Family

I met my wife in February of 1976 in Goslar through a friend and by the end of the month we were together. Susanne was still going to school at that time. We did something together daily, ice skating, walking, went out on the town a lot. In June 1976 Susannes mother gave her permission to go with me and my friend on vacation in France. We went for 2 weeks by car to Arcachon, France which is on the atlantic coast (photo right). We

camped, we slept in a tent and my friend Lee slept in the car. We had a lot of fun 

except for the long drive, it was over 1000 miles and we were 3 people and everything for camping in a VW bug.  We met some new friends that were from Hamburg and Frankfurt, we enjoyed the beach a lot and especially the sunsets (photo left). After we left the beach we would always go back to the campground and get ready to go to the bar or disco right outside the campground. We would usually stay 

there to 1 or 2 o'clock in the morning. After a fun 2 weeks of we drove back through Paris and after 24 hours we were back home. Then it was time to go back to work and I had to make a decision at this time. Susanne and I were together for only 5 months and my army time was to be at an end in November, so it was time to make a decision, go back to California or re-enlist to stay in Germany, well I stayed and bought a new 

car in August. After another year of  working, Susanne and I decided to go to Arcachon again but this time we decided to go alone. Well this time we decided just to enjoy eachother and just have a fun time, we went to the beach. We also had a larger tent and with the larger car it was more comfortable (photo right). We did enjoy the time and when we got back home I decided it was time to think about marriage. Susanne was still sceptical but I  just kept bugging her. We decided that when she

finished her schooling which was the middle of May 1978 we would go to Denmark. Well we went to Denmark and found out that you have to be in the country for 4 days and I only had a 3 day pass, so that didn't work out at all. Well, we decided to go on with our plans and fly on 22 May 1978 to Elk Grove and my mom had everything 

planned, on the 23rd of May we celebrated Susannes birthday and on the 24th of May 1978 we were in Reno. Before we went to get married we went to our Hotel which was the MGM and we had rooms on the 10th floor ( which my mom didn't know was that Susanne is scared of elevators and there were no stairs). Well, then we found a very nice security guard that rode in the elevator with us and Susanne made it ok the next 2 times up and down. We then left the Hotel and went downtown, and faster than you can think, we were married (photo right), no turning back now. It made it easy for me to remember our anniversary, its always the day after Susannes birthday. I remember that my mom was more nervous than Susanne and I,  where we got ourMarriage 

License is where my mom took a picture of the ceiling. Well after we got married we went out for a very nice dinner and dinner show. After that we went around through the casinos to have some fun. The next morning we left Reno and went back to Elk Grove. The rest of our Honeymoon we visited relatives in Oregon, then to S.F. and just had fun . Well we went back to Germany to begin our new life together. The first thing is that our family picked up was a new family member (Foxy, our first dog). After 4 weeks with one new hairy member, we were pregnant with our first child in September 1978. This is where I was sent back to Bocksberg (see military). Well as we went through the year, as our young one was growing and getting ready to become one of the family we still lived in my mother-in-laws home, we decorated our room with new furniture, etc. and my parents were planning a trip to visit us in Germany so they could see their grandchild. Well on th 29th April 1979 our first son (Benjamin) was born in Bad Harzburg Germany. Well my parents arrived as you can see (photos below). I am not sure what the date 

was but we had a real good time. All of our friends and relatives came by to visit and we also saw a lot of Goslar and area. Which I think was very interesting for my dad was the german beer. We also took them to see the east german border (see Germany) which was a 15 minute drive away. After the visit 

from my parents, life went back to normal, with work and all. The next May we had our first apartment and moved into our own place. Two months later I was discharged 

