i MET YOU AT THE AGE OF FiVE. WE MOVED iNTO THE SAME NEiGHBORHOOD. WE PLAYED iN OUR GARDENS, OUR BEDROOMS, OUTSiDE AROUND THE RESiDENTiAL AREA, OR, EVEN BETTER, iN THE 'BOLZRAUM' AT YOUR FAMiLiES HOUSE. THERE WE BUiLT FORTRESSES OUT OF MATTRESSES AND BLANKETS. WE ROMPED FREE. ALSO, WE WENT TO SCHOOL TOGETHER, WHERE YOU HELPED ME COPE WiTH MY FEAR OF THE SCHOOLYARD. YOU STAYED WiTH ME, EVEN AS i WASN'T ABLE TO LEAVE THE SCHOOLHOUSE-WALL ALL THROUGH THE BREAKS BETWEEN LESSONS.

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
WE: GROWiNG STRONG TOGETHER
UNTROUBLED CHiLDHOOD


WE FORMED A BOND. A BOND STRONG ENOUGH TO LAST. EVEN AS i HAD TO MOVE AGAiN AT THE AGE OF ELEVEN. AS WE WERE SEPARATED THROUGH ANOTHER COUNTRY. WE ViSiTED EACH OTHER, EVEN CROSSING THE SCARY iNNER GERMAN BORDER, ALL ALONE ON THE ROAD FOR MORE THAN SEVEN HOURS ONE WAY iN A PUBLiC BUS. OR EVEN WHEN YOU LEFT FOR THE U.S. FOR FOUR YEARS. AS i DiDN'T GET MY SHiT TOGETHER TO ViSiT YOU, ABROARD. AND THEN, YOU AND YOUR FAMiLY HELPED ME AS MY YOUNG FAMiLY LOST EVERYTHiNG iN THE FiRE. YOU OFFERED US A TEMPORARY HOME, YOUR STRENGTHS, AND YOUR UNYiELDiNG SUPPORT.

BEST FRiENDS, TROUBLED TiMES
NOTHiNG COULD HOLD US APART
WE: iNSEPARABLE


iT'S ASTOUNDiNG THE STRENGTHS OUR CONNECTiON HOLDS EVEN TO THiS DAY. WE DON'T TALK REGULARLY. WE DON'T SEE EACH OTHER THAT OFTEN. BUT WHEN WE MEET, iT iS AS iF WE WERE NEVER SEPARATED. EVERY TiME WE START OFF, WHERE WE LEFT. AND AS i STRUGGLED LAST YEAR, AS i WAS PRiSONER OF MY DEPRESSiON, YOU SEND ME THE SEA. THE SEA TO SEE. THE SEA TO HEAR. AND iF iT HAD BEEN POSSiBLE AT THE TiME, YOU WOULD HAVE SENT ME THE SMELL AS WELL. YOUR KiNDNESS AND YOUR iNSiGHT RiGHT iNTO MY VERY SOUL MOVED ME TO TEARS. 

WE: BLUE SKY THiNKiNG
OUR BOND MEANS THE WORLD TO ME
FOREVER AND EVER

THE 'BOLZRAUM' WAS A ROOM iN THE BASEMENT WHERE WE COULD BE AS WiLD AS WE WANTED. WE RAMPAGED WiTHOUT A CARE IN THE WORLD. JUST FREE TO BE.

W3|WEA'VE WRiTTEN WEEKLY|#119

your opinion?

i'm curious.