FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2022 - NO PERFECT PEOPLE ALLOWED

 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2022 - NO PERFECT PEOPLE ALLOWED

On Friday I write about spiritual things.  

A while back I drove past a sign for a new (and not built yet) church.  The sign was for the new church and it was “MESSY CHURCH” with the second line “NO PERFECT PEOPLE ALLOWED”.

So, what about that?  Yes, we are to work toward perfection - we are to work toward being perfect.

BUT- none of us are perfect - for a Biblical reference “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)

(And, let me be the first to say “yup” - that’s me - I try to do good, but I fail.

In Romans 7, Paul says “The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.  But if I know that what I am doing is wrong”

(Basically, Paul is saying I want to do what is right, but somehow I don’t do it.  And I end up doing the wrong stuff!!!)

James 2 has this:

“For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?”

There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.”

Three months ago I was called into a meeting with two leaders at one of my churches.  I was asked (told) not to use the main ladies' restroom, and to not wear sleeveless dresses.  I was offending some people.  Now, I really don’t want to offend anybody.  And, if you will, I use the ladies' restroom for one primary purpose.  (I might look in the mirror to see if my hair is combed, but that is a secondary purpose).

Can we have “messy” churches?  Or do we need to be prim and proper?  What if a homeless person comes into our church (or our lives)?  Do we condemn them because they are homeless?  Or do we recognize them as fellow human beings?  

.  

I talk about “LOVE WINS” - but this is another case where I fail.  If there are two new people at a familiar place do I go and talk to the better-dressed person rather than the homeless person?  Do I love one another?  Or do I show favoritism? 

Let’s take that another step.  I know people who look different - full body tattoos, shaved heads, unusual hairstyle and/or color, lip piercing, nose piercing, - can I not talk to them because they are different?

Yes, I am different - do you accept me? 

In one of my regular churches, the people greet each other - maybe shake hands, or say “Peace be with you”.  But, I have people who refuse to greet me.  Is it because I’m transgender?  Is it because I am not “normal”?  

I don’t like being pushy or “in your face”.  That isn’t very loving in my book - but should I encourage those who look, act, or seem to be different to be my friends?  Should I be friendly and loving to ALL people?  

Yup, I’m still a work in progress - yes, I’m “messy”.  And, maybe that’s okay in God’s eyes!!!

LOVE WINS!!

Karen White, October 28, 2022, © 

(Of course when I wear a sleeveless dress, I am practicing my first amendment rights - "The right to bare arms")

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2022 - TECHNOLOGY CONTINUED

 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2022 - TECHNOLOGY CONTINUED

Short today - too much going on this week!!!  

More later!!!

Fiber-optic internet, commonly called fiber internet or simply “fiber,” is a broadband connection that can reach speeds of up to 940 Megabits per second (Mbps), with low lag time. The technology uses a fiber-optic cable, which amazingly can send data as fast as about 70% of the speed of light.

The fastest internet speed ever recorded is 319 Terabits per second (Tbps). This world record was achieved by researchers at Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology. The long-haul transfer of data took place over 3,001 kilometers.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2022 - COMPUTING I

 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2022 - COMPUTING I

Last week and this week (and I have more material - so maybe even next week), I’ve been writing about technologies - drones, autonomous cars, 3D printing, facial recognition, and telephones.  It struck me the other day that I haven’t written about the basic technology underlying the technology of today - computing, and the internet.  So, today, a brief look at computing.

COMPUTING

No, there haven’t always been computers and there hasn’t always been computing.  I like the concept that some of us older folk are “computer immigrants”, and the younger generations are “computer natives”.  

I was born in 1947 - about the same time as the first real viable computer was made.  A court case determined that the first computer was about 1942 in Ames Iowa - the ABC Computer.  

The ENIAC - Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer was born (according to the internet) in 1946 (although one source says 1945).  

***

Some historical factors.

World War II was a global war - many countries took part, the two major oceans (Atlantic and Pacific) were theaters of operations, and men, ships, supplies, and airplanes, were all going one way or another.

First - the business side of war.  There was a movie “Saving Private Ryan” - but how do you know which Private Ryan needs saving.  There weren’t databases where an SQL search on “Last-name = Ryan”; there were paper records but no digital records.  How many pounds of potatoes would be needed in England?  How many extra uniforms, bars of soap, and equipment.

