Rainy Day Memory
I'm walking across an open field. The sky is overcast and I think it is going to rain. There is fog in the distance and visibility is not the best. The ground and air is damp, especially the grass that I am walking upon. My boots are all damp from walking through the grass. I'm in a tense mood and am in deep thought. I stare at the ground and then out at the distance a lot. I keep seeing a large building that looks like a barn. The mist is getting thicker. I doubt we'll be taking off today. For some reason this really bothers me. I look around and the storm seems to be closing in on us.

The barn is one of our hangars. I walk in and some of the mechanics are at work on some of the planes. One or two restless pilots are pacing about feeling the disappointment and boredom. I know how they feel. I get a flash of Lowenhardt. He must be one of the pilots. There is another fellow.....it could be Reinhardt? I'm not sure. They are both suited up to fly. Me, I'm in my usual leather jacket and cap. I'm getting a flash of the landing strip being muddy and starting to fill with little water holes. Not a pleasant thought. My thought is that we'll need to get someone out there to fix that mess up before anyone takes off or lands.

I think they told me about the problem and then we went out there to look at it. It's fully raining now. No question about us being grounded today. I tell them that unless the storm breaks and we get the field fixed immediately, then no flying. I leave them to go talk to someone about the field.

Later that day I believe the following happened on the same day.

I come in from the rain. The room is dark and it's hard for me to see. There are 3 or 4 guys sitting at a table playing cards. One fellow is leaning back in his chair and looking very contemplative at his hand I have no idea what they are playing. There is a large window or an open door behind them and it appears to be the soul source of light into the room. I'm not sure why no one has turned on a light, but I get the impression that something is wrong with the generator?

To my left the room extends into the darkness and someone is over there. It almost looks like a bar has been set up there. One of the pilots is behind there either playing bartender or re-organizing things. I walk over. I think it is either Karl Allmenroder or Kurt Wolff. He sets a small glass down. He wants me to try something and pours something into the glass. I pick up the glass of clear amber colored liquid and examine it. It smells like alcohol. I look at Kurt or Karl and he smiles back at me with an encouraging word. I drink it down and it's strong, very strong.

I guess he wanted to warm me up from the cold. He chuckles at my reaction. It almost brings tears to my eyes. I think I ask him where he got the stuff and his reply was that he found it in the bar. I think he asks me if I want more and I decline, so he puts the bottle away. We stand there leaning against the counter top and talk. I still can't tell whether it is Kurt or Karl. I turn and lean with my back against the bar and look at the guys who are still intense on their card game. We watch them. One of them gets up suddenly in disgust. I can hear the chair legs grate against the floor. He's pissed off and throws his cards down and walks away from the table. I walk over casually and ask what's up.

The guys at the table look up at me with that "he's just having bad luck" expression. He still seems to be pissed off. I think I suggest that his luck might change if he gets a little fresh air for a while and comes back later. He seems to grudgingly agree and goes out that open door that I mentioned earlier.