Hi

[cute Annie]

Welcome to the farside of the forums or so it seems on some days.

Hi Scott,
I began reading some of your stories, particularly those re Russia.
Russian was the 3rd. language learned; - but
lacking someone to speak it with, & also stupidly chose to forget mostly all.
It got overlayed by the other 5+ languages I learned afterwards.
anyway,
here  I spent my childhood
(except there were NO cars); only Horse-drawn wagons, as we lived like the Amish do here.
also
how's that for air-Pollution Yikes !!

I remember everything VIVIDLY as tho I had never left. And
for all ((but precious friends & family here on this side of the pond)),
Living there had, at least in those years, significant advantages over the USA; as you might understand Scott.
As became a teen, got flown to the USA where quickly I became a citizen.

Passing strange is that tho THAT very church  (see quick at 10 seconds)
was directly across our village's only school, that I too attended for five years, Never once was inside any church.
Why?
because during the decades Germany was under Russian control, atheism was the state-religion.
So I never knew about a book aka Bible, nor ever was inside any church, & was ignorant re praying. NO clue re any such.
And yet,
as a tiny girl of four years young, I encountered Almighty God, & it made all the difference.
True "the road less traveled in fact does make all the Difference."

Thank you for your Welcome  Scott.