Dear Arlo,

I tried to reach you through the Guthrie Center but did'nt get a reply. So I try again through the Arlonet Forum.

My name is Cornelius OEPEN. I am presently a medical doctor working in the field of German development coorpation and especially in the fight of AIDS. I started this career as a “conchy” and worked in and for Africa for 27 years now.

My father Heinrich Oepen was a researcher in Huntington’s Chorea based in Marburg / Germany. He met with your mother Marjorie in a conference in the late 60ies when I was a boy of 14 years of age and just trying to pick some chords on the guitar. When he came back from the US, he brought back many of Woody Guthries disks and his book with a handwritten signature from Marjorie: for “Henri” - as she called him.

So my musical career was inspired by Woody’s songs and all of you folk people. But most important to me was your example as a man, Arlo, as a conscientious objector documented in your song and film “Alice’s Restaurant”. I tried to play it together with many other songs and they helped me very much in some of these lonesome moments in life! As a scholar I wanted then to join the “Ostermarsch” when you came to Frankfurt with Joan Baez and other militants of peace; but I was considered to be too young. Of course, your short appearance in the Woodstock film let me feel near to your youth and dedication to make this place a better world.

I wanted you to know that I considered you always as a brother: being a son of a Huntington Chorea family (fortunately, when my father died in 1994 he was sure that we - 5 sons - would’nt get the disease); as a conchy who dedicated his life for peace and humanity; as a musician who gets most of its fun to sing songs that “arrange”, that help people to carry on, that bring a bit more light into peoples life especially when they are sad, oppressed or down.

Arlo, I will try to shake your hands on your 40th anniversary tour to Germany, in Frankfurt on September 6th together with Wenzel. Together with my wife Elvira who made me a lovely gift last Christmas when she found from an Australian fan an original copy of Alice’s Restaurant Massacree Lyrics and Notes. Would you please agree to sign it for me? Perhaps my son, who is presently a soldier, will join. He is African by birth and looking for his own way in a different manner.

Looking forward to meeting with you and perhaps exchange some words I send you and your family

Love and Peace!

Cornelius



Dr. Cornelius Oepen
Abteilung Gesundheit, Bildung und Soziale Sicherheit
GTZ BACKUP Initiative

Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Postfach 5180
D-65726 Eschborn

Tel.: ++49-6196/79-1080;
Fax: ++49-6196/79-80 1080
E-Mail: Cornelius.Oepen@gtz.de
Internet: http://www.gtz.de/backup-initiative/

Sir,welcome to the forums!! I hope you are able to meet and greet with the folkslinger after the show and get your arlograph Good luck and good health to you and your family,and keep up the good work!! peace,sparky

The old trick of hanging out by the bus might not work in Europe, so when you get to the venue, find the Get Stuff (CDs, Tshirts, posters, ...) table and ask about autographs.

Patience is a virtue.

Good Luck!

kurt...

Welcome to the site! I bet Arlo would love to meet you...

Hi Cornelius,
welcome to the forum. I'm pretty new here myself, I'll celebrate my first arlo.net-day in August. Good to hear from another German fellow fan and one close by, too. As I can see you work at the GTZ in Eschborn (a friend of mine, too) and I live in Liederbach, just around the corner. I'll be at the concert in Frankfurt, can't wait for it to happen. Maybe we can meet?
As for the arlograph, the bus trick might not work cause at the old opera there is hardly any place for it and as for the Get Stuff table: I haven't seen anything like it at the old opera before. But maybe Arlo can help us out and let us know where we could go to meet him or if there will be a Get Stuff table?. Since we Europeans don't have so many chances to see him I wouldn't want to let this opportunity go by.

Peace
Brigitte

For most American performers (and all local folkies) part of how they manage to tour is to bring along CDs. (Heck, I was able to get a copy of John Flynn's latest because he had one in the car at the Garbage Walk.) Getting CDs distributed by the big compaies is essentially imposible here.

There's no atrium at the opera house where a 1meter x 2 meter folding table (or two) could be set up? Hmmmm.

You'll find him. I'd get there a little early so you can have a good look around but you'll find him.

kurt...

Sometimes when there's no where else for him to greet his fans, he sits on the edge of the stage and signs autographs.

Somtimes talking to the person running the soundboard (when not running the soundboard, naturaly) can give you a hint.

kurt...

Tanks Kurt and Judy, I'll try your suggestions. Kurt, it's not that there is no place for a Get Stuff table (the Frankfurt Old Opera House is a huge historical building) and I hope there will be one so I can spend some money, it's just that I haven't seen one yet, but I don't frequent there soooo often, so maybe I just didn't see one. I wanted to go to Denmark to the Tonder Festival, too but maybe I'll have to cancel that due to bad school grades and maybe an extra summer exam for my son The lazy little pumpkin
So Frankfurt is my only hope

Brigitte

There may be some hints at www.arloundwenzel.de. Having no German, I am reduced to looking at the pictures, but there was some kinda dining room at the Opera house after following the links so I'm sticking to the Get Stuff Strategy.

kurt...