Why I'm a Jelly Donut

When President John F. Kennedy famously traveled to Germany in the middle of the Cold War, he gave a rousing speech to the people of Berlin. He talked about West Berlin being the pinnacle of free western society (ironic, considering what was just over the fence, but that's another blog entirely). He capped his speech with the statement, "Ich bin ein Berliner!" No doubt, President Kennedy thought he was endearing himself to the hearts and minds of Germans everywhere. However, when I was in high school, a guy in my history class shared the following factoid: in German, a "berliner" is apparently a local pastry when one uses a certain kind of definite article, which Kennedy did. So, because of a minor grammatical error, what President Kennedy actually declared to the people of Berlin was, "I am a jelly donut."

Now, whether or not "Ich bin ein Berliner" actually means "I am a jelly donut" is apparently up for some debate. You can read about it here, if you feel so inclined. But the point is this: even if Kennedy did tell a whole bunch of Germans that he's full of fruity jam and sprinkled with powdered sugar, the speech was still a hit. In fact, it's now widely considered to be one his best speeches. Everybody loved it.

I tend to forget and/or screw up details a lot, but somehow, it usually all works out anyway (kind of like President Kennedy's speech). So, on the eve of my travels to Europe (including, appropriately enough, Berlin), I couldn't think of a more appropriate name for a blog.