William Roddy

Who would have thought, even a year ago, that this story would ever be written? Some brave Americans did. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7424782.stm

I write very late at night (wul, very early in the morning) because the days are so full. So there are bound to be mistakes in the blog after long days of activity, and my general state of being dazed and confused. I apologize and will make corrections as I go. This isn’t an organized [...]

Cologne Cathedral front Guten Tag: For those who joined late, I’d should put here a note that we’re in Germany now. We’ll be here and in the Czech Republic for three months this time. Dalia’s family here have an apartment they keep for visitors. Public transportation is great here, and walking is a “must,” which [...]

Guten Tag: We laughed, Dalia and I, about how easy it is to know you’re in Europe. Just listen. No, not to the obvious, the languages the people are speaking. You wait until there is a crime or an accident and you hear the emergency vehicles and police cars, which all really do make that [...]

I’m a little late with some posts, but you have to understand, we’re in a land where fairytales are made and we’ve been living in several of them. Take yesterday, for example.  We sitting in the park on a bench under Tree 73. Wait. Maybe I ought to stop and explain Tree 73. This town [...]

I watched the live broadcast of the Phoenix Mars Lander last night as it landed in the polar regions of the planet, safely landed, ready to begin its search for evidence of life. And I have to tell you, it was just like being a kid for me, with one of the Arthur C. Clarke [...]

Brückenhauser (Click to enlarge) This is some of what we saw today, three houses built on a bridge that date back hundreds of years. This is the Nahe River. To the right would be the “fussganger,” the walking/shopping area with department stores wedged between small shops and eating places, and to the left would is [...]

Like an uncertain zoo animal, the sun crept in and out from behind the clouds of its nigh-time cage today. Often, the day was glorious, ready to spring; at other times, it showed itself without makeup or sky shadow. We went downtown on the bus and came home in a taxi. Between those two transportation [...]

There is only one reason I’m able to access the Internet here at the apartment that is owned by my wife’s sister and her husband. The apartment is kept for family who visit. But it has no phone nor Internet connection (to pay for such things when the apartment is used so little would be [...]

This afternoon, after the rain, Dalia walked to the “friedhof,” or cemetery, where her mother is interred. This, in and of itself, is reason enough to visit this country. Dalia’s mother was a unique, remarkable woman, who lived every minute of her life. She is missed and will long be remebered, both here, in her [...]

  Remember the Berlin Airlift? Nah, you’re too young. Called the “Candy Bombers” by the kids, 250,000 flights kept the people of Berlin from starving when the Soviets went, as they often did, stupid. The 60th anniversary was May 15 and it was remembered well in Berlin, as well as in the U.S. The kids [...]

First night, sunset (Click to enlarge) Here’s what the trip was supposed to look like: A few hours on a plane to Portland, a quick connect to Lufthansa for an nine-hour ride to Frankfurt. Here’s what the trip actually was. We find that the plane to Portland is late, making the connection to Lufthansa impossible. [...]

I guess everyone’s feel a bit fat these days.

It’s been tough here without Margo. She was such a good dog and good friend. I remember when I’d get sick and have to go to the emergency room, how she’d come protect me, sit with her body against mine, until the ambulance came. I miss her. We leave for Germany on the 14th. I’m [...]

The vet came to the house at 4:30 p.m. and put Margo to sleep. He took her away, wrapped in a sheet, because we knew that burying her on the property would be to much constancy of reminder. This has hit me so much harder than I had thought it would and I’m still reeling [...]