08/24/26 June, 1969, after four years I finally graduated from college. Yes, I had the framed diploma to prove it, but I didn’t have a job. I had a Bachelor of Arts degree in German, with an English minor. I also graduated with a “certificate of achievement” in Latin. As I was quite comfortable in speaking, reading and writing German, I thought that I would land a position with the U.S. State Department or maybe even the German Embassy as an interpreter. But both required German speaking individuals competent in a second foreign language. As I could not speak, read or write Spanish, Russian or Vietnamese, I was wished “well” and shown the door. I took a break from job hunting. I returned to Littlestown,my hometown, to visit my parents. It was a Friday morning, I was sitting in the kitchen with my mother. She suggested I call the Carroll County, Maryland School System, because maybe, just maybe, there were some available teaching positions. I balked at the idea as I never considered myself to be a school teacher. But, my dear mom said, “It won’t hurt to try.” So, what did I have to lose, I placed the call. I asked to speak with the director of personnel regarding available teaching positions. The director, a truly professional gentleman, seemed interested in my phone call. I told him my reason for calling and then he asked me for my qualifications. I told him that I had a degree in German. What happened next is close to “Unbelievable.” For five minutes I was blasted with continuous, uncontrollable laughter. He stopped laughing for a few seconds, only to apologize for his actions, but then he began to laugh again. I put down the telephone, walked to the stove and poured a cup of coffee. He was still laughing when I picked up the phone, so I walked over to the kitchen table, got a cigarette, lit it and returned to the phone, only to hear him some more. Finally he stopped, only to apologize again. He told me that there was only one school in Carroll County that offered a program in German, so there was only one German teacher position. Then he said: “He resigned this morning, do you want a job”? Now, it was I who laughed. I emphatically said, “Yes”! I had a job teaching three levels of German, one eleventh-grade English class and a non-credited course in Basic Latin at South Carroll High School in Winfield/Sykesville. I held that position for two years before being called for military service. I didn’t return to teaching; rather, I pursued a career with the Maryland State Police and retired after thirty-three years of service. I truly enjoyed both professions.
08/22/25 On Tuesday, September 11, 2001 I was on vacation visiting one of our daughters in San Antonio, Texas. While we were having our breakfast, another of our daughters called, telling us to turn on our television. We, like millions of other horrified Americans watched the screen as the second plane flew into the second tower. Our eyes were fixed in disbelief as we couldn’t believe what we were seeing. I said to my daughter, almost right away, that she would be getting another telephone call, and at that moment, it rang and the call was for me.