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Without notice I was told to pack up my things, “we’re moving to America,” the land of my comic book heroes. We left Berlin, Germany for the American Dream in California. When I entered the 4th Grade I soon realized that I’d have to stand my ground before I learned to speak English. The German kid, often misunderstood, at times misjudged.

I became a naturalized citizen when I joined the U.S. Army during the Viet Nam War. When my enlistment ended I moved to Newport Beach, CA and lived the life of “Surfing Safari” as a full-time college student, graduating with a master’s degree, a deep tan, and married to Ms. Teen America. We have two gifted children, Erin & Elliot.

For our 1976 Bicentennial Anniversary, I travelled cross country (USA) in a VW Bus with three gifted, university maidens, and in 1989 I returned to Germany to participate in the opening of the Berlin Wall that had separated East and West Berlin for 30 years. They say it only takes a moment to change your life, and my son Elliot and I witnessed that in the aftermath of 9/11, when the New York Twin Towers collapsed from a terrorist attack. Elliot was an inspiration in our support of ground zero.

In 2008 my beautiful daughter, Erin Hermes, married David Shanks in Maui, Hawaii. It was a once-in-a-lifetime romantic marital celebration as they exchanged vows and rejoiced in the company of family and friends.

The year 2020 was a clear reminder that racism and violence on both sides of the isle still needs to be addressed and to stay committed to that endeavor. In the first three months after COVID-19 emerged nearly 1 million people were infected and more than 50,000 had died. Based on everything we discovered in 2023, a pandemic industrial complex is now trying to run the show with a goal to eliminate many of our rights, and personal freedoms in order to "build-back-better" by centralizing their power and control.

Discrimination based on vaccination status violates the very definition of freedom upon which this Constitutional Republic was built. In the future will it be your WBC, SAT, or FICA status that sets us free, but only after we “change-for-the-better?” No matter what happens on a day-to-day basis, whether it's Ukraine or the U.S. Dollar crisis, I remain in awe of this mysterious creation called Life. This is my story of wonderment from the Berlin Wall to the American Dream, through the planned-emics, and our Amazon, Google, and Apple internet episodes. Thank you, Reinhard.