Third Reich

Our Family’s Berlin Wall Crisis/Vacation

Our Family’s Berlin Wall Crisis/Vacation

5 min read

September 1961. We were at my grandmother’s apartment in Brooklyn. But something wasn’t right. For one thing, my father hadn’t finished dinner with us. He had to rush off to a special meeting of his army reserve unit at nearby Fort Hamilton. This was unusual - not planned and predictable like all the other countless visits with my grandparents. Also, the grownups seemed tense and as the hours went by, my mother told me to take a nap on my grandparent’s bed. I never had to do this before. What was going on? 

4 Days And 3 Lovely Nights At Hitler's Berchtesgaden

5 min read

It was a scene out of Hitchcock. I woke up and stared through the picture window at the expanse of rolling hills. They were a startling watercolor. I would have enjoyed the view more if I knew what was going on. And if I knew where this place was. The problem as I saw it - I had no idea where in the world I had woken up.  

Buzzing The Eagle's Nest

Buzzing The Eagle's Nest

5 min read

Did you ever get a really big birthday gift?  I mean an ultra-ginormous gift that was so over the top you could not believe how much your friends cared for you?

I’m talking a gift so special it sits on top of a mountain. In fact, it is the top of that mountain. Your friends actually had to tunnel through that mountain to build the thing.  Everybody had to chip in ‘cause it cost 30 million and… 12 guys even died building it for you.