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Der Bär spricht die Wahrheit!!! The Bear speaks the truth and it has haunted me for many many years!! (I had to go to Babelfish to write that by the way) So here’s the story, to graduate from the University of Florida and receive my BA in Political Science, I needed a year of a language. What ever made me think I could handle the German language, I don’t know. Maybe I thought that the ghosts of my ancestors on my father’s side, who all came from Germany, would come to me in the middle of the night and by morning I could speak like a native – not! Anyway, for someone who hates English grammar, can’t diagram a sentence if his life depended on it, German is not a great language to study. With der, die,and das, changing with direct and indirect objects,and verbs that split and part of it moves to the end of the sentence, (what;s up with that!) I was quickly lost. Well, not quickly because I did make it through the first semester, but that was because my roommate was taking the class with me and we studied together. But then, he didn’t take the second semester – that’s when I was quickly lost!! So rather than struggle through and feel stupid, I took the easy road and dropped the class! Unfortunately, that was my last semester at school, so the only way that I could get my degree was to take the class via correspondence. (this was in the days before on-line classes) At least I didn’t have to feel stupid in front of a teacher, and I could actually not feel stupid at all because I could just put off doing the work!! I had more important stuff to do, I had a girlfriend to be with!!
I eventually finished all the work and then had to find a place to take the final! I ended up taking the final at my old elementary school Mildred Magowen School, where my old cross-country coach and English teacher Mr, McGovern was the principal!! The result – I just passed the class with the only D I ever received in school and like they say the rest is history – I’ve never done anything with my degree, I’ve spent the last 34 years in a civil engineering company, not studying politics!! Damn you German!!