Second - the mechanics/mathematics of war.  How to aim and shoot your artillery shells when the wind is from the north at 20 miles per hour, the humidity is 55%, with a cloud cover?  At what second do you need to release your bombs so they fill on the right target (not a church, school, or hospital).  

*****

The government, recognizing the need for keeping track of things (aka “data processing” in the old language), and high-speed calculations (“number crunching”) was encouraging universities and technology businesses to pursue some sort of analysis devices.  

*****

Thus, the first generation of computing - ENIAC was followed by similar devices.  These were digit (not analog) and used on and off switches or devices - if you will 1 (on), and 0 (off).  Binary coding schemes had been developed - so 1011010 would be the number 90 in base 10 (or decimal).  On and off - pretty simple - but also pretty complicated to represent letters, punctuation, and decimal values, in every language known.  

There was a quip, “First was the bit (binary digit - on and off), then the byte (basically eight bits), then the nibble, word, and double word.  Confusion covered the face of computing and IBM said ‘it is profitable’) - as a play on words from Genesis chapter 1.  

IBM as the International Business Machines had worked with coding schemes and working with the US Census Bureau had found ways to count Americans using punched cards (of Hollerith Cards).  They also had typewriters.  The early competition was between IBM, Sperry-Rand, Univac, and others.  The comment was that some of the early computers worked faster and better than the IBM machines, but IBM’s sales force won the day by selling customers on their machines.  By the 1960s, IBM was the big force in computing.  

In the early days, a computer might work one hour out of the week; during that hour, the scientists would get data that might take years to do by hand.  One of the true stories is that a moth was attracted to the early computers with vacuum tubes and flew in and got fried.  The technicians used tweezers to pull the moth remains out of the device.  That concept was known as “debugging” and is still used today, but in a different concept - keeping “bugs” and errors out of software.

As the world got into the 1960s, the American President (John F. Kennedy) said “We will land men on the moon and bring them home in less than ten years.” That took a lot of computing.  It also has been said that the computing power to land men on the moon and bring them back is less than the computing power on your phone!!!

The devices were mammoth - but grew smaller as transistors replaced vacuum tubes (like light bulbs), and then as integrated circuits replaced transistors, and very large scale integration replaced the first integrated circuits, and more and more memory and faster and faster speeds prevailed.  I haven’t heard any significant discussions about Moore’s Law for a few years.  Moore’s law predicted that processing speeds would double about every two years for the same price (or, basically twice as much processing power in two years for the same money).

Computing has many facets - hardware, software, communications, and applications.  

The hardware is a thousand times faster than the early computers, the software is a thousand times more robust than the early computers, and the networking is a thousand times faster than the early computers.  That allows for artificial intelligence - searching multiple databases in only a few seconds; computer vision - allowing for facial identification and for autonomous vehicles as the cameras process what is ahead, along the side, behind, above, and below a car.

There was an old analogy - computers in 1947 would be like driving from New York to Los Angeles in a 1932 Ford Roadster; computers in 2022 would be like flying from New York to Los Angeles in three minutes.  

More tomorrow on technology!

LOVE WINS

Karen White, October 26, 2022, © 

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2022 - PHONES

 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2022 - PHONES

This week (and last week) I’m looking at technology changes.  Today, I’m writing about phones.  What a change!!

The first phone I remember was a black phone on the wall at my home in Cedar Rapids Iowa.  It was a phone - with a rotary dial - and it was used to make phone calls.  I was told that making too many phone calls was expensive.  Especially long-distance calls.  I don’t know if there was a standard such as 100 calls for the basic rate and then some additional fee for calls over 100.  

When I went to college, my parents told me to make a “person-to-person” phone call with a strange name.  They would not accept the call but called me back immediately at the phone number of the one phone on the dorm floor.  (Somehow then I didn’t have to pay for the call - and with the dorm phone that served all the residents on that floor,  that made sense.)

I didn’t make many phone calls (and I still don’t).  (I think that the trauma of making long-distance phone calls is somehow buried in my brain).  

