That spring, it was a Monday, an inhabitant of Basle - an «Basler Bebbi» - called me and asked: Whether I would go with him in Zurich for a meal. I would have him not known from the youth group Spot25, at that time already, I would mean, I go out for a Date! This way, a friendship has started, which was able to build a bridge over the continents.

1996 - Laurenz became Switzerland too narrowly and since he is an American citizen, he decided to emigrate - or to return home. Our friendship suffered from this decision. Only one and a half years later, in Global 33 at 2nd Av./5th St., we should see and talk to each other again.

It was Tom, send me a e-mail on November 20th, 1997 to inform me, that we would become to New York flying on following Mondey if this one I wanted - I wanted!

We lived in Queens at Stella, Toni, Pamela, Marco and Christina from Colombia. We had already some days on a visit and the Citybank's tower had become a bench mark for me of Queens. He makes the orientation easier for me in Queens, like a lighthouse.

We met Laurenz, and Tom's friend Alfred, only toward the end of our stay. Sometimes in the life it needs 6000 miles distance and one and a half years speechlessness to recognize why one describes a man as a friend. On that day, in Global 33, this got me once more conscious.

Although New York was and is an extraordinary town, I couldn't get to like her - she had taken a friend away from me. It wasn't clear to me that this intimate discussion made her equal with «my» owen town. The look - still - was whitewashed by the putative loss of the friend.

One and a half years later again, I was on the Queens Highway direction Manhattan and I saw the Citybank tower of Queens. The first bench mark of New York which I recognized. A three-week, lovely but exhausting road journey from Los Angeles to Seattle behind me, a great love in front of me.