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My Life |
Childhood and Youth
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I am, in a way, a
realization of the human instinct of survival: I was
conceived at the beginning of World War II and born on
May 20, 1940 in Dortmund, a center of heavy industry
which came under attack very early in the war. Luckily,
my father evaded the draft and was at home to protect
the young family. He managed to get the materials for
building the air-raid shelter behind our house; he and a
small number of other men rescued the burning buildings
when they were hit by bombs. This has saved many lives,
including my own. Even though I recall a happy
childhood, my oldest memories are those of terror: the
sound of the sirens, low-flying planes, flames
up to the sky, the
darkness and stench in the shelter. Fortunately we
did not suffer from famine, and in all this
turbulence I somehow grew up.
![]() 1942 |
![]() 1943 |
![]() 1944 |
![]() 1945 |
When
the war came to an end and everything around us
lay in ruins, I was five years old. It was my
father again who kept us going through the
post-war chaos and the extreme winter of 1946/47.
He knew how to find a side of pork and smuggle it
through the British controls; he was in a position
that enabled him to trade building materials for
coal and fruits. So, unlike many people we did not
starve or freeze, and although we had cardboard
instead of glass in our windows and slept on
straw, we felt prosperous. There was no money for
toys, but the environment was a fantastic
playground: the cellars of the ruins, the wrecks
of tanks and planes, the deserted industrial
areas, and the frozen bombhole pools in
wintertime.
Of
course the schools were also destroyed, and most of the
teachers had been killed in action. So when my mother
took me to start school in 1946, the authorities were
most happy to send me back home for a year, arguing that
I wasn't mature enough (see the 1946 photo). Today I
consider this one of the most fortunate circumstances in
my life: I got the chance to play for another year and
develop my childish curiosity into a genuine one. As a
result, I later was always ahead of my classmates, and
once as a third-grader I filled the place of a missing
teacher by practicing arithmetic with the
fourth-graders. The educational system was so unsteady
after the war that in the end I had been in nine
different schools.
![]() 1946 |
![]() 1948 |
![]() 1949 |
![]() 1950 |
![]() 1951 |
![]() 1952 |
![]() 1954 |
![]() 1955 |
![]() 1956 |
![]() Franz Gries |
1957 |
1959 |
![]() with Oswald |
![]() with Eberhard |
![]() with Irmtraut |
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1960 |
![]() 1961
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1962 |
![]() 1963 |
![]() 1964 |
1965 |
![]() 1966 |
my accommodation in
Beuel-Geislar
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learning for the Vordiplom
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learning for the Diplom
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view from my room in
München
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Bonn, 1960 |
Bonn, 1961 |
München, 1963 |
![]() the "Doktorfeier", 1967 |
![]() 1960 |
![]() 1966 |
![]() 1965 |
![]() 1963 |
![]() Ibiza, 1961, with Franz Brock |
![]() Odenwald, 1964, with Dieter Sellmann |
![]() 1965, with Diethard Wendt |
![]() Kaisergebirge, 1966, with Willi Regnet |
Tante Finchen and Fräulein Schmitz, 1961 |
Bernd Hamprecht, 1963 |
Willi Regnet, 1965 |
![]() Jörg Lorberth, 1967 |
![]() 1968 |
![]() 1970 |
![]() 1972 |
![]() in the Arboretum in Madison, 1969 |
Carla, 1966 |
my inlaws, Ilse and Karl Dluzewski |
![]() the wedding photo |
Carla, 1978 |
![]() 1968 |
![]() 1976 |
![]() 1980 |
![]() aboard the Queen Elizabeth |
![]() full moon over Lake Mendota |
![]() arriving in our new home |
![]() in room 2228 |
![]() Larry Dahl |
![]() Audrey Aylesworth |
![]() Chuck Strouse, Dick White, Joe Calabrese, Vern Uchtman, Alan Foust |
![]() Monument Valley |
![]() Black Hills |
![]() Salt Lake |
![]() the Muller family |
![]() a Sunday with my parents |
![]() the Uchtman family |
![]() my parents in Marburg |
![]() our home in Eching |
![]() our Ford Capri |
![]() discussing with Winfried Ehrl, 1972 |
![]() E.O. Fischer at ICOMC 5, Moscow 1971 |
![]() excursion with the Dahls, 1970 |
![]() 1977 |
![]() 1987 |
![]() 1997 |
![]() 2007 |
![]() Wolfenweiler |
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![]() Ebringen |
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![]() Archsum |
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![]() The Institute today |
![]() Gerhard Thiele |
Bernhard Lippert |
![]() Thomas Schleid |
![]() Egbert Keller |
![]() Thomas Madach |
![]() Felix Richter |
![]() Harald Beurich |
![]() Pierre Braunstein, Strasbourg |
![]() Tapani and Tuula Pakkanen, Joensuu |
Pradeep Mathur, Bombay |
![]() Gerard Parkin, New York |
![]() my guests during the farewell lecture |
![]() my beloved academic teachers, Heinz Nöth and Larry Dahl and their wives |
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Every Day is
Sunday |
The Best Years |
Time for
Pleasure |
![]() motto no.1 |
![]() motto no.2 |
![]() motto no. 3 |
Of course being a chemistry professor means being in love with science for one's whole life. In my case this means that I have always enjoyed teaching, and I have not stopped my efforts for the public understanding of science. For he first few years after my retirement I still gave popular science lectures, but I stopped writing popular science publications.
