Get your copy NOW and please feel free to leave a review at Amazon. Posted in accomplishments , African American , Amazon , Bensheim , black , California , Christmas , Deutsch , Deutschland , ebook , epublish , epublishing , ereader , ereaders , Family , Fehlheim , German , Germany , God , granddad , grandfather , grandmother , grandpa , Hess , Hesse , Hessen , Hope , indie author , indie authors , Inspirational , kindle , Kindle for the Web , Kindle Single , Kindle Singles , Life , news , Predjudice , Race , self-publish , self-publishing , selfpublish , selfpublishing , Single , Singles , Strength , success Tags: In my own predominantly black neighborhood, I was an outcast there, too.
And when folks heard I was taking German in high school, the comments came! There are a number of versions floating around the Internet, but this is the one I know:. There once was a wise king who ruled over a vast kingdom. He was feared for his might and loved for his wisdom. In the heart of the kingdom , there was a well whose waters were pure and pristine from which the king and all the inhabitants drank. And he said that henceforth all who drink this water shall become mad. All the people drank of the water, but not the king.
Look how strangely he behaves. We cannot be ruled by a madman, so he must be dethroned. The king grew very fearful, for his subjects were preparing to rise against him. So one evening, he ordered a golden goblet to be filled from the well, and he drank deeply. The next day, there was great rejoicing among the people, for their beloved king had finally regained his sanity. This story is a greatly illustrates the dangers of nonconformity and it sums up my life perfectly.
Bitte was? An American author's misadventures in the German language by Lawrence D. Elliott
For some reason, African is the first thing that pops into their head. I get absolutely wonderful looks when I pull out a chair for a woman or open a door and allow the woman to enter before me. And when I put on her coat… wow! One evening, I sat in a restaurant and counted. Out of thirty accompanied women, only two men helped a woman on with her coat. One of them was me. One guy put his coat on, went to the door, and waited impatiently as his partner struggled to put her coat on.
He even looked at his watch, as his demeanor betrayed his thoughts:. But the saddest thing about it is the women have grown so accustomed to it. Sit down so we can eat. One winter day, a woman was taking out a bag of trash and it broke open. The contents were all over the sidewalk. She bent down to pick everything up as not a single passerby stopped to help. And most were men. When I came over to help her, she wore a shocked expression. Okay, not every American guy is like me. American women can attest to this.
But it seems like the lack of gentleman skills here have been kicked into overdrive. I once watched a woman walk out of a grocery store in the pouring rain carrying her items in her arms as her husband sat comfy and dry in the car. But her dear , sweet husband…he let his poor wife do a balancing act on her way to the car. The love of her life did push the door open from inside. Unfortunately, he was such a wimp , it took him three tries to get it open wide enough for her get in.
And there was the time when a German guy showed me what he does when he wants his wife to get him another beer.
He just snaps his fingers. This dude was under thirty! Taped to the wall behind the bottles of their favorite brew is a note:. You might find a special note taped to the wall above your bed: I once tried to assist a woman who walked down a steep, winding set of stairs holding a tray full of food. All the other men just stood there and watched.
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I, like an idiot, went over and offered to help. Perhaps my life would be easier if I were like the King and I drank for the poisoned well. However, my mom gave me different advice. In memory of David Morris Scharlin , who passed away on November 13, Whether he touched your life or not, I hope it makes you smile. Click here to read more at The Huffington Post. Conny is a German mother of three adult children with three grandchildren.
She also operates her own firm…. Only the bold have come out and made their feelings completely known. Such comments have left him with much wiggle room, but what he said on the Piers Morgan show left no doubt in the minds of anyone what he was talking about. It was response to the news of Gen. Powell gave his reasons for his endorsement.
Here is the video clip: Anyone who has heard John Sununu knows this was rather mild for him. By the way, has anyone heard from Mitt Romney? Or course, how Mr. Sununu said what he said is not as important as the content of what he said. Colin Powell would have endorsed the guy, no matter what. In fact, it will only get worse as November 6th gets closer. A ny N egro will D o. Black folks will vote for any dark face, no matter what his or her qualifications.
No matter what their ideology. He would endorsed him yesterday! Legend has it that he was asked why he robbed banks. Reportedly, his answer was simple:. Whether this conversation actually took place is not the point. When he lead Bain Capital, a highly profitable private equity investment firm, he earned millions and took full advantage of the tax codes to multiply his money. Romney, are any of the programs you used in Salt Lake City or Massachusetts going to be cut, should you become President? Did you watch the video?
Bitte was? An American author's misadventures in the German language
If you did, you might have heard Mr. His work has also been showcased in several titles from Adams Media, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. Boy, does he have tons of stories to tell. Now he tackles the language of German in this humorous story of how he struggled to relearn the language, after being away from it for over 20 years. No one is off limits when it comes to poking a bit of fun, not even the author.
Now at Amazon (Kindle)
The author is not a teacher or professor. This is not a language book or a dry instruction manual. His world is not the clean or pristine environment of a classroom, where you'd hear perfect German spoken from professional performers.
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- Bitte was?.
- Bitte was? An American authors's misadventures in the German language?
Who speaks perfectly in any language? He writes about the real world and what he's encountered as he struggled to relearn German, one of the world's most difficult languages. Hopefully, you won't make the same mistakes he's made. Or maybe you're studying a language in school now and you want to understand what it's like to hold real conversations in the real world.