(Honorable) in Germany and started working for a german company delivering fresh fruits and vegetables. Well then my parents came for a visit in December 1980 (photos left). We also had during this time my cousin Rachel for a few days also. We just enjoyed the holidays having both mine and Susans Family together for the holidays.We were not so lucky and didn't have a white Christmas but we all enjoyed just being

together. The photo right is on Christmas day and it was the first Christmas that Benny could enjoy. Benny and his dad (smile) got a racetrack. We also had a big New Years party with family and friends. In Germany the New Years celebration is very colorful, at 12 midnight it is like our 4th of July. Well, the next day my parents had to fly back home and life went back to normal. Well it wasn't long but a couple weeks after this, that we found out 

that we were pregnant again. Well I guess  it was a fun holidays. Then our second son (Dennis) was born on 10 September 1981. Well since I thought that Susanne shouldn't work while the boys are young, I decided to go back into the military at this time. The next September 1982 we went to Elk Grove on vacation. We had a 4 week vacation 

and mom had planned everything. We had a Motorhome and we all (Tom, Susanne, boys, Oma and Opa (german for Grandma and Grandpa)went to Oregon to visit relatives, we drove back the down the northern coast (photo left) and visited the Redwoods. We went from there to Elk Grove for a couple of days relaxing. We then went to San Diego and stayed at he Hilton, visited the Zoo and Sea World. After 

that we left San Diego and went to the Disneyland Hotel and we can't forget that all rooms were on the ground floor so that Susanne didn't have go in an elevator. The next day we went to Disneyland and I will never forget, that I took both boys and my wife into the Pirates of the Carribean. well when we came out I had 2 boys and a wife that were crying and scared to death, it took a good hour to calm everyone down to where we could have a good time. I was then careful to where I took my family the rest of that day. We did then enjoy Disneyland but 

when I wanted to go somewhere that I couldn't take my family, I went in there with my dad. We then left Los Angeles and went back to Elk Grove along the coast. When we got back to Elk Grove we didn't have but I think it was a week and we still had the big happening of my dad's 50th birthday party (photo left Opa opens birthday gift from Benny). The boys also had time to get to know their Aunt Cindy (photo below) which this trip was the first

time that they had seen  my sister. Well this trip was coming to an end and it was not easy to go back to Germany this time. We left from San Francisco for Germany. Well it was back to the normal everyday job and life. At this time I had just taken over the job as Site Chief (see military), life was not so easy with all the responsibility as young father and being boss at a multi-million dollar military site. Well our next vacation wasn't for 

awhile and life went on . We did take a short camping trip to the Baltic Sea in Germany summer 1983 (photo left). It was a real short trip since I couldn't get much time off being the boss. My parents started to plan their next trip at this time for the summer of 1984. When Oma and Opa were visiting this time, it was June-July which was also the time of Goslars yearly fair (Schuetzenfest) which is a must if you have never been. It is basically your small 

Octoberfest. We went to the Zoo in Hannover and took long walks and so on. During the Schuetzenfest time I had my 10 year Anniversary being in Germany and I stayed out long that night with friends, when I came home at 6:00am Susanne was standing at the top of the stairs with a rolling pin, well all I wanted to do was go to bed. I didn't pay any attention and passed right by and dropped on to the couch. Well I wasn't much of use that day, so my dad and mom weeded my 

garden, which wasn't bad, have a good time, come home go to bed and when you get up, surprize, the garden is done.  We also did some barbecues and had lots of friends visiting. Well, after 3 weeks of visiting, my parents flew home and normal life continued. At this time I had made a decision to leave the military and move back to California. Well we had another year until the next summer came around and that 

is where the work started. We had to sort, pack and just get ready to have everything shipped to the United States. We moved out of our apartment in September 1985. We had a big going away party for all our friends before we left (Photo left, below). We flew out of Rhein-Main AFB. We landed in North  Carolina and was bussed to Ft. Jackson. This is where Susanne got her shock, they 

told me to go there and get started on outprocessing. Well Susanne and the boys were left there without anybody to let them know where to go or stay. Well, when I was finished I found them at the hotel on base, got up the next morning, finished outprocessing, came back to pick up my family and believe me it was hot and humid that day. All we wanted to do was 

get out of there, caught a cab, the cab driver got 2 foot lockers, 2 duffelbags and 4 suitcases in his trunk, he was good. He let us off at a hotel at the airport in Columbia S.C. and we got a room for the night since our flight was the next morning. During the night it started pouring down rain and when we got up the streets were filled with water and there was a  hurricane coming in. We got to the airport and they rushed us to get on the plane so they could get out fast before they closed the airport. I have never had such a ruff ride taking off. The boys were ok but a stewardess took 

