Tuesday, September 4, 2007

ich bin ein Berliner

many years ago, i was an unwilling draftee stationed at an Army base in Germany for a year and a half, not paying much attention to Germany itself -- mostly glad that i wasn't in Vietnam instead but still resentful when they made us sleep in tents in the snow and stuff like that. meanwhile, there was Germany all around me. there i was with my brain full of anti-Army thoughts when i could have been learning German from Germans. i've been back to Germany several times in the last seven years. i have friends there who i rely on to speak English to me while i sit there dumb as a post about their language. SO -- i've made up my mind to be able to be able to speak some at least minimal amount of German the next time i go. tonight was my first class in "practical German", which made me realize how difficult this could be. ouch. but there i am, back in school. i hope i make you all proud.

and, sadly, we're now past Labor Day. no more summer for a while. at least we won't be hearing about Jerry Lewis for another year (thank God!). Joan and i went out for coffee Labor Day afternoon and mostly vented about politics -- about Hillary's poll ratings which are making Joan nervous (she loves Hillary), about Barack's weak handshake, about Larry Craig being such a liar, the usual. people keep asking me my opinion of the Larry Craig bust. i think i've decided he shouldn't resign his Senate seat after all, as much as i would like to see him out of the Senate. he is obviously lying through his teeth -- it was a classic cruising attempt, but i just don't see what law he broke. it was a case of intimidation through humiliation. wow. the republicans sure were quick to abandon him, though, weren't they? where is the loyalty? they were ready to flush him right down the toilet. okay, bad metaphor.

No comments: