I've been collecting maps since 1977, to be precise.
The other day....I was directed to kinda clean out my map drawer....so I checked it out....yep, they are ok, and put them all back in. I just couldn't bring myself to throw any of the three hundred-odd maps away.
So, I have this one odd map that I came to. It's a simple Germany map....except it's from around 1988, when "the wall" was still up.
Yeah, I opened it up and checked it entirely.....nice "X"-marks to note the East German border and a division of Berlin marking.
It's kind of a collector thing now. Most all Germans threw their old DDR-West Germany maps away years ago. Some folks will still drive up to a certain point, and note for the pleasure of folks in the car....we've crossed over into DDR. Some folks don't take it as a joke though.
I've had this great fictional story in my mind, for a book. Some Germans desperate to build up a tour company.....advertise to some older-minded Americans....a tour into DDR. They fly the naive Americans over....pretend the wall is still up, and spend ten days driving them around the countryside of the communist republic (Yeah, it's hard to convey a republic being associated with a communist area).
Maybe one day....it'll be worth something....well....maybe worth a donut and a cup of coffee.
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