Susanne to back of the plane and comforted her, Susanne is also scared of flying. Well after the first 15 minutes the flight settled down, we landed in Chicago, changed planes and were on our way to Sacramento. We were finally there and in time for the complete holiday season. Well, since we left our first dog with my Mother-in-Law, I had promised Susanne that we would get a new one. Christmas gift Tubby (photo left). Well this was the year that Elk Grove had lots of Fog (30 days straight) 

and lots of rain with flooding. Then we had a lots of sunshine which Susanne wasn't used to and with the homesickness for her mother. We decided to go back to Germany since my wife didn't no what she had until it wasn't there anymore. I had already been away from home for over 10 years so I figured if she was going to be unhappy, that wouldn't be good for our marriage. Susanne and the boys left in August 1986 and I went back in October. I had to get all our things unpacked and only the special things packed to go back to Germany, the rest of our furnishings I sold or gave them away. When we got back to a normal life and when we had settled down and 

we found a small house that we rented (photo left). Well I was back in Germany and had a job, so life went on. The boys were back on track in school and we were both working. We now had 2 dogs, we inherited our 2nd dog back since my Mother-in-Law really wasn't a dog lover. I went up every once in awhile to visit the guys up at Bocksberg Radio Site. Working at the chemical factory wasn't safe so my wife deciding that I needed something new. I won't get into that any deeper here (see Germany). Well since we weren't in California anymore and my sister had moved to Denver, my parents had decided to sell everything and also move back to Colorado where they could be closer to my sister. Well 

as they were getting ready to move back to Colorado we had bad news in the family, My dad was diagnosed with cancer and had to have an operation done, he came through ok. Now I had a reason to make a trip back to the states, I had to see for myself that my dad was ok and see Elk Grove again, since after that all my trips would be to Colorado for family visits. This way I could also help with the move back. I spent a week in Elk Grove, visited relatives in Carmichael, went down to old Sacramento and just looked around. We packed the truck and left for Colorado. We drove Highway 50 (photo right) back so we could take time and just enjoy the drive. I drove the big Ryder rental with my mom's Nissan trailing me. My Dad and Mom switched driving the pickup with trailer. The one that wasn't driving the pickup rode with me. Well, we took our time and it took 3 days, we didn't push at all. I will have to say 

that I am a person that loves the Desert. My favorite sunsets are in the Desert. We arrived on a Sunday at noon. Since that trip, I have fallen in love with the Rocky Mountains and Colorado. Well after unloading the truck into storage I still had another over 2 weeks before I had to go back to Germany so we just visited lots of things to see and family visits. Well then, in October my mom said that the cancer was back, well after my dad went through a lot of different therapies, my mom had told me in December that I had better come, when I got home my dad was out of the hospital and at Cindys in Denver, this was one of the hardest times for me in my lifetime, my dad died at home Dec. 23 1988 with all of us at his side, well this was a hard Christmas for all of us, after the funeral and helping my mom where I could I had to 

leave again for Germany which this time was very hard. Well now it was back to Germany and that daily job to job thing. The next summer it was time to take a vacation again with the family so we planned a trip to Denmark with my wifes brothers family, we also took our golden retriever Tubby with us. We had rented a vacation home (photo left) and just try to relax and have a good time. 