A BRIEF HISTORY OF TELEPHONES

(all quotes from: https://www.elon.edu/u/imagining/time-capsule/

Alexander Graham Bell won the first U.S. patent for the device in 1876. Bell began his research in 1874 and had financial backers who gave him the best business plan for bringing it to market.

By 1900 there were nearly 600,000 phones in Bell’s telephone system; that number shot up to 2.2 million phones by 1905, and 5.8 million by 1910. In 1915 the transcontinental telephone line began operating.

Within 50 years of its invention, the telephone had become an indispensable tool in the United States.

President Rutherford B. Hayes to Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 on viewing the telephone for the first time: “That’s an amazing invention, but who would ever want to use one of them?”

This device is inherently of no use to us. We do not recommend its purchase.”

“Yet, the invention of the telephone also worked to increase privacy in many ways. It permitted people to exchange information without having to put it in writing, and a call on the phone came to replace such intrusions on domestic seclusion as unexpected visits from relatives or neighbors and the pushy patter of door-to-door salesmen.

(A quick comment on the last paragraph.  For me at age 75, in the past three weeks (with Medicare enrollment time), I have had oodles of phone calls from Medicare options - intrusion still occurs.  Most of the time, I have my iPhone on mute - which means I miss a lot of calls - some are legitimate but most are “spam” calls!!)

So, here we are in 2022 - 146 years after Bell’s patent.  “Everybody” (not quite a true generalization) has a phone - and most of those phones are cell phones with internet capabilities.  (More on the internet later this week).  

But, phones have morphed into more than just for making calls. I’m writing this in the morning, and so far, I’ve been on my phone for maybe an hour and have not made a single call.  I’ve used my phone to view email, and social media, do a daily crossword, do my daily Bible Reading, do the Wordle game, do my German language lesson on Duolingo, and check the weather.  

While I haven’t so far taken any pictures, I probably will by the end of the day.  I no longer own a camera, my phone is my camera.  My phone keeps track of my fitness steps, keeps my appointments, allows me to instantly communicate via email and text (without using the actual speaking aspects of a phone), and gives me entertainment.  I listen to classical music on Pandora and on YouTube.  One of the minor reasons I wanted to work part-time is to listen (on my phone) to Pandora without the ads - so my work is paying for ad-free music.  

And …. Unfortunately, I can waste a LOT of time on my phone with games, even with learning (like Duolingo German language study), and checking out news, and asking Google for information.

I can even pay for some of my purchases with just my phone - with Apple Pay (and others).  

I misplaced my phone about a year ago and went three days without it.  I survived (barely).  (Of course, I have the internet at home so I could still do some of the basic things with my phone.)

In terms of phone service - that ranges from some of the cheaper options (like Consumer Cellular, and Mint) to the established options (AT&T and Verizon).  In other options, there are two basic operating system options for phones (really more), Apple - IOS, and Google. 

And, of course, like Dick Tracy of the comics from years ago, wrist phones are available, and seeing the person you are calling (aka “Video calls”) are available.

Can you imagine a world without phones?  One group asks people to go without electronic communication for a day.  Could you go without your phone, your internet, your television, texts, emails, or social media for a day?  

I think I could go for a day without my phone.  (I almost did that on my vacation in August, but I needed the GPS (global positioning system) on my phone to help me find my direction.

*****

Tomorrow, more technology - the Internet!!!

LOVE WINS!!!

(If you are ready this, you are on some form of internet connection!!!)

Karen White, October 25, 2022, © 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2022, AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

 MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2022 - TECHNOLOGY WEEK EXTENDED

Last week I talked about technology - and realized I wasn’t even close to done - so I will continue this week!!!

*****

But, first, let me talk about the first electric washing machines.  (huh?)

It seems like such a great idea.  Instead of going to a lake or river and beating your clothes with a rock (the ancient Romans used urine to wash clothes and the 19th century people used lye).  It was better than the hand-cranked washing machines that worked but took a lot of effort.

Then because of Edison and electricity, electric washing machines where you put your clothes in selected a setting, and voila the clothes were washed.  BUT, there were problems with some of those early washing machines.  Belts slipped or broke and flew out and even killed some users. The washing tubs broke open and spilled water and almost clean clothes on the dirty floor.  

