b1-66er: I had the craziest craziest conversation with a seatmate on LAS>DEN...
I'm sitting in the middle of an F9 bulkhead...
and this guy gets on with the WILDEST bozo hair...
I detect a slight accent... slavic? something...
"Where're you from?"
"Small town. Just outside Munich."
He's a German national. His English is PERFECT and nuanced...
"Where? I might know it."
"Karlsfeld."
"I've been there. I worked for a high tech company...a spin off of Apple's that had offices near there. I went with them to Ocktober Fest. We drove through there. That was a l-o-n-g time ago, 25 years"...
AND OFF THE CONVERSATION GOES.
He's getting ready to start college but is taking a gap year. He's been working in a tire foundry in Canada...
On and on...
... his mom's from Berlin...
... and then he says something that's not quite right...
... some Berlin reference...
... and I realize...
He's 20 years old!
HE'S NEVER BEEN AROUND WHEN THERE WAS A GDR. OR THE WALL...
So, since I seem to have suddenly anointed myself as Educator of the World, I decide it's time to instruct...
"I know you've been to Las Vegas. Berlin was like the adult version of THAT. Gambling. Food. Booze. More. Things I'm sure I don't know. At the age of 59, even NOW, I'm probably not even allowed to know"...
...and the guy sitting next to me who's been reading a book for an hour, SAYING NOTHING because he's not in the conversation...[but has laughed at 2 of my (self-proclaimed) funnier jokes, so I know he's listening] sez,
"This dude is right! A friend of mine called me from Paris. He said, 'Man! We need to go to Berlin!' and I'd never even been to Europe before...
... but you better believe I hung up the phone, called my travel agent and booked a ticket RIGHT THEN...
We were there for TWO WEEKS...
WE DID EVERYTHING AND we did nothing...
it was simultaneously: infinitely long and incredibly short. "
... he pauses and looks wistfully at his armrest...
"It was the best time of my life. I'm certain it will never be surpassed. I'll never go back to Europe ... because nothing there will ever be as good again. Why bother?"
And the conversation intruder puts his book away and stares blankly into the bulkhead wall...
...You can tell it hits my newfound German friend hard hard hard...
He's just been handed puzzle pieces to a picture he never even knew existed...
He's taking it all in.
I've gotta make it easier on him and bridge this gap. I say,
"here's what you need to do... Go have a beer with your mom... go to her favorite place...
... and ask her to tell you about Berlin. "
He's almost crying. "I vill." Then he mumbles, "I vill."
...I wish you and your wife could've been there for thre conversation.
Zoombie <10 hours later>: Imagine my surprise to wake up to 27 text messages. I was expecting a Gaza Strip tirade, but instead get a much better surprise ... I received a fascinating and touching Berlin human interest story! Incredible and very moving.
How fortuitous that the third man was there to amplify your stories.
That kid will remember the conversation for the rest of his life. Dare I say it may even change it.
Your story also brings to the fore how fortunate I am to have experienced life in Berlin, post wall, but especially prior to it tumbling down. It resurrects a certain nostalgia for sure.
Right place, right time. I'm happy you were able to give that man the experience and took the time to share it with me. Thanks my friend!
b1: You're certainly welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Did I miscategorize or misrepresent anything?
Z: Not at all.
You brought up points I never pondered in quite that way.
b1: Tell me what/ how.
Z: Since I've never been to LV, it would never have occurred to me to compare the two cities.
Makes total sense though.
b1: Oh!
Western humanity appears to have a built up anxiety problem they believe is relieved by a Vegas-like atmosphere.
Z: Wish Matryoshka and I could have listened in.
b1: She either would have divorced you and married me...
or decapitated me with a rusty butter knife and put my cranium in the "overhead" bin.
The whole time I was talking I was thinking, "if there're any Germans listening to this, i MIGHT be a deadman. "
Nothing's worse than the know-it-all who's been a fortnight tourist.
You should show her the thread and see what she thinks.
Z: I will.
I'll have her read it when she gets home from work. I'm curious as well.
