New Update!!!!!

January 25, 2007:

We had our first snow last night and Marie was ecstatic. You'd thought she had won a trip to Disneyland and all the grand kids were invited to go with here. For Dave, it was just another cold day with slippery roads and foreigners on the road. We dodged most of the heavy winds of the week that raised havoc in the German and European cities this past week, with winds hitting 100 mph. 40 people lost their lives to mostly falling trees on their cars.

We finally finished our registration with the German government. First we secured our two year visas, then we needed to "anmeld" or register as resident aliens in the City of Bremen. It is the way they keep track of you, coming or going. A little carry-over from WWII Germany.
Much of the apartments and buildings we live in, work in, eat and shop in were built after WWII, where even my father dropped bombs from his B-24 Liberator bomber on Bremen and Hamburg destroying 70%-90% of the structures. Then the crafty Germans used the same bricks and rebuilt the buildings again.

Well, they are now our friends and they now know WHO we are and WHERE we live.
This and the last two weeks has seen Dave teach a 35 minute lesson to the adults here, then speak in two Branches of the Church in Oldenburg and Wilhelmshaven at 25 minutes each. Then he even played the piano in Primary one Sunday. All in German! You may ask, "How do you play the piano in German?" Well, "mit Genauigkeit und Begeisterung".

Just a finishing story here from Dave. Last week I parked the car in our normal area (which is any vacant spot we can find in an area within 100 yards from our apartment) and with the cold and wind we darted quickly to the refuge of the brick confines. The next day while gazing early in the cold from the small balcony at the street below, I spy a German Police van blocking the street keeping vehicles from passing down the lane. He was agitated while walking up and down the street in the cold while chatting with people from time to time. He then was by my little car which sat by itself against the curb, then he turned and started toward my building. Somehow I just knew he was coming after ME.

Yes, in a moment the buzzer sounded in the apartment and I picked up the wall phone and answered, "Hallo, Harringtons" He responded with a loud, "Polizei...gehören Sie zu diesem weissen Opel?", which meant: ("This is the Police and does that white Opel illegally parked in the recently marked NO-Parking Zone for today from 7AM to 5PM happen to belong to you and if you don't want to pay a fine of $250 and have your car towed away, then I suggest you get your keys and move it now around the corner, now!") So I did and was most appreciative of his kindly manner and courtesy! You see, they know WHO I am and WHERE I live.