Christel and Buster Parker

Let the story begin:

In the late fifty's I left my home town in Texas,I left behind a little town full of family and friends, a place where every one knew everyone else. I was just a teenager looking for a life, "now well into my seventy's with life's road narrowing and inspired by a recent trip. My mother had passed away at an early age and I was a spoiled momma's boy,in other words I was a fish out of water.

After leaving my home town in Texas, I spent 6 years in the U.S.ARMY. of which almost 3 years were spent in occupied West Germany,where I met the love of my life. A wonderful and beautiful young lady who had recently escaped from behind the Iron Curtain,she didn't speak one word of english and I only knew a few words of German. But we knew from first eye contact,this was our destiny. She was sitting with her aunt,a girl friend and the girl friends mother,they were celebrating the love of my life's birthday.

There were no empty chairs in the place,I was meant to have this woman,and a Texas country boy just don't back away from something so important. It was an all German Guest-house,we had wondered in there by chance. The place was packed with young Germans,my friend and I both had blond hair and were light complected and sort of looked German,until we opened our big mouths.

Like I said, this was my destiny,so when some of the German men got up to dance,my friend and I took 2 of their chairs,and pulled them up to the love of my life's table. The German men were very unhappy. I did not want to be mean, but hey destiny is what it is,and being Bill Parker's son, there was no way in hell I was backing away from this, my daddy always said if you have got to do something boy, give it all you got, and don't quit while your still breathing.

When we sat down at the table, I told [der Kellner] the waiter, to bring the table what ever their drinking and to bring my friend and I a Pilsner Bier,. The love of my life also had a beer, even though her aunt was yelling for us to leave their table in German [she didn't speak a word of english either], I poured the love of my life's beer in her glass, then poured mine. I turned to give a toast,and lo and behold, my left hand hit her glass spilled beer all over her new birthday dress.OH BOY.

You can probably guess what happened next,. The German men had all they could take, and they came to their feet swinging. Well Parker men can fight now, not all that good, but we fight long and hard. Well that's one fight the Americans did not win,those Germans beat us up so bad, I did not even know they were tossing me out the door until I hit the sidewalk. I felt shoes kicking me, I heard a woman screaming in German HALT_HALT along with some other German words I did not understand.

Laying on the sidewalk beat up really bad and bleeding, with so many people standing around me, that I could barely see any light between them. I felt some one pick up my head, I remember thinking "this is it daddy", I lost this one big time. Then the face came into focus," it was the love of my life's face. She was wiping the blood out of my eyes, then I realized she was crying and the tears were dropping on my face. That was the beginning of a wonderful relationship that has survived over 54 years,we have been married almost 53 years and counting.

Well now that I have told of the very odd beginning of a long and happy relationship. I would like to say " we have been poor " and we worked hard and long. We have had heart break, some success and failure, we have loved and we have cried, but with the grace of God, loving family and the best friends on the face of this earth,"we have made it this far. We have made some trips back to visit family and friends to Texas and Germany over the years .

Also I must admit without my brother and his family, we may not have survived the wonderful " BEAUTIFUL ' state of Oregon and we certainly would not have been here in Oregon to experience this beautiful state.