Learn the lingo; at some point you’ll be glad you did

Well, it is getting to be springlike around Odessa. At the same time, it also means that the time leading up to Deutschesfest is growing ever shorter. Maybe its time to start working on our German, too.

Ron Sowinski, who visited Odessa a few months ago, was stationed in Germany during the Vietnam era and is happy to share this anecdote with our readers.

I was with a small group of Army guys who had just flown from the USA into Frankfurt, Germany on a commercial flight. We were met and taken to the Frankfurt Bahnhof (railroad station). The others were all fresh out of basic training. I had just...