Today’s flight from the Frankfurt to Atlanta was one hour and six minutes shorter than scheduled! Read more…»»

That might seem like a strange request coming from the Gulf Coast area of the United States, but not after the last two weeks. Read more…»»

As a frequent visitor to southern Alabama – and being a foreigner to this part of the country – I have learned that there are two things that the folks here take seriously: football and auto racing. Read more…»»

With all the burning going on around here, you might wonder if we have a closet pyromaniac or two in the family. Read more…»»

Some free tickets provided me an opportunity to watch a minor league baseball game. Read more…»»

Maybe "From a distance" might be a better song title for this post rather than 1956 hit by Bill Haley and his Comets. Read more…»»

I totally forgot my birthday today here in Cincinnati, but some friends did not. Read more…»»

The format for today’s international meeting was different than in previous years. Read more…»»

I haven’t been able to keep up with my blog these last four weeks – too much traveling! (Including today) Read more…»»

Last night we had a terrific rainstorm here in Mobile. Read more…»»

After a couple of days installing software, my new computer is up and running. It isn’t a Mac, though. Read more…»»

Computers are great tools – when they work. Read more…»»

Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic German efficiency got lost when German telecom provider T-Com (T-Mobile) expanded to the USA. Read more…»»

40 years ago today in the first game of the 1968 World series, St. Louis Cardinal ace Bob Gibson set a World Series record. Read more…»»

After our night’s rest at the Phantom Ranch, our agenda item today is the climb up to the South Rim. Read more…»»

After waiting for over a year, the big day has arrived. We are hiking from the North Rim to Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Read more…»»

Our trip coordinator Lisa Fenchel planned a rest day for the day after our arrival and before the first day of our two day hike. Read more…»»

After a year and a group that went from 14 people down to 8, the big day finally arrived – our trip to the Grand Canyon for a hike from the North Rim to the South Rim. Read more…»»

That may be what our dog Sue would like to sing after Monica put up a partial fence in the yard in Mobile. Read more…»»

UCG elder Dick Thompson might have wondered if he could "fill the bill" as President. Not if he is comparing himself to President William Howard Taft. Read more…»»

Today I met a fellow Missourian, my old friend Darris McNeely. At Darris’ invitation, I helped him present a "World News and Prophecy" seminar in Charlotte, North Carolina. Read more…»»

Here in Mobile we finally broke down and bought a weather alert radio. It woke us up this morning. Read more…»»

Today we got to share Jerry and Mary Ann Aust’s 44th wedding anniversary after church services in Mobile, Alabama. Read more…»»

Today we drove over to Pensacola, Florida for church services with the Living Church of God. Read more…»»

Last weekend Monica and I traveled to Cincinnati for a "World News & Prophecy" seminar. Read more…»»

I used to think that Mardi Gras was a big deal in Germany. I still do. It just may be a bigger deal here on the Gulf Coast. Read more…»»

Remember the expression "Keeping up with the Joneses"? What if you are a dog and your version of the "Joneses" are the three cats next door? Read more…»»

The name of a 1970s rock band came to mind during one of my first nights back in Mobile. But it was one dog, not three. Read more…»»

This year’s Thanksgiving visit to Dallas reminded me of former fellow St. Louis native Yogi Berra’s famous "Déjà vu" quote. Read more…»»

I didn’t even realize what day it was until the evening news today: November 22nd. A news report on a local news station reminded me of what happened here 43 years ago today. Read more…»»

A skinny dog showed up one day last summer in Mobile ("zugelaufen"). She looked quite thin with her ribs showing, and she hid under the car in the carport anytime anyone got near her. Read more…»»

Mobile, Alabama usually vies with Seattle for the city in the continental USA with the most rainfall. If the dry conditions here continue, though, Mobile will get less than half its 80 inches or so of rain this year. Which makes for some interesting visitors in our yard. Read more…»»

On Friday Monica and I flew to Indianapolis, Indiana to participate in a "World News & Prophecy" seminar sponsored by the UCG-Indianapolis congregation on June 17, 2006. Read more…»»

Spring is a beautiful time of year in the deep South. Read more…»»

Setting up a swimming pool in your back yard may mean having an occasional uninvited guest! Read more…»»

Hurricane Katrina not only destroyed homes, it also destroyed meeting halls and community buildings. That’s the reason we have regular visitors every Saturday. Read more…»»

Little could I have imagined that a fellow I once sat in speech class with at Ambassador College in Pasadena, California and I would wind up living 30 years later on opposite sides of Mobile Bay. Read more…»»

Ever try to do something helpful and wonder if it really helped? I guess that is the way I felt 13 years ago in Manila when we were foster parents for a 3 year old Filipino boy named Timmy. Read more…»»

It’s that time of year again. August in Dallas. Pretty hot. Time to help my son Ted and his wife Katie with another house project. Read more…»»

"Remember to entertain strangers," writes the author of Hebrews. One of the great things about the greater church of God community is its hospitality. I experienced that first hand on a trip to Big Sandy this past weekend. Read more…»»

60 years after the end of World War II, a visitor from Germany tours "America’s battleship," as the U.S.S. Alabama is called on billboards in Mobile and along the highways leading to Mobile. Read more…»»

How many young people have the opportunity to spend a summer in a foreign country on another continent? Having connections via family and friends helps. That was the case for Karlina Hoeh, daughter of Herman and Isabel Hoeh, who spent a summer in Germany in 1970. Read more…»»

"Make yourself feel at home" is what we tell our guests, and we hope they really do feel at home when they visit us in Mobile, Alabama. One of our current visitors did just that last night. Read more…»»

One reason why franchises do so well is that people get accustomed to a certain style, layout or taste – or a combination – and like going back to something familiar. That’s the way it was when I attended church services today as a visitor in Dallas, Texas. Read more…»»

Actually, in my case it was 5 years of French. I was in an accelerated learning program in St. Louis, and we had foreign language instruction starting in the 5th grade. But after working with German for about 30 years, today my French would suffice to order a simple meal, and that is about it.

But did you ever ask someone whether he speaks a foreign language? The answer will differ, depending on whether you are talking to an American or a European. Read more…»»

Well, it isn’t exactly my home – I am originally from St. Louis, Missouri. But since my first visit to Mobile 29 years ago the place has kind of grown on me. Read more…»»

My fellow UCG-Germany elder Alfred Riehle knows a little bit about life in the United States. As a soldier in the German army, the Bundeswehr, he was once stationed at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Read more…»»

Yesterday I flew from Frankfurt to Cincinnati to attend the annual UCG conference. Fellow elder Alfred Riehle was on the same flight. Alfred is a German citizen, and I am American, so we went separate ways when we reached U.S. immigration at the Cincinnati airport. Read more…»»