Berlin Reunion 2012 (AM Version)

Well, here another February has come and gone, and that means a few of my USAF Berliner friends have gotten together to celebrate a reunion.  As always, we chose Blobs Park up in Jessup, MD as our venue – you can check it out at http://blobspark.net/. 

This year, in the after action, I think I will refrain from sharing photos of the people who were there…so that they can’t be tagged on Facebook or anywhere else.  This is not because anyone did anything that might compromise their reputation – as far as you know – it is just a matter of convenience for me.

I was stationed in Berlin from 1981 until 1986 – and I made some very good friends there.  I think it’s close to unanimous that everybody in our unit remembers a great experience there.  My tour was longer than usual, but there were quite a few who stayed longer, and several who were lucky enough to go there twice, or more!

The work we did ended abruptly in February 1992 (I hope I have the year correct) – and we have been celebrating on the last Saturday of February every year since then. 

There are some traditions…one of which is the big apfelkorn display we see here (in the before-and-after shots).  There’s also the “Flat Roy.” The original Roy can’t – or won’t – join us, so one of our friends (Penny, actually!) started this tradition.  There’s no telling where Flat Roy will end up…and that’s really very much like the Real Roy, when you think about it.

For some jollies, here's what Wikipedia says about Apfelkorn... 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apfelkorn 

My last photo here is of the Chicken Dance.  The Chicken Dance is another of those great traditions that people who go to these German fests enjoy.  I fondly remember doing it one time.

(You can check out the chicken dance here if you are so inclined.  http://youtu.be/6UV3kRV46Zs)

So, to all my fellow Berliners, thanks for coming out this year for another of our grand times.  Of the 50 or so who came out, I hope to see you all again next year…and since it is usually the case, I’m sure we’ll see a few new faces there as well!