Washing machines were dangerous.  

But, over time they have been perfected.  Yes, rarely (really rarely), there might be a problem with a belt or with the machine - but 99% of the time the clothes come out clean (and even smelling good with a good detergent and clean water!!!).

*****

Okay, Karen - what is your point?

Well, inventions sometimes have some glitches in their early stage but go on to be huge successes.  (I can’t imagine going to a river or lake to wash my clothes!!)  So, autonomous (aka “self-driving”) cars might still have some glitches - but it is happening.

*****

So, autonomous cars will happen.

Do you want to go back to having to turn a crack to get a model T?  Do you want to go back to using a clutch (and not having automatic transmissions)? 

Over the years, cars have made improvements.  From better brakes, to turn signals, seat belts, backup cameras, GPS, and more efficient use of fuel, cars are much safer today than years ago.

So, why have self-driving cars?

As a senior driver, I can see great benefits.  I know of senior people where children took away their car keys.  “Dad can’t drive anymore.  He can’t see, he can’t hear, his reaction time is slow, and he is a hazard on the roads”. 

So, with a truly self-driving, autonomous car, Dad will get in and say “take me to the grocery store” - and safely and efficiently the car will whisk dad to the grocery store, drop him off and go and park someplace until he signals he is done on his smartphone.  

Car insurance will not be needed (of course the price of the car will be higher) as there won’t be accidents (okay that is hopeful thinking).  Dad’s car will be communicating with all the other cars on the road, with the highway signs, with the speed limit signs, and with the traffic laws for the area.  Human judgment will not be needed as computer sensors and computer vision will take over and determine the route.  

It might mean that car ownership will end.  If Dad needs to go to the grocery store, he uses the app, and one shows up within five minutes.  

Dad doesn’t drive at night because the headlights of oncoming cars blind him - not a problem now.  Dad gets into the car and says to Siri (or whomever), take me to the grocery store (Siri might ask ‘which grocery store), and automatically play Dad’s favorite tunes or videos.  

Dad (or even son) has been out and had a few alcoholic drinks and his judgment is impaired - not a problem, Dad (or son) can fall asleep in the car on the way home while the car handles the driving.

Sure there are potential problems - like snowfall or slick, icy roads - but the autonomous vehicle will adjust for the conditions (or, not go out).  

And, of course, there are other benefits.  Trucks won’t need truck drivers - who used to drive on too few hours of sleep.  (And - accident lawyers will be out of their jobs!!!)

*****

The only time somebody will drive is on the car racing circuit and even then, the safety features will overrule a driver’s bad judgment.  

I admit I like to drive. But, I also know that someday driving might be a burden to me and to society.  

How about those employees who commute to work?  No more “rush hour” traffic - the sensors can safely put cars within two inches of other cars and keep everything moving.  

(And, your guardian angel won’t be “white knuckled” watching you drive!!!)

Yes, it is going to happen.  Every car manufacturer is working on the issue, Tesla seems to have the lead, but it is going to happen!!

Change can present problems - buggy makers, blacksmiths, and saddle makers - lost their jobs when cars (aka “horseless carriages”) replaced horses.  

As I was writing today’s blog, I got this notification for Electrify  Expo - billed as “America’s Number 1 Electric Vehicle Festival” - with 1 million square feet of exhibit and festival space, and drive, ride, demo electric cars, e-bikes, e-skateboards, e-scooters, and more!!!  (I’ll have to see if I can/will go to this.)

Yes, LOVE WINS, and yes, autonomous vehicles will be the norm (sooner than later)

Karen White, October 24, 2022, © 

SUNDAY FUNDAY - OCTOBER 23, 2022

 SUNDAY FUNDAY - SUNDAY OCTOBER 23, 2022

WARM-UP

WOW - the seasons are changing. 

Most of the summer I got by in halter dresses and shorts, but now I have to think of the weather more when I select my clothes in the morning. Yes, we will have some warm days but not hot ones, and as soon as the sun goes down, it cools off quickly!!!

My patio garden has changed.  I tried to grow tomatoes and green peppers this summer (and wasn’t very successful).  Now my patio has kale, spinach, and Swiss Chard plants.  I clip the stems and add them to my salad.  I think fresh is better!!!  

