For those of you who haven’t heard yet, and for those of you who have heard, but don’t know that much about him, I’d like to tell you a bit about Mirko. Mirko Meyer (yes, he has no middle name) was born on July 17’" 1970 in Neuhaus/ Elbe, in the German Democratic Republic. He lived in Neuhaus with his Grandmother until the age of three, when he moved to his parents’ apartment in Schwerin. Schwerin is now the capitol of the German State Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

   If you ever want to visit Russia, Mirko is a good person to take along with you. Not only does he speak fluent English, he began studying Russian in the third grade and speaks it quite well. He is also an accomplished pilot. He began flying private planes at the age of 14. He started out small, with glider planes, and then graduated to single engine propeller planes at the age of 19. Now he flies great big old green helicopters (the Bell UH1-D or Huey). At age 16 he left home and moved to Ludwigsfelde (a little town, near East Berlin). There, he completed an apprenticeship for auto mechanics and received his Associates Degree. In 1990, after the fall of the Berlin wall, Mirko joined the German army.

   He spent his first year in the infantry practicing walking, camping, and removing mud from every imaginable piece of gear and clothing. Since he had a lot of time to think in the field, Mirko thought that he might just switch to Army aviation and sign up to become an Officer 8 Pilot. He spent his first two years of Officer training in the same mud that he got to know so well as an infantry soldier.Things did get better though. After two years of officer basic training he began preparations for flight school. He brushed up on his English, studied navigation, weather, and the likes. What was his reward? The GERMAN army sent him off to Ft. Rucker, Alabama in the middle of summer!

   There, he and 3 other German officers trained with 20 US military pilots to be. During this time he learned a lot about himself and a great deal about life in a foreign country. He must have caught on pretty well, because he graduated from flight school first in his class. After learning that Mirko’s only time in the United States was spent in and around Ft. Rucker, my Mother exclaimed, "OH NO, he doesn’t think that we are ALL like that, does he?" No, he doesn’t. In fact, he must not have been too damaged from his first experiences in America. Not only did he agree to return with me, he agreed to move to the United States before ever having seen California.