"The Corporate financial statements are seriously distorted and do not accurately reflect the actual operating results. We are in violation of SEC reporting requirements" Rolf to the Board outlining his review of International operation.

Chapter XVIII - The Winds of Change

Rolf had been in the field for over 4 months and decided to take a couple of weeks vaction in Berlin and see his mother. It had been about 5 years since that fateful visit where Rosie had urged him to go to Bad Wiessee and see Karin when he was on his way to Cologne.  

He almost decided to spend the holidays in Berlin, as he was scheduled to go to Rio for 2 months and back to Southeast Asia for an extended tour. He decided to go visit Franz in Lugano and return to the US for a week.

The following story outlines what would be the beginning of a tumultous period in Rolf's life. The powerful emotions Rolf had faced over the last couple of years now would take over every facet of his life.
 

Facing Major Changes

It was sudden and swift. The deep recession of the early eighties coupled with the collapse of the American Insurance presence in the foreign markets closed Rolf's career off at a time in his life where he essentially was just drifting along. He found himself out of work.

He had his extensive foreign background and solid systems development experience. To pass time while waiting for something to come along he hooked up with a Greek friend who owned a restaurant close to where Rolf lived. This would lay the foundation for a future career change still many years away.

Rolf told the Greek that he would have to leave as soon as something came up, who just smiled. "My friend", said the Greek "You were born to love this business, one day you will realize that you belong into a kitchen!" 

After a few months Rolf was contacted by a French Consulting Company which was handling large systems development projects for AT&T during their break-up. Within a couple of months he was project manager for the development of an inventory control system.

While on assignment in the central New Jersey offices he worked long hours, having a ninety minute commute to his house on Greenwood Lake. After a while he decided to spend a lot of nights at a local hotel. He rarely ever saw his wife and children anymore and was basically drifting along, trying to come up with solutions as to what to do with his personal life.

He badly needed some personal contact and went on the prowl. He would spend almost every night hanging around the local nightspots after work. Although there were many opportunities for Rolf, he was hesitant. It was not until he started to put his project team together that he made a move and asked one of the consultants for a date.



 

Rolf made good money, did enjoy working on the project and wanted to finish it. It gave him about six months to make a decision. He knew that he did not want to make a career in the consulting business. His relationship with Erin was very casual and would not lead to anything permanent, although they started to make plans to take a three week safari in Kenya after the project was finished.

He took the initial steps to file for a divorce and talked to a lawyer. Rolf essentially told him that he was not going to fight anything, he just wanted some personal items and be free to re-start his life.

It had been close to two years sine he had seen or been in contact with Marlene and the major decision to move to the Philippines again became a distinct possibility. In the back of his mind Rolf also considered going back to Germany.

Subconsciously Rolf was deeply afraid to see Karin if he went back to Berlin. His memories of her had always been with him, he did not want to face a situation where they would look at each other as strangers.  That was an intolerable thought.

Rolf knew from his former associates in Manila that Marlene kept asking them if Rolf would come back to see her.