Charndon, England

Charndon, England

George left Munich near the end of October, 1963, to return to his base in England. I immediately began preparing for my exodus to join him there. It was an easy decision to leave where I worked, as I never really felt comfortable with my co-workers, nor for that matter with many of the acquaintances that I had made in the couple of years I lived there. Leaving my Grandfather, aunts, uncles and cousins was another matter altogether. Leaving my aging Opa was especially difficult. We had grown very close and it was with a heavy heart when I informed him of my intentions. Surprisingly, though he also was saddened, he understood that I did not fit into the Munich life and that I would be happier with George.

Some of my other relatives felt that I should not be leaving Munich to join the American. They did not think that we knew enough about each other to make such a quick decision. Actually, I could understand their concern, for George and I had only known each other for less than a month, and I must admit that there was apprehension on my part. What if George never met me in England? What if he changed his mind? What if he decided not to marry me? Still, no matter what happened with George, I had decided to leave Germany. I missed my mother, father and siblings and wanted to be closer to them.

At the time Mama and Papa were living outside of the community, so there would be no restriction on my joining them, at least until I found a job. If George and I were to be married, then everything would be alright. If George did not show up, well….. I did not want to think about that.

It was December 6, and George was supposed to meet my train at 11:00 P.M. Problem!
George thought he was to meet the train at 11:00 A.M. The train arrived and departed, and George was there ON TIME, or so he thought. Naturally, I was not on board. Poor George! He left the station and returned when the next train was due. Still, no Mandy! There was no way that we could communicate. In the meantime, I was worried that George would change his mind and not be there to meet the train. But I had no idea what was on George’s mind as I was not on the train on which he thought I was arriving.

I finally arrived at the appointed place, and at the correct time of 11:00 P.M.. Cautiously, I began to look for George. It had grown late before the train reached the station, which made me even more concerned. When I looked around the station I suddenly felt a rush of relief. There he was! Un-be-known to me, though, George had waited 12 hours! He watched as several trains came and went with nary a sight of Mandy. I need not have concerned myself about George changing his mind about me, having waited 12 hours it turned out that he was worried that I had changed my mind about him.

My family and George hit it off at once. There was George at six foot three inches, and my parents barely over five foot. My parents were pacifists while George was an airman on active duty. Yet, from the beginning there was genuine affection between my parents and George. My brothers and sisters received George in the same way. I lived with my family for the next five months, from December through May. It was during that period of time that George and I were able to really get to know each other, and for my family to get acquainted with and to solidify and already affectionate relationship.