Reed left Germany on February 26, 2007 after being stationed at Bamberg for slightly more than three years. He made several friends, including Mike, shown below.
Reed and Mike in Bamberg
Mike's mother, Gundi, has taken Reed under her wing and they celebrated her husband's birthday just a few days before Reed left Germany. Here, Mike, Gundi, and Reed mug in front of the twin-mugger, whose name Reed did not know.
Mike produced his own CD of country music. Reed brought a copy home and it is quite good. Mike's voice reminds me of David Allen Coe, a U.S. country singer. Mike's wife, Anja, listens.
At a friend's house, Reed sampled several locally made liquors and bought this unique bottle as a gift for us. Unfortunately, the airport security staff confiscated it.
In Bismarck, one of Reed's first stops was at Uncle Neil's shop. Neil did significant upgrading to Reed's truck: new nurf bars, Rhino lining in the bed of the truck, and new exhaust pipes.
Reed was really pleased with the work done on his truck while he was in Germany.
Jim Kramer and Reed enjoy some conversation at Peacock Alley in Bismarck.
Dale Rubey, Jack and Derek Kline joined us at the Green Mill. Jack, the consummate story teller, was prompted to relate his "true" tale of the two-legged dog. The dog was missing one front leg and one back leg, on the same side of the body, or so we were led to believe.
Jack explains how the doggy-door on the house where the two-legged dog lived was very narrow [to save on heat loss in winter]. "They would just prop the dog up against a fire hydrant or the side of the house, give him a push, and off he'd go."
Reed left Bismarck March 2nd for Fort Bragg, NC. He'll visit Meredith in Minnesota, Anna and J.D. in Wisconsin, and some others en route.