We played a lot of Badminton, enjoyed the good weather that we had for the 2 weeks. We played card games and Yahtzee. We drove over to see the Ferry as they came 

in went out. We came here also for the beach but the year that we were there Denmark had a bad problem with ladybugs. I always thought sweet little bugs but let me tell you, when there is a plague (photo right) and they land on you, they have a type of acid or liquid that they put on your skin, it burns and I mean BURNS. So that really did keep us from going to the beach, they were everywhere on the 

 I beach, if you went to our rental which was less than a mile from the beach, there weren't any. Well the 2 weeks went by real fast and it was back on the road home, about a 10 hour drive. Well it was back to the normal life again. When we got back we repainted the inside of the house and I renovated the stairway and when we were just finishing everything up, our landlord came by and told us that he is selling the house. We had the first option but it was just too much. Well, now something happened that

I had never expected but it did, the Wall fell, I can still remember I went downtown to do my shopping and there were East German Cars everywhere and they stunk, they were 2 cycle engines where the oil and gas are mixed. You have to remember I only lived a short way from the old border. The photo left I have put 3 pictures together, upper middle you can see the tower, I think they were approximately a half mile apart and they were manned 24 

hours a day with loaded weapons, bottom left of picture is the sign that says caution 

creek middle is the border, bottom right is the border with a barbed wired fence, then the mine fields, then the cement wall and approximately the first mile in the country wass mined, the first 5 miles was off limits, you had to have a special permit as an east German to come anywhere near the border if 

you didn't want to be arrested. The photo above is the "Reichstag" where the government before Hitler did their thing. The Nazi's put it on fire, the complete inside is burned out. The photo to the left is the "Brandenburg Gate" with the "Berlin Wall" in front of it, it was on the east side. All the photo's were taken before the wall fell. It was a very interesting time in german

history. Well life goes on and my mom came to visit at Christmas, it was the last visit for a long time. We had a big dinner party with all our friends and did see a few

things, you still couldn't visit the east side yet without having a visum, but my mom was able to see that all the east germans were on this side looking through the stores. Well my mom left and I started going to school. The month that I started we also moved out of our house and moved into my mother-in-laws since we had decided to build our own home onto my mother-in laws. Well June 1990 we started

building our new home (photo above) and it went up fast, within 3 months the main building was standing ( photo left), well as you can see our Architect made a mistake and all that rock in the back was to much for the terrace so I ended up in my summer vacation hauling it wheel barrel for wheel barrel to the front to have it hauled off since we couldn' get any large equipment in the

backyard anymore (photo right). The next 2 months on my time off I put in the windows and doors (64 of them). I did a lot of the electrical myself, the wood ceilings and the stairway railing. We had the stucco on the inside done and the floor heating was also put in. I did all tile floors (complete up and downstairs). I also did all the finishing work in the basement. All and all we do live in the house now but the outside is to this day still not finished, lack of time and funds. Well it was winter of 1993 before I could take any vacation and I decided it

was time for a 2 week family visit, to see my mom and Cindy. I hadn't been on american soil for over 4 years. Well as you can see ( photo left ) the hair is getting thin on top. It was February 1993 but beautiful weather and the first time that I saw my Mom's new home in Colorado. I loved it since she lives in the Rockies and only about a half mile from the Arkansas River, good for fishing, since when I am home, I try to go fishing since fishing in Germany is not so easy. First you have to take classes and then join a club. That is just to much hassle, I like to just grab the pole and sit on the river or lake and relax. I don't even have to catch anything, its just that

relaxing feeling with the sound of nature around you. This time I didn't get the chance since it was cold and I was only home for 2 weeks. Well again it was time to go back to normal day by day again. Well back in Germany and back to work. I didn't go on any vacations for a while. Since my wife Susan got back on german soil and on that ground she had said that she would never get in a plane again. We also had the house

to work on and that always makes it financially impossible to go on vacation. So I started planning a trip home fall of 1995 and I had asked my best friend ( I have known him since the 3rd week that I was in Germany summer 1974 ) if he didn't want to go with me, I didn't have to ask a 2nd time. So it be, my youngest son, my friend (Thomas) and I went to Colorado for a 3 week vacation. We started out and saw

