Dieter Schellinger (1937-2019)

Dieter Schellinger was my wife's cousin and a good friend for both of us.  She met him on a trip to Germany with her parents in 1954 not that long after WWII.  He, his mother, father, and brother went through that hell.

He was forever grateful to my mother-in-law for the packages she sent to them after the war with some luxury items such as coffee, sugar, and chocolate.  The candy made him and his brother rather important among the other boys in their town.

She saw him again, and I met him, at our wedding when he made the trip down from Minnesota to be there with us.  We kept up with each other through the years but didn't see each other all that often.

He made it a point to visit the family in Saint Louis on occasion, especially during Christmas seasons.  Always professing gratitude for their thoughtfulness during the reconstruction.

He married a second time and established himself as a noteworthy professor and MD at Georgetown University  in Washington D.C.  The couple raised a fine son, who is also a doctor of medicine.

He was not only a professional success in the clinical application of radiation technology and X-rays but also an accomplished pianist and painter of modern art.

He had a good sense of humor and was always down-to-earth with us when we were around him.  Once, when we were talking about horse riding, he told of the time he was left in charge of a horse.

The animal somehow wandered away and he got a call to come get it.  He had a Volkswagen beetle with a sun-roof.  When he went to get the horse, he had no trailer so he opened the roof, passed the lead rope into the car and held it with one hand while he drove back using the other hand.  It must have been a comical sight to see a horse walking along side of a car with the rope going through the roof.

The last time we saw him was about five years ago.  Carola and I went to their house to visit.  We walked and talked as he brought me up to date on his life and health, which was questionable due to prostrate cancer.

It was removed surgically but he was struggling.  Then he developed a type of dementia and, although his wife kept the family informed, we didn't hear any more from him.

So, another friend goes down "that lonesome road" into the spiritual world that we, in faith, believe is there for us.

The Millennial Screens (Haiku)

I see them alone
In public, insulated
Looking at a screen

Ignoring those there
And those are ignoring them
Both insulated

The insulation
Tends to isolate them both
Keeping them apart

The familiar
Eventually withers
Those who stay in it

The artificial
Even if electronic
Will cause withering

Socialization
With random people around
Brings freshness to mind