the authorities...
His home was destroyed, all material possessions lost but he didn't speak of any family members who had died, only that his father had both of his legs shot off in the war...and they were visiting him in a hospital north of Berlin when their home was destroyed.

He said that he should be crazy for the horror he has witnessed but that he was not and he thought those men in their suits who tell you to talk about your feelings was a huge waste!  Thinking maybe his faith had sustained him I asked him if he was a man of faith, did he have a relationship with God?  He replied abruptly "NO! If there was a God those things would not have been allowed to happen." My heart hurt for him, I said a prayer for him, but I could totally understand his point of view...

He told me that when he was 3 he saw Hitler.  He and his family had gone to watch a military parade that Hitler was present at and that as the soldiers dressed up in their finest and riding by on their horses a soldier bent low and picked him up by his suspenders and sat him on the horse.  He remembered the smell of the leather and how beautiful the horse was...

He went on to become an aeronautic engineer gaining his degree in Dresden.  He continued to live in East Germany until 1960 when rumors of a wall going up reached him and he decided it was time to leave...
He hitchhiked around Europe, became and airline pilot and stated that the only 3 places he hasn't been was Hawaii, South Pole and New Zeland  At that point I told him he should write a book! He smiled and said "no one would be interested" I told him I would read it!

Frychik

So today I met a Man, German, Atheist, WWII survivor....

9 hour time difference...

I leave in a week!
Today I actually have butterflies! And I'm starting to hug my family more frequently and for longer periods of time...Ty just LOVES it! ;p

I'm also starting to think about what time it is in Spain while its a completely different time here and what a GIGANTIC time difference 9 hours is...

I have developed the most annoying habit of waking up at 4:30 AM - it used to be 5:30 but apparently that wasn't early enough....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Anyway, this morning at 4:30 AM I thought hmmm its 1:30 in the afternoon in Spain right now...How weird is that.

I have experienced 9 hour time difference a few time before and its rough the first day.  I know the key is to stay awake and not lay down and take a nap the moment you arrive in your hotel room.  I did that once...

It was my 3rd trip to Europe and we were in Paris.  We (students in tow) had done the typical leave at the crack of dawn fly all day/night (time difference) land in Paris in the morning and hit the ground running for "Day 1" of the tour.  Towards the end of the day we had an hour and a half down time in the hotel before dinner...I decided to sleep, wisely I set my alarm but when that alarm went off I felt like I was a mile under water buried in cement...I could NOT wake myself up! Which wasn't an option since I was the responsible adult on the trip! So lesson learned no naps!

Frychik