Rocky Mountain N.P., then Pikes Peak, Royal Gorge Bridge, Aspen, Maroon Bells ( photo above ) and these were all day trips from my mom's house. We also did a little fishing at my mom's. After about 5 days there we went on up to Denver to my sister's house. We had a barbecue and then yes, went fishing and it was a beautiful day (photo left). I really had to look for photo's of myself, I am always

carrying the camera. Both photo's (above ) are snapshots that I just took out of my friends video's. I just happened to work on the videos and have them all on CD now. So on with the trip, the next day we went to a Bronco's game (Broncos 27, Raiders 0), the next day we left Denver,Sausalito (photo right), San Francisco, Elk Grove (Drive through and by the house where I grew up, Yosemite, Death Valley, Las Vegas,

Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Navajo Reservation, National Monument, Mesa Verde and back to my Mom's. We had a fantastic time, but as usual it was to short. Well, we left after 3 weeks of fun and as usual back to the, life goes on. Well our Golden Retriever was getting up in years and we have been going from Dog Show to Dog Show and we finally found the breeder where we would get our next family member. Well Tubby had gone now and the next dog wasn't born yet. I didn't know if I could handle it anymore but after 4 months we picked up our new family member (photo left). Well I will have to say it was my

wifes dream but he is my dog. I never thought that I could get so attached to a dog. Well, Bailey took a lot of our time at this moment. We were also planning our trip to Colorado in summer (the same as last trip and my youngest sons friend) so this time we would be 4 on the trip and it should be a lot of fun since this time it would be 4 weeks and the northern route. Well by the time we left my little puppy dog was getting big (photo right Bailey with my oldest son Benny), Bailey is still not fully grown as you will later see. You can also see him in his own homepage, just look under our link button later. It is also a very interesting 

Homepage if you like Irish Wolfhounds. Well, we are now leaving on our trip August 1998. This time we started with a beautiful complete family camping trip in the high Rockies, it is just what I needed, peace and quiet, in the middle of some of the most beautiful country that I have seen. Get up early in the morning with a thermos of hot coffee, its cold at 9,000 ft. but come down in the dark, just turning 

light, throw the fishing line in, sit down watch the sunrise, birds waking up and having a hot cup of coffee (photo above). We were here for 3 days, going for walks, rented a pontoon boat, where we could all fit on. Well the pontoons leaked a little and by the end of the day it was an adventure taking it back about 10 miles across the lake, we weren't really sure if we were going to make it. My youngest son was getting a little worried cause that water was cold, well we made it. The next morning I went down again (photo right), early, I was always the first one up and at about 7 o'clock my mom came down with fresh

coffee. I did this every morning and it was hard to leave. When we got back to Denver, we had to get ready for our planned trip. We left Denver and drove through Rocky Mountain N.P., through Steamboat Springs on to Salt Lake City. From here it was straight out to San Francisco (3 days there) and from there we went the northern route. Up the California coast, Oregon coast (overnight),

then east to Mt. Hood (overnight photo right), Hood River Valley, back west to Portland and up to Seattle (overnight). Then to Vancouver (overnight), early up and drove up to northern Jasper N.P. (overnight), then through Jasper and Banff (overnight), into Montana (overnight). From here we went to Yellowstone N.P. (overnight), then through the park, on to Grand Teton N.P. (overnight). We got up this

morning and was on the last leg of the trip, back to Denver. The next evening it was out to a Broncos game. We still had a few days left so my friend and I went out, bought my mom a computer. Well we went down to my moms (photo left) for a couple a days, I set up her new computer, put her on the internet so that we could have more contact through email. I had already had the internet for quite a while.

