[JohnBraden]

dogsbody 70, I was born in the same country as Suki, Spain, but not in the same city, of course. I am from Madrid, but am not Spanish, though most of my relatives are Spanish. I'm an American citizen but I have a Spanish birth certificate and I don't have dual citizenship.

My father was born in Montana and joined the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s. He was stationed in West Germany, Morocco, Libya and Spain. He left the service and stayed in Spain as a civilian working for the Air Force in the accounting section of the airbase outside Madrid.

My mother was born in Cebu, Philippines before the Japanese invaded the islands in WWII. Her father (my grandfather) was the director of the Bank of the Philippine Islands in Manila (a Spanish Bank) and was subsequently sent to the Cebu branch when the war broke out. After the liberation and end of the war, my mother and siblings moved back to Spain (San Sebastian), since we are of Basque descent. After college she moved to Madrid where the USAF was building a new airbase outside Madrid. Since she lived in the Philippines, she grew up with English as well as Spanish and Tagalog. Her English knowledge was crucial in getting a job at the airbase since almost no one spoke English back then.

It was there they met and got married in 1961. In 1992 the base closed, my father retired and they moved here to Chicago where my mother still lives. My father, unfortunately, succumbed to cancer a few months ago, but he lived a good 80 years.

I lived in Madrid from 1965 to 1986 when I, myself, joined the service (USAF) and went off to Japan and other places.

All this has been a blessing to me as I have a broader view of the world and see things in ways people who haven't traveled or moved around can see. I definitely feel fortunate for my upbringing.