Let Freedom Ring

I just love this time of year and the celebration of freedom. When I was seventeen years old I had the great fortune of being a foreign exchange student for the summer. I went to Germany for 2 ½ months. This was during the time when Germany was divided into East Germany and West Germany. West Germany was a free country, but East Germany was ruled by the Communists. While I was there, the family I stayed with took me on a day trip across the border into East Germany so I could have the experience of visiting Berlin. This had great meaning for me as my mother was born there. We traveled by train to get to the city for a couple of reasons. One so I could say I've ridden in a train and two because it was easier to cross the border that way. People traveling in cars were scrutinized more closely and had more chances of delay.
The train ride was very interesting. It wasn't like the Amtrack trains we have but more like the English trains you see in movies quaint yet very smoky. It was quite the experience. Berlin is located in what was then East Germany, but the city itself was divided into East and West. While there we of course played the tourist and went to all the sites. The one thing I hope never to forget was my experience in East Berlin.

Having been reared in the good ole USA, I didn't realize how privileged I was. Just getting into East Berlin was a challenge for me. When entering the city there were specific entrances for German and another for other nationalities. Since I was an American and my hosts were German we had to separate. This was a little scary for me since I didn't speak the language very well. I got through okay and my German family was waiting for me at the exit.

View in 1986 from the west side of graffiti art on the wall's infamous "death strip". I was there in 1980.

As I emerged from the Checkpoint as the entrance/exit was called I could feel the oppression. I had always heard the phrase “you can feel it in the air” but never really knew what that meant until then. I could see it in the faces of the people living there as well. My family took me to a restaurant where we got some tortes. When one isn't rewarded for effort then one does not try to do there best. That is what happens in a country ruled by communism. When a person gets the same wage no matter if they do a fantastic job or a lousy one, they tend to do as little as possible and this was very evident in this little restaurant. The waitress was gruff and the food almost inedible. I had eaten about half of my torte, when for some reason (I don't remember why now) I turned it over. At the bottom of the torte I could see mold starting to grow. Needless to say I didn't finish the pastry. We continued sightseeing until it was time to leave. We had to make sure we had plenty of time to get to the train, because leaving the city was a little trickier. We had to take some extra precautions in leaving. My host told me that the guards were notorious at detaining American citizens if it were suspected they were traveling alone. They would know I was American since I had to show my passport to get in and out of the city. This concerned me quite a bit. All sorts of things ran through my mind. What would they do. Would they put me in jail for some reason? Would I be allowed to leave?What we did was very simple though. Since it was just three of us traveling together, my German mother and German sister I would go through the checkpoint between them. My “sister” went first, then me, and my “mother” followed. We got through just fine and continued on our way.
This time of year I am grateful for the men and women who fought so hard to create this nation and for the armed forces that continue today to protect the freedoms we hopefully don't take for granted. I am proud to be an American.

Retiring the colors at Cub Scout Day Camp.