 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
   
 |
|
I was actually born in Heidelberg! I also lived in Stuttgart for 12 years.My dad worked in the Provost Marshal's office and was a civilian. My mother is German and is from Moers, close to Duesseldorf. I returned to Heidelberg from Stuttgart in 1961, -- was in the 8th grade that year. I attended HHS in 1962 and 1963 until December, when my dad was transferred to Atlanta, Ga. I was in the class of '66, and I played baseball and bowled. My fondest memories include riding bicycles everywhere. I lived on Rheinstrasse, across the street from the school, and we used to spend a lot of time on the 'Back Road." This is what we called the road that ran alongside the school and the railroad tracks, and led to Patton Barracks. We used to pass out movie schedules, so we saw all of the movies for free. The Casino was one of our favorite places, it was neat eating while watching a movie. Another place where we often went was "Red Rock" which was high above the railroad tracks and up in the woods. We also went downtown quite a lot, and my mother's best friends ran the Hotel on Haupstrasse by the old church. We also rode the street cars frequently. We used to lie about our ages so we could pay a lower fare.We played a lot of football and baseball, etc. out in the quad. Les and Brad Loo lived in the next building, and we did a lot of things together. I used to wash people's cars, and as soon as I got 75 cents or a dollar, I'd race over to the bowling alley and bowl 3 or 4 games. My parents bowled a lot, and we used to travel to other bases so they could bowl in tournaments. I played baseball -- played with Richard Cunningham '67, Cecil Ellis '67, Les Loo '66, Bob Eggimann '67, Kelly Dazet '67, and my brother Tom on the AYA Babe Ruth League Cougars. I made the all star team and we traveled a good bit during the all star tournaments. We just missed going to Albuquerque that year when Frankfurt beat us 2 straight games to end our season. When we moved to Atlanta I was almost 16, and had lived my whole life in Germany. I would not trade my childhood for anything! Sometimes you don't realize how good you have it until it's gone. I went back for a visit in 1974 and walked around MTV and rode the street cars. It was a very moving experience. I stood in front of our old apartment and was transfixed for several minutes. I think it was only then that I truly realized how fortunate I had been to have lived in Heidelberg. It is still probably the most beautiful place I have ever seen.
|
