Hank Almost Falls for Idar-Oberstein

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Hank Almost Falls for Idar-Oberstein - Well now, if Hank had actually fallen onto Idar-Oberstein, I would probably not be writing this post today. Hank's spirit and his bones would be embedded in someone's roof, there to give testimony to his inability to take wing and to fly. Back around 1957 or thereabouts, several of us were on liberty pass from our Air Force squadron duty. We made our way over to the famous (and very historical) little German city on the Nahe River, Idar-Oberstein, there to see what we could see. The town itself is well known as a center for gems and jewelry, but it also has some older sights to see - castles (several of them) and a church built back into a big crevice in one of the surrounding rock bluffs - a church unique in its placement in the rock and in its own romantic history. As we surveyed the little city from an outcropping high above the river that coursed through town, our buddy, Hank ventured a wee bit too far out on the ledge, slipped his footing, and came within a whisker of tumbling down onto the rooftops far below. We grabbed hold of Hank's jacket and saved him the trip down onto Idar-Oberstein. Hank smiled and told us, "Thanks guys. Were you worried or something?" Image - Hank on the outcropping over Idar-Oberstein, Germany - Gus Kilthau