I add salad olives frequently and top my salads with French Fried onion rings.  And, a little ranch dressing.

*****

HALLOWEEN 

Halloween is coming in eight days.  I find Halloween to be a fun time.  No, I’m not into scary, slasher movies, vampires, witches, or ghosts - but dressing up in a fun costume.  

Halloween comes from “All Hallow’s Eve” - the eve of remembering good people from the past.  

With my work at the senior living center (and especially now as I work more with dementia residents), I want it to be a fun time.  I have three hair options (clown, long red hair, frizzy blonde hair), scarves, and some other things to wear.  It is to be a fun time - pretending we’re pirates, clowns, or some other person.  

When I taught, I did dress up in interesting costumes (at least to me) - Zorro, Great Pumpkin, Pirate, Farmer, Clown, Giant Ketchup bottle, and even as a woman (must have been a foreboding of my life).  

****

HALLOWEEN JOKES

How do vampires get around on Halloween? On blood vessels.

Why did the Headless Horseman get a job? He was trying to get a “head” in life

The skeleton couldn't help being afraid of the storm—he just didn't have any guts.

How can you tell when a vampire has been in a bakery? All the jelly has been sucked out of the jelly doughnuts.

What do ghosts wear when their eyesight gets blurred? Spooktacles.

What can you catch from a vampire in winter? Frostbite.

What would be the national holiday for a nation of vampires? Fangs-giving!

Knock, Knock

Who's there?

Phillip!

Phillip who?

Phillip my bag with Halloween candy, please!

Did you know that vampires love baseball?  Yes, they turn into bats at night!!

*****

PUMPKIN LORE:

Travis Gienger of Anoka Minnesota set a new U.S. record for the heaviest pumpkin this year after raising a giant gourd weighing 2,560 pounds

Pumpkins and squash are members of the gourd family and are technically fruits, rather than vegetables.

The longer you store pumpkins the sweet and nuttier the flavor becomes. Stock up on pumpkins now and you could be making fresh pumpkin soup long after Halloween

There are hundreds of varieties of pumpkins.

Most pumpkin varieties take 85 to 125 days to mature so plant seeds in the first week of June to ensure they’re ready to harvest in plenty of time for Halloween. 

Pumpkins are packed with antioxidants.

Beta-carotene, which gives pumpkins their orange color, is a free-radical fighting antioxidant. Our bodies convert ingested beta-carotene into vitamin A, which is essential for healthy skin and eyes, while also strengthening the immune system.

Pumpkins are good for your hearing!  The high content of potassium in pumpkins can help lower blood pressure and protect against age-related hearing loss associated with drops in potassium levels in the body as we age.

Pumpkin seeds are nutritional powerhouses.  You’d never guess that such small packages could contain so many key minerals and nutrients, including protein, zinc magnesium, manganese, and copper. They’re also high in vitamin C and a powerful source of fiber.

Pumpkins are 80 – 90 % water.  Who would have thought that something so nutritional would be 80 – 90 % water? The high water content of pumpkins means they’re good for you while also being low in calories. Great news if you’re looking to offset the Halloween chocolate!

The female flower only opens for a day for pollination.  Female flowers are only receptive to pollen for about four hours. If pollination is successful in this short window, the pumpkin will continue to swell and grow. If not, it will shrivel and fall from the vine.

*****

WRAP-UP

As the days grow shorter and the temperatures spiral down, let us enjoy life, smile, love, and let God lead and bless you!!!

Let’s enjoy this fall season!!!

LOVE WINS!!!  Love one-another!!!
Karen White, October 23, 2022

SATURDAY OCTOBER22, 2022 - GOTTFRIED QUAAS STROY

 SATURDAY STORY - GOTTFRIED QUAAS

On Saturdays, I write fiction.  I keep saying I’m going to do it until it is right!!!  My series now is about Gottfried Quaas, a young man from Thuringia providence Germany.  Gottfried is the fourth son in the family and isn’t going to inherit the family farm so he joined the Thuringia army.  German is not unified but the process of unification is starting.

