The Strohlein file.

From time to time I will pull out some old memories of old friends. Marc Strohlein for me is a life long friend, one that you know will be with you no matter what happens. I only have a hand full of good friends - I believe in quality not quantity. The first time I saw Marc Strohlein was in the summer of 1991, I was an Irish student who had somewhat luckily figured out what I was going to do that summer in between college years. Very quickly I got the money together and went on an adventure to work for the summer in Germany, since my friends went to Nurnberg that was where I followed them to. Settled in to accomodation and got paperwork to allow us to work...tried very hard not to pay the catholic church tax by claiming we were not catholic (a common claim at the time amongst Irish students) but the clerk was having none of it claiming "I know for a fact that 99.9% of you Irish are catholic. And so I arrived at Stockl -bookbinding factory!!!. It was one of those things where I got the feeling that this guy was "spot on" and a nice person. When I first saw him he was cleaning up a bit in order to set up one of the machines for whatever processes the line required and we were quickly introduced. There were other Irish there too and it was like a home away from home having lunch breaks and taking the piss as you do.
Marc Strohlein could have kept to himself and done his job and went home and everyday done the same thing but and maybe this is what the Irish bring a sense of getting to know people and embracing different ways and different cultures after a few days and weeks Marc mingled with everyone and was very friendly...maybe being the same age as the rest of us helped, that is for sure as after all young people all over the world have the same outlook on life and the same aspirations. During that summer Marc would even mingle with us in the various pubs and clubs and it was a great summer. For me it was a summer to remember and the one after that as I returned to Nurnberg and Stockl bookbinding company. It was a summer in which I gained a very true friend, one that I know I can call a life long friend.
Now as we get older we are going through the same path in life finding our way in life, getting married and starting a family, Marc is doing that right now he has just gotten married to Melli and has a daughter named Miriam...as he has said before its the MM&M. Congratulations!!! Happy days indeed and more to come my friend!!!.