Afton---Your legacy

Ahh, back on the road. At the foot of the Zugspitze, where Italy, Austria, and Switzerland intersect with Germany, is the winter sports capitol of the northern Alps, Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Site of the 1936 Winter Olympics, and in 2011, the site of the World Ski Cup, this is a fantastic playground. Park City and more. Pure tourist.

So what a place for the American Military to establish a resort for a little R&R for its own. And what a place they did! High class(well, what would officers expect?).
But open to the little guy as well. So being really, really little guys on that hierarchical totem pole, we jumped right in. The price was a joke, so nominal we couldn't afford not to go, impoverished as we were. That, and lots of time off, the Army wasn't all bad....

The rub came at dinner. The absolutely poshest restaurant ever. We had our own private elevated room, and our very own private waiter who stood by like the king's butler, waiting to anticipate and respond to our every whim. Figured I could easily get used to this. But your poor Dad, no way. He was of the school that children should be seen and not heard, and he was no more inclined to take you into public settings than to put on a tutu and dance for the Colonel. But we were there, after all. So he struggled to be imperturbable while you would throw crackers, peas, all you could find on the floor, and every single time our stoic waiter would bend down and pick it all up. Game to you, agony to your red faced Father. He couldn't get out of there fast enough. Made me giggle.

Pretty sure your manners improved over time, but did you notice through the years, Dad never much volunteered to take the family out to eat? Thanks, kiddo.