All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the publisher. Short extracts may be used for review purposes. I want to say thanks to my good friend Javier Mejia, for proofreading and grammar corrections. I could never say thank you enough. My hope is that this book will in some small way do for others what the Lord did for me. Being a Christian is not about keeping rules and regulations, or performing rituals. It's about a friendship - a friendship with Jesus Christ. Jesus said that knowing him is the doorway to a special relationship with God. Cover design by Hartwig Raphael 2
My wife Jutta the best companion in the universe My son Andreas and his family My son Thomas and his family 3
7 Chapter 1 17 Happy Wife, Happy Life Chapter 2 My Best Friends 33 Chapter 3 I Had A Dream 53 Chapter 4 Good Old Germany 83 Chapter 5 Sweet Home Alabama 117 Chapter 6 Declaration of Faith 147 5
Dear Thomas, There are moments in life when the heart begins to speak louder than the clock, louder than the responsibilities of the day, louder than the excuses a man builds around himself. I have arrived at one of those moments. It is why this book, and this long letter, is finally being written. For most of my life, writing a letter seemed unnecessary. You were right there. I could talk to you, laugh with you, guide you, disappoint you, hug you, and learn from you, without ever picking up a pen. Fathers often believe there will always be time later. Later to say the things we do not know how to say. Later to share the memories that shaped us. Later to explain the mistakes that taught us. Later to talk about faith, love, loss, and the long, winding road that built the people we became. But “later” has a way of slipping through your hands. And now, as the years flow faster than I ever imagined, I feel a pull inside me, a gentle but persistent 8
memories should be written down. Not because they are extraordinary, but because they are true. And truth, especially the truth of a life, deserves to be preserved. I am writing this for you… and for the ones who will come after you. For the grandchildren who play with your tools, the great‑grandchildren who might carry our name, and even for those who will not know me except through these pages. If they ever wonder who their father, grandfather, or great‑grandfather really was, beyond the photographs and the fading recollections, I want them to find me here, speaking to them as I am speaking to you now. A Legacy of Names You both know my middle name is Georg, and your Uncle Volker’s middle name was Herbert. These were not just random choices. They were threads tying us to two men we never had the chance to meet, my mother’s older brother Herbert, and my father’s younger brother Georg. Both lost to the war long before I came into the world. 9
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