Lucky
While I was in the military and living in Germany, I was luckier than most living there. When I first got there I had to live in the dorms and had roommates. This didn’t go over big with me because I hated the dorm life and was waiting to move out. A couple of months after moving there I finally did.
How I was lucky is the family I rented from. I didn’t move into an apartment building or a single house. I had an attic apartment in their compound. A little background on the layout. They had a shoe shop on the bottom floor and my landlady’s apartment on the second. Off my landlady’s apartment was a large patio and at the other end was another apartment where her daughter and grandson lived. On the third floor was my apartment. It was only four rooms and furnished but it was one of the best places I ever lived.
I was the first person my landlady ever rented to and she wanted an American because her grandson was learning English in school. Oh I forgot to mention that to get to my apartment I had to go through my landlady’s apartment to the stairs up to my place. I wasn’t too keen on this at first, but soon it became just normal.
Where I was lucky is that after awhile I became like one of the family. I would eat dinner with them from time to time, I spent every Christmas and New Years with them and I would take a week vacation with them every February. I knew a lot of people on base living in the dorm that hated Germany. Their lives consisted of going to work, the dorm, the club on base and back to the dorm. They hardly ever ventured out and their whole outlook was from that viewpoint. I was lucky in that I got to know a family that was kind and considerate and who took me into their home and family and made me feel welcomed.
Everyone has peaks and valleys they go through in their lives. The four years I lived there were one of the highest peaks I’ve ever had in my life. I lost contact with them as I did so many people I used to know, but I’ve always had fond memories of the good caring people they were.
I’ll probably write more about this time because it was such a good time. The places and the people will always stay with me.
How I was lucky is the family I rented from. I didn’t move into an apartment building or a single house. I had an attic apartment in their compound. A little background on the layout. They had a shoe shop on the bottom floor and my landlady’s apartment on the second. Off my landlady’s apartment was a large patio and at the other end was another apartment where her daughter and grandson lived. On the third floor was my apartment. It was only four rooms and furnished but it was one of the best places I ever lived.
I was the first person my landlady ever rented to and she wanted an American because her grandson was learning English in school. Oh I forgot to mention that to get to my apartment I had to go through my landlady’s apartment to the stairs up to my place. I wasn’t too keen on this at first, but soon it became just normal.
Where I was lucky is that after awhile I became like one of the family. I would eat dinner with them from time to time, I spent every Christmas and New Years with them and I would take a week vacation with them every February. I knew a lot of people on base living in the dorm that hated Germany. Their lives consisted of going to work, the dorm, the club on base and back to the dorm. They hardly ever ventured out and their whole outlook was from that viewpoint. I was lucky in that I got to know a family that was kind and considerate and who took me into their home and family and made me feel welcomed.
Everyone has peaks and valleys they go through in their lives. The four years I lived there were one of the highest peaks I’ve ever had in my life. I lost contact with them as I did so many people I used to know, but I’ve always had fond memories of the good caring people they were.
I’ll probably write more about this time because it was such a good time. The places and the people will always stay with me.
Two pictures taken of a parade from my balcony.
posted by Family Man | 5:13 AM
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