What is your favorite family story?

My mother´s father. Grew up in east Germany. Age 15, he jumped on board a ship.
He wanted to get away from his mama. And to shoot lions in Africa.

His ship came from Norway.
As the 2. war was just finished, the sailors were hostile towards him.
The ship chef was a strong man with a big heart. He protected the young German boy, told
the others to leave him alone,as he was just a kid, and had nothing to do with the war.

I have a photograph from 1950.
The German youngster and the ship chef, onboard the ship, they are sailing to Cuba.
The photo was given to me 45 years later, by the ship chef.
As he is my father´s father.
And I grew up in his house, he looked after me when my parents were at work.

In 1950 my father was 5 years old, and my mother would not be born until 1954.

Mr. Henriksen protected mr. Kaltwasser.
And my family name became
Kaltwasser Henriksen.

This is my favourite family story.

And it magnificently links up to
the fact that I never knew anyone with roots to east Germany apart from my family
until
I met my current boyfriend, or rather, the man I now live together with.
His grandfather comes from east Germany.
Even from the same area of east Germany as mine comes from.
!
Lovely co incidences here. Fits my sense of humour real well.

(Like me, he also has a funny-special name from there; Leonhardt).

So. Here we are now, typing away in a Danish island village,
in the house of Coolwater-Lionheart.

(:o)