Last week, Gottfried was sent from Thuringia to Saxony to be a scout (or a spy) on the Saxony army.

By the way, My great-great-grandfather was Gottfried Quaas from Thuringia/Saxony - but he left Germany to avoid military conscription (he was opposed to Germans fighting Germans).  Gott - means “God”, and Friede means “Peace” so literally Gottfried’s name is “God’s Peace”.  

So, this isn’t about my ancestors, but that gave me a start!!!

*****

Waking up in Kusslitz, just a little southwest of Dresden, Gottfried ate a good breakfast of bacon and eggs (although not as good as back home in Heckendorf, his home village).  He talked to the innkeeper about finding a job in Dresden as a stable hand.  The innkeeper had a map of Dresden that he gave to Gottfried.  He had circled some of the stables and barns in the city 

He stopped at three places near the Dresden garrison looking for a stable job.  The first two didn’t need anybody.  The third place was an inn with stables for visitors.  The owner tried him out in the stable for an hour and made him an offer to be a stable hand for the Dresden Inn. 

Gottfried started that day, tucking his bag with his clothes into an empty stall.  Donner seemed to like the new location.  The owner allowed Gottfried to sleep and live there for free with a small salary.  That worked well for Gottfried.

It was about two blocks from the Saxony Army headquarters in Dresden.  Gottfried soon made the rounds of the area.  There was a tavern across from the barracks and he started to go there in the evenings and meet some of the army men.  He told them he was the new stable boy in the area.  (He didn’t tell them he was also an officer in the Thuringia army.)

During the days, Gottfried cleaned the stalls, fed, and took care of the horses  He also built rapport with the owner, Karl Fremling. Gottfried had such a soothing touch to the horses and Karl recognized this as a real talent.  Sleeping in the stables was okay.  He did make a little room where he could shut out the winter most days.  On really cold days, Karl allowed him into his inn where a fire blazed.  

Since the Dresden Inn was close to the Army headquarters and only a few blocks from the central government of Saxony, some of the visitors at the inn were from other German states.  Gottfried was very personable and took care of the horses and guests with love. 

Two weeks into his work, a visitor from Austria came and went to the Saxony palace.  Gottfried wondered if this was an envoy or some official promoting Austria for German unity.  Three weeks later in the middle of February, an important-looking man from Prussia came and also went to the Saxony palace.  

Meanwhile, Gottfried visited the tavern most evenings and got to know many of the army barracks group.  There were Ben, Lukas, Tobias, Leon, Paul, Johann, Sebastian, and Jonas.  Sometimes, if the inn wasn’t busy, Karl Fremling would join the group for a bier at the Tavern.

Since the tavern was also close to the Palace there might be a few of the various functionaries from there - the sentries, guards, and even two stable hands (Peter and Marc).  

Gottfried kept a low profile for a month or so, and then casually got involved in some of the table discussions about unification.  Paul seemed to be the most knowledgeable of the soldiers, and Marc from the palace.  

The general discussion was that Austria was closer in location to Saxony, but Prussia seemed to be a better choice for a unified Germany.  Hesson and Nassau provinces were talking about uniting. Mecklenburg and Schwerin were moving in that direction.  

Gottfried kept his opinions to himself as he heard Paul talk of Saxony joining up with Thuringia and Weimar.  (But he did add, “That seems to a reasonable idea”)

*****

After a month of getting to know the soldiers and their commanding officer, Edward Bauer, Gottfried showered, dressed up in his best army uniform, and went to the Saxony Barracks. At first Lukas at the door didn’t recognize him, but Gottfried explained what was happening.

Gottfried, Paul, Sebastian, Lukas, and Edward Bauer sat down in Edward’s office.

Gottfried started.  “I have to tell you the truth.  I am Gottfried Quaas - you knew that.  I am from Heckendorf, a small village in Thuringia province, and I am a lieutenant in the Thuringia army.  My King and General sent me on a mission to scout out your army, so yes, I am kind of a spy.  Please don’t hate me.”

Gottfried continued, “The King of Thuringia senses that one day soon, all of the German states will unite - and like I've heard you comment, it seems that it will either be under Austria or Prussia.  He also senses that Thuringia will not be very important in terms of what happens.  Bayern, Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, and the other states will be the most important to a unified Germany.  It seems like Saxony with its industrial base could be an important part.  England is united, France is united, Spain is united, Russia is united, and of the European countries only Germany and Italy are still divided city-states.”

