Figure 1.--Her we see Herbert Stahl as a Kindergartener with teddy bear and long stockings, we think in 1941. He was raised in the vicinity of Nuremberg and later wrote a novel entitled The Secret of Nuremberg. It is about a shaman who is trying to make contact with modern-day residents of that city. Stahl still possesses the teddy bear that he loved as a child and that he is holding in the photograph of him as a kindergartener. There is a later photo of him as a grown-up holding the same teddy bear. Since that time he has become a kind of historian of various German landscapes and specific areas as a follower of "geomancy" .

Here we see Herb Stahl sitting on a town bench with the Teddy bear which is clearly a close friend. The photograph is undated, but was taken in the early 1940s, probably about 1941 during World War II. He appartently was a kindergarten boy, meaning he was about 5 years old. He recalls the bombing that beegan to inrease in intensity a year or two after this photograph was taken. He recalls the bombs interrupting his play life of fantasy games during childhood. Herb wears a sleeveless sweater and very short trousers with brown long stockings. This photo is an excellent illustration of how long the stockings of the period were knitted to come up under very short shorts. And you can see by the way the hose supporters attach that he is wearing the usual Strapsleibchen with four hose supporters. We don't know the location except that it is Germany. As you can see, long stockings were not just worn in cold weather. Stahl grew up to be a intetesting German author. He was raised in the vicinity of Nuremberg and later wrote a novel entitled The Secret of Nuremberg. It is about a shaman who is trying to make contact with modern-day residents of that city. Stahl still possesses the teddy bear that he loved as a child and that he is holding in the photograph of him as a kindergartener. There is a later photo of him as a grown-up holding the same teddy bear. Since that time he has become a kind of historian of various German landscapes and specific areas as a follower of "geomancy"--a combination of science and mysticism that goes in for locating the various kinds of energy that emanate from the earth involving underground springs, hot springs, electrical impulses, magnetic forces and the like. He sometimes advises people where to live or where to build houses. He promotes a "green" philosophy of living in harmony with the earth.