![]() The "Saturday University", Freiburg 2010 |
![]() my last review article |
![]() A title from the "Why" series |
![]() the program |
![]() my course |
![]() my opening address |
![]() Patchanita |
Jutatip and Soamwadee |
![]() Preeyanuch |
![]() my garden |
hiking in the Black Forest |
camping with my hypnomobile |
![]() Eberhard with Christa |
![]() Irmtraut |
![]() Wolfgang and Almut |
![]() the classmates |
![]() the Stammtisch |
![]() Sylvie and Dieter |
Rangoon - the Shwedagon Pagoda |
Singapore - Sir Stamford Raffles |
Saigon - Ho Chi Minh |
Sukhothai, Thailand |
Angkor, Cambodia |
Bagan, Myanmar |
![]() Huang Shan, the magic mountains |
Beijing, the Qing style restaurant |
Huanglong, the Tibetan foothills in Sichuan |
Bangkok - Chulalongkorn |
Bangkok - Chinatown |
Bangkok - old and new |
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![]() Nin Nin in Bagan |
![]() Freia in Fuzhou |
![]() Nalapan in Bangkok |
![]() Nin U Mong in Mandalay |
![]() with Nalapan |
![]() with Nin U Mong |
![]() with Nin Nin |
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![]() Ebringen |
![]() Bangkok |
in my garden in Ebringen |
overlooking the Ayarwaddy in Mandalay |
my 75th birthday |
the Bavarian Academy |
Vosges Mountains |
Amboise |
Black Forest |
Bagan |
after the kidney infarction |
![]() after the embellishment of my teeth |
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![]() near the border between Laos and Cambodia |
near the border between Arizona and Nevada |
near the border between Thailand and Myanmar |
Madison, Wisconsin |
Waipoua, New Zealand |
Canyonlands, Utah |
Rajabophit Temple, Bangkok |
![]() Bangkok by night |
Kyauktawgyi Temple, Mandalay |
Wulingyuan, China |
![]() Mekong Falls, Laos |
Shiprock, New Mexico |
Bagan in Myanmar
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New Zealand's North Island
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![]() the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, USA
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Deep in
the jungles of northern Laos I came across the
grave of the man whom I would have liked to
be: Henri Mouhot from Montbéliard in France
(1826-1861). He was the European who re-
discovered Angkor Wat, and he was the first
European who made it up the Mekong river all
the way to Luang Prabang, the former capitol
of Laos. Everything he found was new to the
world, and everywhere he mastered the
obstacles. He payed his price for this when,
only 35 years old, he died of a fever. His
grave on the banks of the Nam Khan river near
Luang Prabang, forgotten and overgrown, was
only found again in 1990. Remote and not
easily accessible, it does not attract many
visitors, quite appropriate for a character
who preferred to explore the unknown by
himself.