“In a sense, I’m an ambassador from Thuringia to Saxony.  My King's thoughts (and my own thoughts) are that if Thuringia and Saxony could unite it might show that all of Germany could unite.  We share a common language and a common culture.  So, please, I am asking you to think of how we as two states could work together and could work towards a unified Germany.”

Captain Bauer spoke first.  “Gottfried, we already have become friends.  We as a group have commented that we really do like you from our nights at Pig’s Snout tavern.  And, for myself, as an individual, I like and support your comments.  I look at the world and see Spain has colonies all over the new world, Britain has colonies in the new world (Canada), and many more like India and Australia.  In terms of world affairs, Germany has become a backwater on the international stage.”

Bauer continued, “What can we do to help you?”.

Gottfried paused for a second, then said, “This might be bold, but I’d like us (you and I, Captain Bauer) to come before your king to suggest this and open a dialog.  The world is changing, the feudal system is breaking down, railroads are crossing Europe, and it is time we entered the modern age.”

Captain Bauer and the others listened intently.  When Gottfried stopped, Captain Bauer spoke.  

“King Francis is a well-educated man and seems to want the best for his people.  I think we can get an audience with him to talk about this situation - at a low level.”

They all talked of how a unified Germany would be a positive thing.  Captain Bauer had some bier brought in for the men to enjoy as well as some wurst.  

After an afternoon of talking, Captain Bauer said, “Gottfried, I will get an appointment to meet with King Francis in the next few days.  Then you and I will present our ideas to him.”

Then he laughed, “I’m not sure how you are such a good stable boy.  I heard you talk to the horses and they listen and obey you.  But, do wear your dress uniform when we approach the King.”  Captain Bauer paused and added, “Hmmm - would you like a job as a stable boy here?  You do good work.”  All the men laughed.

Gottfried sent a note to the Thuringia General Lange and King Maxwell about his meeting.  Captain Bauer did set up a meeting with King Francis.

*****

Gottfried and Captain Bauer were well received by King Francis.  He was interested in the idea.  “It’s about time for Germany to be united.  Yes, I’ll lose my job as the King of Saxony, but it will be for the greater good.”

Gottfried and Captain Bauer met several times with King Francis.  They wrote a draft agreement that King Francis and King Maxwell would sign uniting Saxony and Thuringia.  Since Saxony was the larger state, the new state would be Saxony-Thuringia, and Francis would be the King of the new state.  They guessed it might be five to ten years before a unified Germany would come into being.  King Maxwell would be the auxiliary king over the western part of Saxony-Thuringia.  

***

Gottfried sent more letters and the draft agreement to King Maxwell.  His friend Hans Krause became the currier, bringing notes from King Maxwell to King Francis and taking notes back.  Gottfried still worked as a stable hand but was well received at court acting as an envoy from Thuringia (of course, not in his stable hand uniform).  Karl Fremling from the 

*****

One day, King Maxwell from Thuringia arrived with General Lange, and Captain Oster, and a group of soldiers.  Gottfried knew all the soldiers from their training exercises.  King Maxwell stayed at the palace with King Francis, but most of the soldiers stayed at the Dresden Haus Inn.  It was a joyous reunion for Gottfried and his friends from Thuringia

The Thuringia soldiers also went to the Pig’s Snout Tavern and soon the army men from Saxony and Thuringia were mixing and drinking bier.  They drank toasts to Gottfried and Captain Bauer, and to King Francis and King Mallory.  And, Gottfried sang and all the men joined in singing happy German songs.

The next day, King Francis and King Mallory signed the official accord uniting Saxony and Thuringia. General Lange, Captain Edward, and Lieutenant Gottfried Quaas were there to see their work formalized.

***

With the first step down and formally accepted, Gottfried and Edward Bauer became ambassadors to other German regions for unification.

*****

End of this week’s story.  Next week we’ll see how Gottfried earned the name “Gottfried the Great”.

*****

LOVE WINS!!

Karen White, October 22, 2022, ©