words to make a difference
November 9, 1989. The images I never thought I’d see: People, lots of them, by and on top of the infamous Berlin Wall. Whole sections of it coming down. It was a miracle unfolding before our eyes.
Carensa was 6. But determined. She was going to Europe. The land with castles at every river’s bend. And princes and princesses. A magical place.
Early ‘70s. The Cold War was still very cold. With no end in sight. Ever. And I had a penpal in East Berlin. Even went over there to meet in person.
I was going on an adventure. Leaving my small hometown in Sweden for the great metropolis of Berlin, Germany. By myself. As in, I came up with the idea, I planned the trip, I made all the arrangements.
She looked around the room and asked, loud enough so everyone would hear: “Does anyone here know Berlin?”
Our lives don’t play out in isolation. We each have people who are crucial at various points in our lives. Meet a couple of mine.
When the Berlin Wall went up on August 13, 1961, I was 300 miles away in Sweden. I was 6. And had a terrible time figuring this whole thing out.
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Goodbye East Berlin
The dream of Europe
A penpal on the other side
My best summer
A moment that changed everything
Walls and fences — to keep us apart