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![]() Christa from Duisburg |
![]() Fritz from Duisburg |
![]() Dörte from Stuttgart |
![]() Lanfen from Baotou, China, with her husband Bailu |
![]() Mian from Shijuajuang, China |
![]() Nalapan from Samut Songkram, Thailand |
![]() Vern from Cincinnati, USA |
![]() Wolfgang and Almut from München |
![]() Jörg from Darmstadt |
![]() Sylvi and Dieter, my neighbours |
![]() Charoenkwan, my colleague from Bangkok |
![]() Nancy with Felix Richter, my former coworker |
![]() with my old friends at a memorial event |
![]() with my highschool classmates at the "Klassentreffen" |
![]() with my Freiburg colleagues at the "Stammtisch" |
![]() June and Larry in Madison, Wisconsin |
![]() Pierre in Strasbourg, France |
![]() a holiday procession in Mrauk U, Myanmar |
![]() Myanmar beauties in Yangon |
![]() Lao beauties in Vientiane |
![]() Thai beauties in Bangkok |
![]() in Champasak, Laos |
![]() in Bangkok |
![]() in Khong Chiam, Thailand |
![]() in Bagan, Myanmar |
![]() in Mynkaba, Myanmar |
![]() near Mae Hong Son. Thailand |
![]() in Chiang Mai, Thailand |
![]() in Nonthaburi, Thailand |
![]() in Mandalay, Myanmar |
![]() near Luang Prabang, Laos |
![]() near Mrauk U, Myanmar |
![]() near Chiang Rai, Thailand |
![]() in Bagan |
![]() my longtime friend, the beggar Cherry |
![]() in Mrauk U |
![]() Carla |
![]() Heinz |
![]() Eberhard |
![]() Diethard |
my little ones in Bagan, Myanmar |
Htay Htay and her son in Bagan, Myanmar |
a graduation in Bangkok |
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the directors of the YMCA Mandalay |
building the first school |
unused for two years |
the second school |
with Nay Win during the opening ceremony |
the school in operation |
teachers and pupils posing for me |
Bishop John and Father Florence in Pathein |
the old church near the school in Kayinthonesint |
Teacher Michael and his students |
Mandalay |
Kayinthonesint |
Luang Prabang |
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![]() age 20 |
![]() age 40 |
![]() age 60 |
![]() age 80 |
![]() age 70 |
![]() age 80 |
![]() 75th birthday |
![]() 80th birthday |
![]() "on the road" |
![]() "in the mountains" |
![]() the fallen walnut tree |
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![]() view to the north |
![]() the bumblebee orchid |
![]() view to the south |
![]() the Vosges Mountains as seen
from my living room
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![]() the Black Forest as seen from
the west
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![]() Kitty on "my" balcony |
![]() Tanya in "my" living room |
![]() "my" Be My Guest |
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![]() view from the Maha Nakhon
tower
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![]() New Year's Eve
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![]() Sylvi and Dieter |
![]() Lanfen and Bailu |
![]() Almut and Wolfgang |
![]() Elizabeth and Vern |
![]() Norma and Gordy |
![]() Flora and Joe |
![]() Kay and Jack |
![]() Soamwadee and Paul |
![]() Harald Beurich, Egbert Keller, Eckehart Roland, Felix Richter |
![]() Gerhard, Nay Win, Sola |
![]() Lanfen 1991 |
![]() Mian 1999 |
![]() Nalapan 2009 |
![]() 2019 painting of Myo Zin
from Mandalay
|
![]() the two "promotion" documents |
![]() guests at my "promotion" party |
![]() Larry 1967 |
![]() Larry 2017 |
![]() the old buddies |
![]() the group reunion |
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![]() Bighorn Canyon 1968 |
![]() Bighorn Canyon 2018 |
![]() the gate of Thammasat, 1981 |
![]() on the campus of Chulalongkorn, 2006 |
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![]() Escherndorf in Franken, Bavaria, home of the famous white wine "Escherndorfer Lump" |
![]() near the Cotes du Beaune in Burgundy, France, home of the famous Burgundy reds |
![]() in the Augustiner |
![]() in the Marché aux Vins |
![]() on the left the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar |
![]() view from Muley Point, Utah |
![]() Lake Matheson on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island |
![]() one of the huge temples in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka |
![]() Nalapan with her colleagues |
![]() with Nalapan in Germany |
![]() Vanhxay (left) in Luang Prabang |
![]() Vanhxay's family in a mountain village |
![]() location of the school in Paleik near Mandalay |
![]() the new building |
![]() the opening ceremony |
![]() location of the school in the outskirts of Luang Prabang |
![]() clearing the land |
![]() ready to start construction |
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![]() the right knee "before" and "after" |
![]() I can't be without |
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Well, I may be worn, but baby I ain't worn out ______________________________________________ Well I look a little rough, and I've got a few miles on me, My body needs work, and my style ain't what it used to be. I've been wrecked a few times, and honey it shows I guess, And more than once or twice I have been repossessed. I guess that I'll no longer make it to the top. Well, I may be used, but baby I ain't used up. |
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Mae West, my favorite actress, is
quoted as saying "Getting old isn't for the
faint of heart". At age 85 I have to
agree. The number of pleasant issues is by far
outweighted by the number of unpleasant ones. I
have had to give up my famous motto "Every Day is
Sunday". But I
do my very best to replace it by "Every Second Day
is Sunday". As
we are blessed by the mercyful ability to forget
pains and failures, I can say that in my memories
even these last five years have benn full of
Sundays. Yet, let’s start with the unpleasant
things: |
1. Health Issues
I
made it through the Covid pandemic unharmed. But at age
85 I realize with regret that there are
not many parts of my body left that do not bother me
from time to time. From bottom to top they are:
my feet: the polyneurapathy is creeping upward and my sense of balance is getting lost.
my legs: the deteriorating blood circulation makes them weaker and weaker.
my knees: they have no grease left, and they creak like a broken hinge.
my hips: worn down by arthritis, they seriously limit my mobility.
my prostate: keeps swelling, impeding my urination.
my spine: two vertebrae, fractured by a fall, have required spinal surgery.
my lungs: were loaded with 6 litres of water in 2024, seriously affecting my heart.
my heart: was down to 25% efficiency in 2024, brought up to 50% by medication.
my teeth: about half of them are left, allowing me to chew only on one side.
my
brain (in parts): progressive forgetfulness,
mostly funny, but sometimes embarrassing.
