Our End-of-Year Letter - unser Weihnachtsbrief 1994

The Wittmanns wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The Wittmanns are not just the classic two US Wittmanns and two Children; as of this year there are more: Annemarei has got engaged with Barrett Vitol, a law student from Washington DC, is her chosen one and we all think he's great.

As some of you know, both did a bike tour through Europe this year - Paris - Trier - Karden - Dörrebach - Hamburg - Berlin - Prague - Vienna - Budapest - Transylvania - Bulgaria - Istanbul - Troy - Kos - Rhodes - Athens -Frankfurt-Washington (see Thumble in the Fall). Of course, all this could not go as planned; Annemarei suddently got biliary colic at the beginning of July and we had to remove her gallbladder laparoscopically, which meant an 8-hour hospital stay, but it delayed the European bike tour.
She completed her college years very successfully and, despite a double major in biology and philosophy, graduated with honors. In retrospect, the choice of college was optimal and we can only recommend St. Mary's College of Maryland. Annemarei is currently applying to various medical schools and the new year will show where she ends up.

Mark has also contributed to the family growth: he has found his wife for life, Lisa Friedman, who is a perfect match for him. On July 6th they made us happy grandparents with the birth of Frederike Marie. Fritzi develops into a giant (over 95 percentile), laughs a lot and is cheeky when she's hungry; I think all babies do that. Mark will celebrate his graduation in May and at the same time they both want to celebrate a big wedding. So it is most convenient for friends and relatives who want to come.

The year 1995 will also bring surprises for Mark and Lisa, as both have applied to several universities for residency programs and are currently. interviewed. Mark wants to become a surgeon, Lisa a pediatrician. We are curious.

For Heidi and Dietmar, the year 94 brought nothing earth-shattering apart from family matters, including the silver wedding In Hamburg with old friends (see pictures). Afterwards We had nice days in Rome and Napoli with unforgettable stay in an old classical Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria in Sorento with a unrestricted view from our hotel room balcony to the golf of Napoli in front of the Vesuvius.

A trip to the Bahamas in January was very disappointing, but our annual ski vacation (with conference! of the Western Trauma Association) this year, to Crested Butte in the Rockies, was wonderful again. Dietmar travelled also in Indonesia and Thailand on to lecture about surgical methods and infection. He was able to take Annemarei to Peru and Equador and both had fun and adventure! In the summer, Dietmar became an honorary member of the Colombian Society of Surgery.

Yes, many may be wondering if we still feel comfortable here in Brookfield. The beavers were destroyed with tax money, which caused a small scandal in our community. But of course, they are gone, and the beaver burrow looks desolate. But we have more and more deer in the garden, especially now that the lake is frozen. It's cold and chilly with lots of snow, but at present a clear sky. We are currently less happy with the political developments here. After Clinton got off to such a promising start, everything has been brought down with the most insane arguments by the lobbyists, essentially the insurance industry and the National Rifle Association. Sometimes you feel like you are in kindergarten. The largely ignorant and uninformed press is doing its part on all channels to convey superiority, contentment, and simple solutions to the Americans.

Few think about the real reasons behind the killing and the huge dissatisfaction of the population. For the less agile, life here is very hard and the fall at a thoughtless moment very deep - and the consolation that one can easily catch the big lucky ticket is no consolation, because most are not educated enough to materialize their lucky moment.
A glimpse of what can happen in the US bureaucracy can be sensed by looking at the monumental work of Mr. and Mrs. Clinton's Health Care Reform. Only two legislative changes would be necessary: compulsory insurance and the transformation of the insurance companies into real insurance companies that are not allowed to discriminate, i.e., that all people must be insured regardless of their previous illnesses. It was incomprehensible to us that, for example, 60% of the voters in Milwaukee voted against gun control! Some say that this is the only way to protect yourself against the state, but we think that the campaigns of the Rifle Association are the real reason. The discussion about a license to own a gun by examination doesn't even come up. A lot of big politics bothers us, but we are satisfied with our daily life here.

The letter is a bit long, but we hope it's not too boring. The negative in our report should not stop you from making your next visit to us, it is very nice here, we have enough space and you are welcome.

Merry Christmas and a healthy, peaceful 1995.