A word about AI:
AI is here to stay. It has strengths and weaknesses. It’s up to us to learn to use it right. AI can double or triple the output of an hour’s research, even though you have to double- or triple-check its accuracy.
The whole point and main fun of posting is writing, so I don’t use AI for writing, not even for a draft. On this site, AI is one more tool to help make sure what’s said is fair, accurate, spelled right, etc. No more, no less.
In the late 1960s, the Army sent me to Germany as one of thousands of Americans who succeeded the “greatest generation” that broke the Nazi stranglehold on the continent.
The Cold War focused my generation on Germany. But 25 years after the end of WWII, none of the Germans I met seemed like the Nazi monsters in the movies and comic books. I’ve been trying to understand today’s Germans since.
I worked in Germany for six to seven years and studied the language for a dozen. Now I travel to Germany each fall to work on the language and learn more about myself by watching and listening to these people. The ways today’s Germans approach the problems facing both our lands teaches me as much about myself as them.
In general, photos not taken by me are black-and-white. Exceptions are mainly where color is important to the photo’s meaning. Photos taken by others are credited as fully as possible.
Early posts, especially those from outside Germany, come with captions and very little other narrative. The photos were taken before I knew what a blog was. As I became more familiar with Germany, I wrote more about what meaning I found there.
But the point of this blog is entertainment. Any lessons you find here are a tribute to your own good sense.
Clint Swift