SIXTH GRADE WAS SEPT. 1965 – JUNE 1966
I was living in Germany at the time, ages 10 & 11.

I lived a double life.

Canadian army brat during the week, German girl on the weekends. Every Friday, we went shopping at the Canex (army stores) for my grandparents (groceries, cigarettes and alcohol were much cheaper there), then spent the weekend with them.

It was only an hour’s drive away, and their large apartment had plenty of room.

2. SPENDING TIME WITH MY GERMAN FAMILY

Those years in Germany were the happiest of my childhood, which was mostly dysfunctional. Spending weekends and holidays with relatives put everyone on their best behaviour!

My grandparents threw wonderful house parties, and we also visited the many aunts, uncles and cousins on a regular basis. Every Sunday, we went out for lunch, followed by the ritualistic “Kaffee und Kuchen” (coffee and cake) later in the afternoon.

That all stopped when we moved to Canada in 1969, except for three summer visits, 1970 – 72.
It took me 41 more years to return after that. By then, many relatives had died and others had scattered.

3. READING

Between the ages of 10 and 14, I was a voracious reader of mostly crime novels, in both English and German. My grandparents had a large collection of paperback “Krimis”, and I borrowed many more from the army base library. I read all of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, the entire Agatha Christie catalogue, and others, like Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series, and Georges Simenon’s Inspector Maigret books.

This habit continued into adulthood, where my tastes gravitated to thrillers by authors like Dean Koontz, Stephen King and Anne Rice. I also read a lot of historical fiction and biographies.

Non-fiction is my preferred genre these days, but I have to admit,
since getting hooked on blogging, most of the books I’ve acquired remain unread.
😳

4. WRITING

As an only child, I had a lot of time to myself and, from a young age, enjoyed writing short stories, plays and poems. In grade six, I had a “girl crush” on Superman’s sidekick, Lois Lane, and dreamt of becoming a journalist like her. Other dreams included writing an Oscar-winning screenplay, and becoming a published author.

In the early 1970s, I studied Journalism & Mass Communications, but didn’t care for the idea of writing according to assignment. So much for becoming a reporter! I still wanted to be a published author of some sort though, took a couple of Creative Writing correspondence courses, and started submitting my work.

Constant rejection wore me down, plus there were bills to pay, so I took a clerical job at a multi-national corporation. Exit aspiring author, enter ambitious corporate workaholic! Decades later, post-corporate career, I re-discovered the joys of writing via the Blogosphere, using those talents mostly for memoirs, reality-based fiction, and poetry.

Right-click to open blog links in new tabs:

The writing muse has waned somewhat in recent years, with photography taking centre stage.
Still, every now and then, the spark re-ignites.

5. TRAVELLING

Living in Germany afforded my family many travel opportunities, and we took full advantage! Our first big excursion was for Easter Break in 1966 (two weeks). We visited Tyrol, Austria, where my aunt and uncle owned a hotel and café in the ski resort town of Mayrhofen. It was a nine-hour drive, and I loved the adventure of it all! Thus, my wanderlust was born.

My husband and I have covered a lot of ground over the years, but our last big trip was in 2018.

Between COVID, decreased amenities, and increased costs, we’re sticking closer to home these days.
But, if we ever win the lottery… 😉