Originally written by Harry Bornemann on November 23, 2009 11:44 AM BTW, I am 49, and as long as the others in the lifeboat are smarter, they will agree with me.

I finding it interesting that you are an ethnic German living in Mexico. There is actually a fair amount of German influence on Mexican culture, no, as well as some political maneuvering during WWI, etc that I am not very well versed on, but think I should read up on in the future.

I finding it interesting that you are an ethnic German living in Mexico. There is actually a fair amount of German influence on Mexican culture, no, as well as some political maneuvering during WWI, etc that I am not very well versed on, but think I should read up on in the future.

There is even more interesting to tell: The first 9 months of this year I lived in Ethiopia, but got too much trouble with their poor internet connections.

And 20 years ago I met an old guy in Brazil who told me that he remembered the end of WWI (he was still talking like the historic texts I read at school ) and after WWI he said he would not participate in such a nonsense again and went to Paraguay, where he married on a farm; when I met him he was on his last round trip through South America.  It was a nice experience for me to meet another dropout, especially from such ancient times.

Originally written by Harry Bornemann on November 23, 2009 1:32 PM And 20 years ago I met an old guy in Brazil who told me that he remembered the end of WWI (he was still talking like the historic texts I read at school ) and after WWI he said he would not participate in such a nonsense again and went to Paraguay, where he married on a farm; when I met him he was on his last round trip through South America.  It was a nice experience for me to meet another dropout, especially from such ancient times.

Interesting story. There is something mystical about connecting with people from another time and place.

My first trip to Asia, I was in Mumbai, India, feeling very much out of my comfort zone traveling alone. I met an older hispanic gentleman wearing a beret, from Venezuela. I was heartened to connect with another American. He was retired and traveling to Calcutta to serve as an orderly/nurses aid at a hospital for the poor run by Catholic sisters. He made a lasting impression. My destination was Madurai, India, and the Tamil people were warm and expressive. Certain shared values of humanity transcend the superficial barriers of language, race and caste.

My grandfather was born in 1896. He enlisted in the army the day the US declared war on Germany in WWI. He used to tell stories about his time in France. All the family pictures had been destroyed in two fires, but several years ago family in Kansas sent pictures of him in his uniform. There were also pictures of him with horse-drawn artillary, wagons and actual teepee looking campsite. He died when I was ten. He was a homesteader in Wyoming, and a dust bowl refuge in the 30's. Idaho was green, and "the promised land" for him.