( Draft Excerpt from "Horse Thief"). Meeting a Russian in East Berlin, the Truth of the Cuban Missle Crisis, and Almost Arrested in East Germany, October 1962.
When Phil was eighteen years old – having just graduated from Walla Walla High School (in Walla Walla, Washington) as a Senior Class President, an award-winning football, wrestling, track champion, and all-around wild character – he decided to “see the world.”
So he and his High School friend, Mike Friedman, hitchhiked to New York City and worked their way on a freighter across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.
They then hitchhiked across Europe and eventually were drawn to East Berlin. Phil felt led by a powerful curiosity to understand who the real people were behind the “Iron Curtain” and “the Soviet Menace” he had been taught was the enemy for most of his life.
He went across “Checkpoint Charlie,” walked up the steps of the Embassy of the USSR in East Berlin, and rang the bell beside the double doors. He waited and rang again. Finally, a voice spoke through the speaker beside the door in Russian.
When the voice stopped, Phil gave greetings in English, expecting an answer. There was a pause, then a loud voice replied in English, “ Who is this?
Phil was so surprised that he blurted out, “ It’s Phil from Walla Walla.”
The door opened, and Phil was invited to come inside the Embassy by a gentleman in a tailored suit who spoke perfect English.
They sat down and talked for more than three hours about why the United States and the Soviet Union saw each other as enemies, the politics of Cuba, how they all wanted the same things for their children, and how perhaps one day the walls would be taken down.
Regarding Cuba, Phil’s Russian friend told him the truth about the Cuban Missile Crises in October 1962, which was agreed not to be revealed publicly as part of the final agreement ending the Crises.
The truth was the US had put in ICBMs all along the Turkish border, and Russia wanted them gone. And President Kennedy agreed to remove the ICBMs as long as he was seen as the hero.
And that was the way it was.
After their long visit, they had tea and parted as friends. Phil learned from that experience that every issue has many sides and that each perspective must be carefully and respectfully considered. As his tribal Elders taught him, you should never judge another human being until you have walked at least a mile in their moccasins.
After his afternoon visit to the Russian Embassy, Phil went to meet German people, at a big East German Beer Hall. Before you know it, Phil was sitting in a corner, in the center of a long table of construction workers.
As West Germans, they loved Indianers, and Phil drank many sterns of gifted beer. Even though they were limited verbal communication, they had a great time together.
When he left his new German brothers, the Taxi got directions wrong and drove him into East Berlin, where, if caught, would have been arrested, but now he had his friend to help him in Russian Embassy.
After a few more twists and turns he made it back to Check Point Charlie.
When Phil left Embassy, his Russian friend gave him three books from the Russian perspective, regarding the USA, and it was truthful and strong, and if the US side had seen the books, he would have had a lot of questions to answer.
Thankfully, in his excitement to safey get out of East Germany, and the Beer Garden, he forgot the books in the Taxi.
As Phil approached the drop gate that stopped traffic, Phil decided to push the envelope a little further, and he made a short run and high jumped the drop gate.
The German Border Guard had him take all his clothes off and stripped searched him. They were suspicious that his crazy behavior was covering up he was a spy.
But in the end, they let Phil go.
Then it is off to adventures in the Netherlands and England.
To be continued….