After the last relaxing in the country and little fishing, it was back to Denver and the airport. Well we were back in Germany and I remember my sons youngest friend had problems with his luggage, he went into the airlines office to report it and he came back out and said to me " Tom, can we turn around and go back to the U.S., the people are so much nicer there". I said that I wouldn't mind. Well it was back to the everyday thing again. Well a small idea came into my mind while we were travelling, a small tour company, that would tour around Colorado and the National Parks, with the specialty in the language german, since I have met many

people through the years here in Germany that said they would love to visit the U.S. but didn't speak the language. Well I started planning and took a trip the next year (Oct 1999) alone to Colorado to check it all out. Well it looked good  and I came back to Germany with all kinds of plans. My young dog was full grown now (photo left). I flew again in winter (February 2000) just for 2 weeks to check a few things out. Well as time went, plans went on but then we had 9-11 and there wasn't anything to think about for the moment, it would take a long time for people to think about getting on a plane. As I watched,

international travel was not doing well, so I put everything off for a while. Well we just letting life go on as my mom started planning a trip to visit us, Well she arrived and stayed for a few weeks and we had a party with all our friends to welcome her back to Germany since all my freinds had not seen her for almost 13 years. Then my mom and I visited my best friend Thomas in Berlin for 3 days (photo right). We went to see the Bundestag ( new/old German Capitol building "Reichstag")(photo below), we took a bus tour through Berlin, a boat tour through Berlin, went to an Opera, visited the Palace Charlottenburg and just went all over Berlin. We then left

Berlin and on the way home we went to Potsdam. In Potsdam we visited the Palace and Gardens of Sans Souci, it is breathtaking. Well we got home and took day trips here and there. We visited mostly small towns in what used to be east Germany, Wernigerode, Quedlinburg and we took a small walking trip through our old

town of Goslar. Well I guess I should let you all know that on 24 May 2003 Susanne and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary (25 years of love, family, good times and bad times, mostly good). We did have a small celebration in our home and we were really lucky since it was the first warm day of the year with perfect weather (photo right), we invited a few more and had a little bigger 

party. Photo left is a picture of Susanne and I on our 25th Anniversary. We really did have a nice time and the last guests left at 6:00 am. Our youngest family member Bailey also had a good time since we had a barbecue. He got all kinds of snacks. He was a part of the party (photo below).As things went on the economical situation in Germany is not well and at the moment my wife and I are really thinking about changing countries. Here are just a few reasons: Gas is at between $5.50 and $6.50 a gallon, Sales Tax is at 16% (going up to 18%), unemployment rate in our area is at 15% and at this point I won't go on but there are several other costly reasons.  I decided to take a trip 

home since it had been over 4 years now, this way I could take a look at the situation. I flew in Sep-Oct 2004 to Colorado and had a long overdue visit with my family. We did travel some and this time I went with my mom, sister and nephew to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore. It is beautiful country and worth the trip. Well it was good to see my family again

 (photo left Tom and sister Cindy) and it really had made me think about the times that I am always missing with my family being in Germany. Well at this point I would like to thank you for visiting my family life, I hope that I didn't bore you too much. I hope that this has given you a small look at my life after my highschool years and would much appreciate to hear from you either in my Guestbook or by email. I also would like to wish all my classmates a happy and healthy life no matter where you are or what you are doing. I will also as my life goes on, keep updating these pages.

Well I have decided to update this a little farther now since it has been about over 2 years since I have added anything to this. Well the first thing that I will add is that my beautiful dog Bailey has gone from us in June 2005. he was a fantastic buddy to me and it took me a very long time to get over his death. Since then we have added a new family member ( Gizmo, a long haired Belgium Shepherd). He is also a beautiful Dog but I don't think any pet will ever come close to my Irish Wolfhound. here are their Homepages Bailey and Gizmo.

At the moment I have decided, due to the economy in Germany that I will probably relocate myself in Denver, Colorado. I am Self-Employed but the german Economy is not in good shape, to many unemployed and the average persons pay just gets you through the month. being self-employed I just don't know if the income is enough to pay the bills. I have also tried to find a job in Germany but there just isn't enough jobs available. I have started to look in the Denver and Colorado Springs area through the Internet, the jobs are there but I want to see by sending a few Resume's per email to see if I can't get something through the Internet, I don't want to jump into cold water if I don't have to. I will keep you informed as time goes by.