Fifty-One years ago today, I asked myself what I thought was an impossible question

[DFW]

3. As a matter of fact, she felt nothing of the sort!

Last edited Fri Jul 25, 2025, 10:14 AM - Edit history (1)

She found me somewhat intriguing, as it wasn't typical of Americans visiting West Berlin to be semi-fluent in German, and her English was not good at the time. We got along well enough to spend a few nights together, but she just figured it was a nice little summer fling, and that she would never see me again. To her, the USA was like the end of the galaxy. She knew it was "there," but it's someplace she thought she would never see. She was still in the middle of her studies to become a social worker, and had no thoughts of settling down anywhere, or with anyone. Country girl that she was, she turned down offers to become a model (sounded boring) to pursue social work. She came from a tiny town in the Northwest where her family was years in getting "hi-tech" items like a refrigerator and a TV.

It took us eight years to find the time (and the will!) to finally get married, and even then, the only reason we finally got around to it was when my brother asked me if I wanted to be best man at his wedding in Washington. I said absolutely, and I'd see if my (then-) girlfriend could make it, too. He spontaneously said, well, if both of you will be there, you might as well join in the fun and make it a double wedding. I thought--wow, no arrangements! I said I'd call her and ask. I was in Boston at the time. So, I picked up the phone, dialed Germany, laid out the situation for her, and told her of my brother's suggestion. She said the German equivalent of "sure, works for me." Not exactly the most romantic of marriage proposals or acceptances, but we had been together for nearly eight years at this point. The wedding was set for Washington, and her mom had never even been on an airplane. Her dad had, but only on a military medical evacuation plane bringing him back after losing a leg at Stalingrad at age 18. Commercial aviation had made some advances in the intervening 40 years.

The first few years, we conducted a long distance relationship between Germany and North America. She eventually came to spend a year with me in Boston in 1978 as a "compatibility test." We passed the test, but for her, moving to North America was not in the cards. Ergo, I started spending lots of time in Europe. In 1975, I asked the outfit I worked for (joined in August 1975--FIFTY years ago!) if I could have some extra time off to visit her, and, progressive thinkers that they were, they said, try and make some contacts for us so that you can combine work and play. Don't forget, I joined as one of maybe twelve barely 20-somethings in 1975. Because of my foreign forays starting in October 1975, we now have offices in Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK, and probably a few I have forgotten. So, my presence in Europe was not just a series of privileged extended vacations. My work soon was spent more there than in North America. We were expanding anyway, so my job in the USA was covered. From twelve 20-somethings in 1975, we are now over a thousand employees worldwide (same two guys running it!). I'm now a legal EU resident, with none of the perks (no health insurance, no pension) and double the taxes, but at least I still have a beautiful wife and two very special daughters.


You can't put a price on that.