The fifth post from our weeklong visit with my mother-in-law Nina in southwestern Germany:
On a country highway several miles outside of Ruschberg stands a modest house covered with hand-painted messages, written mostly in English. The signs praise the United States and NATO; they warn enemies away from Israel; they praise peace-loving countries.
The homeowner, an older Polish gentleman, attends the same church as my mother-in-law Nina. She reports that he arrives at church dressed in army fatigues and greets Americans with “God Bless.” She knows that the Americans saved or rescued him during World War II; the rest of the details are missing.
His home is a curious sight, especially given the rampant anti-U.S. sentiment boxing around Europe these days. It’s also a reassuring one, a reminder that strong ties bind us to the older Western world.
