Regensburg is a beautiful city of some 100,000 souls that is situated on the Donau (Danube) in Bayern (Bavaria). It is old, very, very old. A portion of a wall still exists that was built by the Romans. Now, that’s old. I spent two and a half years there while in the Army.

The center of the city č the focal point č is St. Paul’s Cathedral. This very large church is Roman Catholic, as is most of the southern part of Deutschland (Germany). Midnight mass on Heiliger Abend (Christmas Eve) is a splendid occasion. The music is powerful and beautiful almost beyond words.

During the Christmas season one year, 1960 I believe, Bill and I went into town to have dinner. (Both of us being Southern boys, we probably called it supper.) We had become friends, Bill and I, and we keep in touch to this day. He lives in Alabama, but he has a daughter in North Carolina, and Bill received his master’s degree from Appalachian State University.

Even through the gathering mists of my memory, I recall the dining accommodations. There were white table cloths, and waiters in black, cutaway jackets, white shirts, black bow ties, and black trousers. No G.I. hangout, this place.

One special touch was the strolling violin player. Before Bill and I finished, the violinist came over to our table and began to play (and I think maybe there was a pianist in the room also) “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” You know, the one that ends with “if only in my dreams.”

The other diners seemed attuned (a pun?) to what was going on, and applauded at the end.

As we were getting ready to leave, an elderly couple (probably much younger than Bill and I are now) came over, and in halting English invited us to come to their apartment for kaffee and kuchen (coffee and cake).

We spent a delightful hour or so in their company. He took pride in showing us his military decorations, especially his Iron Cross. The couple’s hospitality was genuine, and it meant much to two fellows a long, long way from home.

Now, kind reader, I know there is nothing particularly remarkable about this memory I have shared with you.

No, nothing remarkable at all, except, maybe, that in a very small way it lets us know that we who inhabit this world are all brothers and sisters.

Maybe, romantic that I am, I read too much into such experiences.

Maybe.