![]() my lungs full of water |
![]() my spine: two repairs |
![]() my pills |
Fortunately a few of my organs still work properly:
my digestion: eating and drinking, the pleasures of old age, are fully alive.
my arms: not very strong any more, but still fully functional.
my eyesight: after cataract surgery I can get along without my glasses.
my brain (in parts): still quick and witty, sometimes even too much.
The
number of my daily pills has reached a two-digit
value by now, and there is no question
that they will not get less any more. My stomach has to
be praised for accepting that.
Just as painful as it is to get weaker and weaker, it is painful to see the number of family and friends dwindle, accompanied by that doubtful question “why am I left over”. Several of the people mentioned in the previous section had to go. Typically, the male part of a couple passed away first, in my case the old friends Wolfgang and Joe and my dear “postdoc father” Larry. My most painful loss was that of my cousin Dörte who died in February 2025. She was seven years younger than me, just as if she were my little sister. With her I had my closest relation, and she was intended to arrange things after my death.
In the previous section I have shown them young and lively. The pictures below were taken when their diseases had become obvious.![]() Wolfgang Storch
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![]() Joe Calabrese |
![]() Larry Dahl |
![]() Dorette Müller-Podobnik |
![]() in the Augustiner |
![]() the Stammtisch |
![]() with Lanfen, 2024 |
![]() with Sylvi, 2023 |
![]() with Susanne, 2019 |
Around 2015 it became obvious that I would not much longer be able to handle all affairs of my big house and garden in Ebringen. When polyneuropathy struck in 2018, that finally obliged me to look for a smaller place. I located some senior’s residences in the vicinity, soon focusing on Bad Krozingen 10 km south of Ebringen. I put my name on the waiting lists, and then I had to wait for more than two years. But at the end of 2020 a flat that suited my ideas became available in the ”Parkstift St. Ulrich”. I moved in on February 1st of 2021, and since then I have not regretted making this choice.
![]() the Parkstift |
![]() my living room |
![]() the balcony |
![]() Inge, Sönke und Ilse |
![]() Andrea, my favourite waitress |
![]() with Marga and Vera |
![]() birthday party in the garden |
![]() the "boygroup" |
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![]() the Erawan Shrine |
![]() Paknam Temple with the 69 m high Buddha statue |
![]() my favorite: Rajabophit Temple |
![]() Charoenkwan, my dear old colleague from Chula |
![]() YuYou, my hostess and the landlady of the Be My Guest |
![]() Miaw, Nalapan's sister, my always helpful friend |
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![]() Colombo in 2024 |
![]() Indarathana Thero |
![]() the small school |
![]() the new school |
![]() the opening ceremony |
![]() the opening festival |
![]() the new name |
![]() among my children |
![]() children's festival |
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The highlight of the year are the Christmas activities, and during the whole lifetime of the school the founder has been able to participate. The children practise for months to please their parents and the German visitor with their performances.
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In Mandalay just like in Colombo the
faces of the children and their innocent livelyhood
are the reward for the founder for his activities, which
are becoming more strenuous with his progressing
age. I hope that I will get a few more chances to
enjoy this.
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![]() Christa in Duisburg |
![]() Irmtraut in Nürnberg |
![]() Dörte in Stuttgart |
![]() Pierre und Marie-Jeanne in Strasbourg |
![]() Wolfgang in München |
![]() the Weser river near Hannoversch-Münden |
![]() the fortified church of Hunawihr in the Alsace |
![]() Chambord, the famous Loire valley castle |
![]() Marienburg, now in Poland, the seat of the German Knights |
![]() the Algarve coast in Portugal |
![]() Toolse castle on Estonia's northern coast |
![]() the white temple in Chiang Rai |
![]() the rock formations near Krabi |
![]() the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon |
![]() the extraordinary natural beauty of Sri Lanka |
![]() the view from my balcony |
![]() out in the Rhine Valley |
![]() Vern and Elisabeth in Cincinnati |
![]() Erna and Dela on Sylt island |
![]() my children in Colombo |
![]() my teachers in Mandalay |
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![]() my island Sylt |
This concludes the story of 85 years of my life. God
will decide whether there will be another chapter.
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Fortuna with the horn of plenty, the Goddess of luck, has been on my side most of my life. She helped me stumble in the right direction, just like my Guardian Angel caught me when I was falling. Using the words of my old friend Diethard, I can say: If I ever
meet them, I will pad them on the shoulder and
pay them a drink.
Cheers! |
_______________________________________________________________________________
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