Before I tell you what this is, say it out loudly and tell me what crosses your mind when you say it. I think of an exotic cucumber spesies that takes centuries to grow and is only consumed by european nuns in a hidden mountain nunnery. Okay, its a bit farfetched but by golly, a word like Schicklewuber?! or should I say, a NAME. Now, say a quick prayer of thanks to God for your names.

The only thing I got right is 'european'. 20th April 1889, a boy entered the world as Schicklewuber. Don't ask me what his parents' names were but I'm pretty sure its neither Schickle or Wuber. He grew up in Austria under his dad who was overly strict and also under a mother who was too soft and spoiled her son. As he wasn't taught much about character and values, it surprises me that he initially wanted to be a monk. He fared well in primary school but soon, the lack of values and parenting caused him to develop his own. His studies plummeted and his life was increasingly marked by rejections and failure.

If you think a person like him will just dissapear off the face of the earth and affect no one but himself, you are wrong. Many years later, thousands of men, armed and deadly stood and hailed this boy. Schicklewuber or Adolf Hitler; they are the same. So please, if you become parents next time, always remember Schicklewuber. Being a good parent may be the very difference between Schicklewuber the monk and Adolf Hitler the dictator.