The Walk Off

Following my engagement to Kharla in December of 2007 I wanted to bring her to Germany and show her to my family. We had planned this trip before the engagement, but now it worked great as an actual purpose of the trip. I was so excited, I hadn't been to Germany since Spring 1999.

I joked with Kharla and gave her, in my most sincerest way, a dire warning. I told her to remain near me, she could pass for a gypsy and certain people are not kind to the Romani people. Rocks may be thrown at her. Kharla told my mom I was messing with her and expected her to “set me straight” but with a deadpan face mom told Kharla, “Yes, people might think you are a gypsy. They all live in the mobile homes by the river.” Yes, there was a caravan on the East bank of the Main River. They had their own area in a huge parking lot in Kitzingen. I know it's wrong, but messing with loved ones can be fun.

We were on the plane following a connection in Chicago and were off, another nine or so hours to go. I was so excited I could not not sleep on the plane. Not that I've ever been able to sleep on a plane anyway. I don't know how she did it, but my fiancee was able to conk out. Until we got over Europe that is. There's only so much patience Kharla has, she eventually snapped at me. She did not need me to point out every country or point of interest outside her window. My bad.

Us waiting at the airport (Tulsa International?  Chicago O'Hare?).
Damn I look so young.

We landed in Frankfurt and picked up our bags and slogged through customs. My Opa and mom's cousin Martina picked us up. Hugs, greetings, introductions, and other pleasantries were exchanged. God I missed these people. It was about 6 am when we got out of the airport and into my Oma's Toyota. Once you get out of the Frankfurt metro, it's about a 90 minute drive east on the autobahn to Kitzingen. Kharla and I were so tired and once again she kinda dozed off easily on the drive. 

How does she sleep in cars?

I don't sleep well in cars either. But I was so damn tired. Sitting in the back seat saying whatever I could in my broken German to Opa. Thankfully Martina speaks pretty good English. 

My mom's cousin Martina and me share a beer in Wurzburg.

Outside of Frankfurt the countryside is mostly tall beech trees. Go out a little further and the hills begin to rise and vineyards blanket them in the distance. Zooming by on the autobahn so many vineyards. So many little villages, typically with the tallest building holds up a cross. I miss that so much.

One of so many small towns.

We reached Kitzingen and I got so giddy. Now everything was so familiar. I knew where I was. Every street, every building. Little children in their coats carrying fresh bread from the bakery. Grandmas riding their bicylces along the sidewalks. It was April, but there had been snow, the sky was overcast. It wasn't a beautiful day by any means but to me it was marvelous. I made it back to my favorite place after an eight year absence and I was joined by the love of my life.

We got to my grandparents' house and I found my Oma and gave her a huge hug. She kissed me and cried. We unloaded our bags and hit the bed. But my long deserved sleep would be but a short respite. My mom's cousin Christina had a family event going on right then. Her son Dominic had a sacrament that morning. That day was his confirmation. We had missed the actual ceremony but we had a reception to attend. Okay, whatever. I needed to sleep right away. 45 criminally short minutes later we were woken up and had to go.

My Oma, Opa and me at the famous "Ponderosa" 2008

Oma, Opa, Kharla and I were back in the Toyota and had a half hour drive to go to get to Neustadt an der Aisch. We did not ride on the autobahn, just regular highways. You can see so many small towns with medieval walls surrounding them. It is so darling. Although it had been snowing, there was so much green vegetation. In Texas and Oklahoma, outside of a few bushes, it's usually brown from August until April.

The reception was at a sports hall. The big feature was a soccer field outside the building We were inside getting served six or seven courses for lunch. The soup portion, salads, breads, main portions and so many damn cakes and pies. So damn many. I saw my mom's cousins and aunts and their kids and grandkids. And so many people I didn't know. We were so drained and tired. We ate and were  zombies barely able to sit up. Outside of Dominic telling a bad joke, nobody spoke English. My German is normally bad, but I hadn't even warmed up enough to get it to that level.

Kharla and I got up to take a walk. A bunch of kids played basketball in the adjoining gym. I peaked in and a ball bounced my way. I picked it up and thought about passing when one of the kids shouted for me to shoot. I thought “why not” and launched a half court shot. Swish! I made it! I got a huge reaction and walked out. I wanted them to see me as a legend. Like Michael Jordan retiring following his series winner on Bryan Russell in the 1998 NBA Finals (before he came back as a Washington Wizard).

We held hands and took a walk outside. I thought to myself, Damn, I love this place, I love my family. I hit a crazy shot in front of a bunch of kids and they must have thought I'm amazing. Welcome back to Germany! When we returned, Dominic was crying. Turns out he did some stunt or something on the court and broke his arm. Turns out my once in a lifetime shot would not be memorable. Really, it should not have been. I mean, this boy was strengthening his commitment to Christ. People weren't there to see me, a distant relative to most of them. They were there to witness a beautiful dedication in faith.

 Come to think of it, they probably don't remember much about it ten years later either, other than some brat breaking his arm.

This was going to be a good vacation.

###

Kharla and me snuggling after a long day.

If I were to pick a single song for this post it would be...